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KÂ- MONDO / KAPANDJI MORHANGE
37
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[ARTIST'S BOOK] - BÉNÉZET (Mathieu). HÉLÉNON (Philippe). Lea…
See original version (French)
37
-
[ARTIST'S BOOK] - BÉNÉZET (Mathieu). HÉLÉNON (Philippe). Lea…
See original version (French)
Estimate €200 - €300
Voluntary lot
Description
[ARTIST'S BOOK] - BÉNÉZET (Mathieu). HÉLÉNON (Philippe). Leaves between slashes.
Remarkable autograph manuscript by Mathieu Bénézet on an original work by Philippe Hélénon, illustrating the concept of the "poor book" theorised by Daniel Leuwers: an uncluttered work in which the dialogue between text and colour becomes the very subject of the book.
S.l., s.n., n.d. (circa 2000).
Large in-4 (330 × 126 mm; unfolded: 330 × 505 mm). Leporello leaf.
Extremely rare first edition. Limited edition of seven copies, this one numbered 7/7 and signed by the author and the artist.
The book consists of a handwritten poem by Mathieu Bénézet, integrated into Philippe Hélénon's painting (mixed media, gouache and watercolour), which occupies the back of the sheet. The title and print run appear on the first and last panels of the front, decorated with Hélénon's second composition.
This "poor book", to use Daniel Leuwers' terminology, is an artistic device of rare intensity. It revives the genealogy of the "substantial allies" dear to René Char: the direct encounter, with no editorial intermediary, between the painter's gesture and the poet's breath.
For Mathieu Bénézet, the painter's intervention is essential. Indeed, as he said of another poor book illustrated by Hélénon (Je dors dans la peinture), "the complexity of the poem is suddenly absorbed and understood" by the pictorial space.
Cf. Leuwers, Livre pauvre / livre riche, 2006.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Prestige sale - Antiquarian and collectible books
Auction location
Auction time
06/15/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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