Exihibition Catalogue
Galerie Lahumière, Paris, France
Year: 1994
Texts: B. Fauchille, and J.C. Lahumière.
Languages: Francaise, English, Español, Deutsch
40pp. | 21x28cm.
Publisher: Éditions Lahumière
The catalogue represents one of the earliest monographic publications devoted to the French painter Yves Popet, a significant figure within the tradition of contemporary geometric abstraction. With forewords by B. Fauchille, curator of the Cholet Museum, and the gallerist Jean-Claude Lahumière, the volume brings together thirteen colour reproductions presented in a clear and elegant format.
From an editorial perspective, the publication also displays a material feature characteristic of Éditions Lahumière: it is produced as a set of loose sheets gathered in a folder, a format frequently used in the gallery’s catalogues. Situated somewhere between a portfolio and a book, this system encourages a more open engagement with the images, allowing each work to be approached almost as an autonomous plate. This choice reflects a publishing tradition closely linked to the dissemination of abstract and concrete art, where the artwork is granted a degree of visual independence.
The reproductions document a significant stage in Popet’s artistic research. Born in Reims in 1946, the artist has, since the late 1960s, developed a pictorial language grounded in the structure of the square. This form becomes the core of a visual system articulated through orthogonal lines, spatial tensions, and rigorously modulated chromatic fields. Within this constructive logic—rooted in the legacy of European Concrete art—painting is conceived as an autonomous organisation of colour and form.
The works reproduced in the catalogue reveal how Popet explores subtle variations within a consistent formal framework: shifts of planes, intense chromatic contrasts, and geometric combinations that alter the viewer’s perception of pictorial space. Beneath their apparent simplicity, the compositions disclose a complex interplay between structure and colour.
The introductory texts emphasize the almost musical dimension of the artist’s practice. Like a series of variations, the square functions as a recurring motif through which Popet introduces shifts and tensions that generate visual rhythm and equilibrium.
Despite its brevity, Yves Popet (1994) stands as a significant editorial document. True to the spirit of Éditions Lahumière, the catalogue combines graphic rigour, typographic clarity, and a material presentation—through its loose-leaf format—that reinforces the autonomy of each image. The result is a sober and precise publication, fully aligned with the language of geometric abstraction that the gallery has historically championed.