Christian Dotremont : painter-poet

Artist, innovative poet, and nomadic writer, Christian Dotremont (1922-1979) ranks among the most influential figures of the second half of the 20^th century. Very quickly drawn into avant-garde movements, Dotremont was a founding member of Revolutionary Surrealism (1947) and a driving force behind the CoBrA group (1948-1951). In 1962, after returning from one of his trips to Lapland, he made his first logograms, a series of compositions in India ink and pencil that amalgamated text and painting, gesture and thought. Throughout his life, Dotremont used his work as a field of investigation into the physicality of writing.

The artist, who died in 1979, would have celebrated his 100^th birthday in 2022. This book, published on the occasion of the exhibition Christian Dotremont. Painter - Poet, presents several aspects of his work. The abundantly illustrated catalogue compiles logograms, autographs, four-handed creations, and photographs from the Christian Dotremont Archival Fund of the King Baudouin Foundation on deposit at the Archives & Museum of Literature, on loan from several collectors, including Pierre Alechinsky, and from the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. This comprehensive and fascinating selection reveals the creative wealth of this major artist.