Exposition : "Michel Butor, portrait ultrasensible"

Exposition : Michel Butor, portrait ultrasensible

The writer Michel Butor (1926-2016) made dialogue between the arts the driving force of his creation. Known as an author of the Nouveau Roman, his work also spanned essays and poetry. He practiced photography for a decade (1951-1961) before turning to the lenses of photographer friends to create artists' books together. Collaborating with them – as well as with painters and printmakers – he produced nearly 1800 books published in limited editions, printed or manuscript, weaving poetry with image in a constantly renewed invention of forms.

The poet's imagination drew upon a sensitive material unique to him, as well as an encyclopedic and humanist erudition evidenced by his critical essays and novels. An academic, he possessed a bookish culture across arts and sciences with which he nurtured his literary work.

On the occasion of Michel Butor's Centenary, the exhibition "Michel Butor, portrait ultrasensible" paints an unprecedented portrait of the poet. Re-engaging correspondences, it pairs artists' books created in collaboration with photographers alongside historic and remarkable scientific publications and objects. Ancient, rare, and precious today, they bear witness to the state of research, the birth of disciplines, and knowledge that evolves over time. These face-to-face dialogues contribute through image, poetry, and science to giving us a perception of the living world.

Exhibition in partnership with the PhotoSaintGermain Festival

On this occasion, a book is published by Université Paris Cité Éditions.