The art of Erik Desmazières
La Place Désertée (1979).
Yet another French artist specialising in etchings with a focus on imaginary architecture. No dedicated website, unfortunately, so I’ve posted more images than usual. Of note is Desmazières’ illustrated edition (now out of print) of the Borges’ ficcione, The Library of Babel, published by Les Amis du Livre Contemporain in France and David R Godine in the US.
Erik Desmazières was born in Rabbat, Morocco, son of a French diplomat. He spent his childhood in Morcco, Portugal, and France. Desmazières studied at the Institute d’Etudes Politique, political science and took an evening art course at the Cours du Soir de la Ville. After graduation he decided to pursue a career as an artist.
Considered to be one of the finest printmakers of his generation, Desmazières was strongly influenced by artists such as Giovanni Piranesi and Jacques Callot. Erik Desmazières work is represented by galleries in Europe, the United States, and Japan and is collected by important museums worldwide.
Update: Erik Desmazières at Velly.org.
Exploration (1984).
Passage Choiseul (1990).
Terre Inconnue (1981).
Ville Souterraine (1982).
No title or date given.
Ville Imaginaire II (1998).
The Library of Babel (David R Godine edition, 2000).
The Library of Babel (1997).
The Library of Babel (1997).
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The etching and engraving archive
• The illustrators archive
9 Comments, Comment or Ping
#1 posted by Callum James
Hi, love this stuff and am slightly in awe… It reminds me in a strange way of th computer game myst, (particularly the Library of Babel stuff) inasmuch as I always think of Myst as less of a computer game and more of a ‘place to visit’ - the library images make me feel a little the same, not so much 2 dimenstional pictures, more of a place to visit and get lost in… wonderful…
Jan 28th, 2007
#2 posted by John
I swear I saw more of the library pictures somewhere a while ago but I can’t find them now. Interesting seeing how he elaborated on Borges’ conception of a monotonous?and endless?honeycomb of rooms.
Curious the way so many French artists have have an interest in this kind of imagery.
One of the Myst creators has a nice blog of his own here:
http://tinselman.typepad.com/tinselman/
Jan 28th, 2007
#3 posted by stroppyrabbit
Fantastic - sort of a cross between MC Escher and Gustav Doré.
May 19th, 2007
#4 posted by faouz raoui
i love your blog
arabic forum
Jun 19th, 2007
#5 posted by peacay
Speaking of prints of libraries, have you come across Rolf Escher?
http://www.rolf-escher.de/
(there’s a little more around: I posted a few links the other day/week)
ps. Love Desmazières. Thanks! Appropriate you link to Trignac: that’s who I first thought about. My we have good taste!
Sep 8th, 2007
#6 posted by John
Oh, good find, I hadn’t seen this guy’s work before. He’s now bookmarked.
This kind of work seems particularly Continental and I’m still not sure why that is. The French and Belgians are more accepting of fantasy in art which no doubt helps, here it’s always been regarded with suspicion. None of the current crop of internationally known British artists could be said to be possessed of much imagination.
Sep 9th, 2007
#7 posted by peacay
None of the current crop of internationally known British artists could be said to be possessed of much imagination.
So you’re saying you’re not an international man of mystery then?
‘- )
Sep 11th, 2007
#8 posted by John
Well…the “man” part is correct… As I said elsewhere, if I wasn’t preoccupied with other things I’d probably be happy doing something very similar to Monsieur Trignac. But I’ve always been restless and enjoy working in different areas and media. I’m often envious of those who can stay put, it’s certainly better for your career!
Sep 12th, 2007
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