Fotokino

For many of us, Paul Cox is an inspiring divinity in the contemporary graphic arts field, regularly refreshing parts of the discipline. His poster series (for the Opéra de Nancy, the Théâtre Dijon Bourgogne, the Théâtre du Nord…), his children books and artist’s publications have left a mark on the landscape of graphic creation in the past twenty years. But when Paul Cox works as a graphic designer, he does so in the manner of Schwitters or Rodtchenko, endlessly experimenting, going back and forth from one artistic area to another. Not only has he designed costumes and sets for the stage, mostly in collaboration with choreographer Benjamin Millepied (Casse-Noisette, Petrouchka…), but he has also conceived several participative installations, from the memorable Jeu de construction (Centre Pompidou, 2005), to the recent Plans (Frac Bourgogne, 2013), by way of Exposition à faire soi-même (Centquatre, 2008).

As an underlying art in all the areas he explores, painting has become his primary preoccupation in recent years. Graphic design, books, installations, volumes, scenography… all these artistic practices are founded on the basic principles of painting and drawing, to which he devotes himself each day: proportions, angles, precision, values, colors, method, etc.

The landscape, particularly that of the Marseilles region, is an inexhaustible container of shapes for his work. It contains his aesthetic and sensitive preoccupations, and becomes the subject matter of a learning process that nourishes his entire work.

The “meanderings” promised by the exhibition can thus be seen as the luxury he grants himself every day, a disposition of mind which is necessary to reach the heart of his practice. One thinks of Brancusi’s words: “Doing beautiful things is nothing, the difficulty is bringing oneself in the state of doing beautiful things.”