In June, Page Not Found brings illustrative arts into focus, for their strong affinities with publishing, and their influence as a rich field of experimentation, which permeates graphic design and contemporary art. The third event of this focus will see the launch of the latest issue of Lagon Revue, entitled Marécage, in the presence of its art directors, Alexis Beauclair and Sammy Stein. They will also present their latest individual works.
Lagon is a prospective comic book magazine exploring new forms of graphic narration. It hosts what has been designated as a new school of abstract formalism: The magazine has been the echo chamber of a group of young illustrators, who favour sequences of drawings with a geometric and minimalist style, with little or no narrative, but for the unfolding of a process. The magazine is bilingual (French and English) and takes a new name with each new issue. To produce this issue, different printing techniques were used (risograph, offset, and silkscreen), and the resulting prints, assembled.
Alexis Beauclair (b. 1986) is a French drawing artist. His work includes drawings, comics and commissioned illustrations for such publications as The New York Times, New Yorker and Bloomberg Businessweek. He self-publishes his drawing zines and mini-comics in his risograph print studio, Papier Machine, co-founded with Bettina Henni in 2012. He has also produced comics, children’s books and illustrated books with publishers. His “Vanishing Perspective” collection of comics was published in United States by 2dcloud in 2018. His work on comics is focused on minimalism, questioning reading and the comics’ medium, while trying to refine and reveal the pure mechanics of the comic form. He is also co-editor of the international comics anthology “Lagon,” founded in 2014.
Sammy Stein is a French artist and publisher. His books, published by Editions Matière (FR), Calipso (COL) or by himself, combine narrative experiences and graphic minimalism. His publications, installations and ephemera sculptures — in which books often play a central role — have been shown in the Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris (FR), Printed Matter (USA), the French Institute of Tokyo (JP), Essential Store (JP), among others, and various international book fairs (New York Art Book Fair (USA), Tokyo Art Book Fair (JP), Safari (EN), Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême (FR)). He regularly collaborates with international magazines and institutions such as MACVAL (FR). He is the co-founder of magazines Collection (interviews with contemporary artists, cartoonists, graphic designer) and Lagon (contemporary and prospective comics).