Roger Szmulewicz — Arpaïs Du Bois : lustrer nos épines

, FIFTY ONE , 2023 Softcover, 159 pages, ENG / FR, 210 x 150 mm, New, ill. in colour. ISBN 9789463883276. The works of Arpaïs Du Bois are not merely pencil lines or brushstrokes on paper combined with tatters of text. They are the materialization and visualization of her spirit. The clear representation on paper of what happens in her head. That particular paper of her daily filled cahiers absorbs her confidences, her thoughts, her states of mind. That same paper has a rough time resisting how she brutalizes it with water, heat, countless layers of paint, ink, crayons, charcoal and other materials. But it has no choice, so it absorbs. In the same way as Arpaïs sponge-wise absorbs the world surrounding us. In both her books and exhibitions a plethora of works is important to the artist. She works a lot, compulsively, and it is determinant to show that abundance. In this second FIFTY ONE PUBLICATION of hers, we get back to her small-scale drawings, directly cut out of her booklets, whereas in SI NON LÀ, she fictionally staged her large drawings in a conceptual exercise of displaying space, scale and the dissemination of her works. I?m glad to invite you to take your time, take a deep breath, dive into a selection of work from 2022, and let it all sediment.