Emanata*, Œuvres d’art imprimé

*symbolic signs (lines of speed, drops of sweat, spiral of dizziness or madness, etc.) "emanating" from a character to manifest an emotion or movement [source: citebd.org]

The Centre national des arts plastiques (Cnap), in partnership with the Association de développement et de recherche sur les artothèques (ADRA) and the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image, presents " Emanata*, Œuvres d'art imprimé", an exhibition inviting the public to discover the works of the twelve winners of the Commande nationale d'estampes (National Print Commission), produced as part of "BD 2020, l'année de la bande dessinée", which testify to the singularity of contemporary creation and images.

The presentation of all the original prints is held at the DRAWING FACTORY from 15 to 30 September 2021.

In the continuity of the State's commissions in the field of prints and multiple prints, this commission launched on the initiative of the Ministry of Culture in November 2020, and carried out by the Cnap, in partnership with ADRA and the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image, encourages the vitality of contemporary creation in the field of visual arts and comics. In this way, the selected artists affirm their belonging to the imagination and codes of comic strip and graphic image and develop prospective and experimental research.

Following on from "Nouvelles vagues" (2018) and numerous other commissioned programs since 1989, this selection reflects the plurality of expressions and visual languages related to images and comics, as well as techniques and know-how: lithography, silkscreening, intaglio, linocut, letterpress printing on manual presses, etc. Emanata* creates bridges between artists and craftsmen, encouraging exchanges and encounters. The works also show the great diversity of contemporary creation in the landscape of the French art scene and more particularly that of drawing.

The works produced are kept in the collections of the Cnap, the art libraries and the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image and thus enrich a living heritage. Intended to be widely distributed, the six hundred and sixty-five prints are made available both to the administrations or services of the State but also to the borrowers of the art libraries. This second partnership with ADRA – the first to have led to the commission of multiple "Quotidien" in 2019 – once again makes it possible to circulate works from the collective space to that of the intimate and thus reach a wider audience.