Text by Bernadette Chevillion, Alexis Forestier, Roger Gentis,
Henri-François Imbert, Sarah Lombardi, Michel Nedjar
and Michel Thévoz
This work, which accompanied the first monographic exhibition of works by André Robillard, organized by Collection de l’art brut, covers fifty years of original creations by a self-taught artist.
André Robillard (1931) makes rifles, planes, sputniks, and animals with waste materials and carved wood. These ingenious, complex creations have tremendous evocative power. Robillard also draws with felt-tip pens or coloured crayons in a wholly personal, poetic style. Fifty years after André Robillard made his first rifle, this lavishly illustrated book gathers together essays by several contributors who have known him personally and have had privileged access to him and his work, in many cases for several years
The book is accompanied by a DVD containing archive material and two documentary films by Henri-François Imbert.
Bernadette Chevillon has worked as a clinical psychologist for forty years. In 1992, with Lucien Bonnafé, she founded the Arimage association, whose aim is to promote artistic and cultural practices in psychiatry. She has been involved in several shows and exhibitions, some of which with André Robillard.
Alexis Forestier is a theatre director, builder, and musician, co-founding the company Les Endimanchés in 1993. His association with André Robillard led him to create two pieces together with the artist.
Sarah Lombardi is an art historian and has been Director of Collection de l’art brut since 2012. She became a research assistant in 2002 and later a curator, coordinating several exhibitions in the museum and abroad.
Michel Nedjar is a self-taught artist. His work has been included in the Daniel Cordier donation to the Centre Pompidou and in Collection de l’art brut, in Lausanne. In 1982, he co-founded the L’Aracine association, whose collections are now in the Lille Métropole Museum (LaM).
Michel Thévoz is an art historian and was one of the founder members of Collection de l’art brut, in Lausanne, becoming its first Director until 2001. He was also professor of Art History and Museology at Lausanne University from 1997 to 2001. Michel Thévoz is the author of some twenty books.