Michel Parmentier.
Décembre 1965 – 20 novembre 1999
Une rétrospective
A monograph on the French painter Michel Parmentier (1938-2000) adeptly combines the genres of catalogue and archive book. The abstract paintings, with their often muted colours, are arranged chronologically and presented in generously proportioned formats with plenty of white space. They are separated by double pages mostly occupied by black-and-white background materials such as photographs of the artist, exhibition posters, invitation cards, reviews, notes and online sources (the latter re-set on black surfaces). This returns the paintings to the context of their creation: a period - especially during the 1960s and 1970s - dominated by collective forms of working and performative exhibition formats. The unconventional, almost square format and the narrow, compact blocks of text with copious amounts of white space pick up on formal aspects of the work without impairing readability. The expressive font is carefully deployed, thus ensuring it does not compete with the work itself. This is a raw and direct book with a strong presence.
