Michel Bouvet: Posters, Sketches and Other Journeys

The gallery has acquired three original posters by Michel Bouvet, one of France’s most celebrated living poster artists. Each are large, linen-backed originals from the 1990s, the decade he twice won France’s top prize for the cultural poster.

Who is Michel Bouvet?

Born in Tunis in 1955 and trained as a painter at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, Bouvet designed the first Fête de la Musique poster, the Bicentenary of the French Revolution poster and, for twelve years, the identity of the Rencontres d’Arles. He has won the Grand Prix de l’Affiche Culturelle twice, and his work is held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Centre Pompidou.

Galerie Anatome, Paris, 2004

In 2004 Galerie Anatome gave Bouvet a solo show, Affiches, esquisses et autres voyages (Posters, Sketches and Other Journeys). Hung beside the sketches and travel notebooks behind them, his posters read as what they are: works of art made for the street.

Mois du Graphisme d’Échirolles, 1996

A poster made by a designer for designers. 1996 was the only year Bouvet designed the official poster for this renowned French graphic design festival, which he went on to curate from 2000 to 2018. It shows his signature blend of photography, collage and paint.

View and purchase Mois du Graphisme d’Échirolles: 1996 · 180 × 126 cm · linen-backed · AUD$1,800

Las Bodas de Fígaro, 1991

Made with Francis Laharrague for Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at Montevideo’s Teatro Solís, this poster says everything with one object: a shaving brush. Figaro is, after all, the barber of Seville. It is a rare original and a reminder of Bouvet’s long ties to Latin America.

View and purchase Las Bodas de Fígaro: 1991 · colour lithograph · 175 × 120 cm · linen-backed · AUD$1,900

Les Paravents, 1992

Jean Genet’s Les Paravents (The Screens) is one of the most explosive plays in French theatre. Set during the Algerian War, its 1966 Paris premiere was met with near-nightly riots. Bouvet’s 1992 poster, from the year of his second Grand Prix, gives this landmark of French theatre a striking image of its own.

View and purchase Les Paravents: 1992 · 180 × 126 cm · linen-backed · AUD$1,500

Why they matter

Bouvet strips a subject back to one striking idea, then renders it with a painter’s hand. These are large originals from the height of his prize-winning years, made to be seen at scale.

See them in the gallery

Both posters are available now at 1158 High Street, Armadale, and online. Contact info@letitiamorris.com for framing advice.