A pioneer in comic books and mentor to younger generations, Chantal Montellier is recognised as one of the great authors of French-language comic books. This monograph offers a comprehensive review of her work, highlighting the diversity, richness and artistic qualities of her committed and visionary oeuvre through a selection of plates from out-of-print or unpublished albums, numerous texts (also unpublished or inaccessible), and a series of interviews.
Edited by Vanina Géré, Camille Debrabant and Camille de Singly at Presses du réel in partnership with Villa Arson, this edition follows on from the exhibition« Qui a peur de Chantal Montellier ? » presented at Villa Arson in 2024 and shown in a capsule format for the summer programme at MAMCO in 2023.
The book
Chantal Montellier is recognised as one of the great authors of French-language comics. Translated into several languages since her debut in the 1970s, her works were published very early on in major comic book magazines: Charlie Mensuel, Métal Hurlant, Ah! Nana, (À Suivre)… and by her main publishers: Les Humanoïdes associés, Futuropolis, Dargaud, Casterman and Actes Sud. Featured in major historical comic book exhibitions, they were the subject of a solo exhibition entitled ‘Qui a peur de Chantal Montellier ?’ (Who’s afraid of Chantal Montellier?) at MAMCO Geneva in 2023 and at Villa Arson Nice in 2024.
Committed, visionary, and graphically highly experimental, Chantal Montellier received significant critical acclaim early on, but this often focused on her activism and did not pay enough attention to her artistic qualities, which had been appreciated since her first publications. Without overlooking this crucial militant dimension, which is reaching a new audience, this monograph aims to offer a comprehensive reinterpretation of Chantal Montellier’s work. It draws on the analyses of a dozen contributors and the reissue of certain historical texts that shed light on the author’s critical history.
The book also features the first reprint of La Mare rouge, a story published in 1984-1985 in the magazine Révolution. More broadly, pride of place is given to images, original plates and edited plates. As a counterpoint to the exhibition “Who’s Afraid of Chantal Montellier? ‘, which sought to showcase the artist’s work by creating connections, associations and montages based on original plates, prints and documents assembled mainly on large tables, this book includes a section entitled ’Visual Essays”, which aims to produce a complementary critical analysis through juxtaposition and imagery.
This collective monograph is intended as a tribute to Chantal Montellier, celebrating her radicalism and artistic power. It is part of a matrimonial approach and aims to convey and recall her committed genius.
Edited by
Camille Debrabant holds a PhD in art history and is a member of AICA. She teaches at ENSAD Nancy and is a regular contributor to Artpress. Her research focuses primarily on the circulation of images and the renewal of contemporary pictorial practices in the digital environment.
Vanina Géré holds a PhD in English Studies and Art History. She teaches art history at Villa Arson and works as an art critic and translator. She has published two books on the work of Kara Walker.
Camille de Singly holds a PhD in contemporary art history and is a graduate of the École du Louvre and postgraduate studies in museology. She teaches design history and comic book history at the Bordeaux School of Fine Arts. She has co-edited several collective works on Fabcaro, Gilbert Shelton and the constitution of a comic book matrimoine (Les presses du réel, 2024).
Contributions
Soph R. Barthélémy, Rosa Brux, Camille Debrabant, Valentina Denzel, Mira Falardeau, Vanina Géré, Thierry Groensteen, Francis Lambert, Bruno Lecigne, Philippe Marion, Chantal Montellier, Peggy Pierrot, Camille de Singly, Philippe Sohet, Jean-Pierre Tamine, Frédéric Wecker.
Acknowledgements
The book received support from MAMCO Geneva, Villa Arson, Énsad Nancy, the Michalski Foundation and Rosa Brux.
Technical details
French edition
17 x 24 cm (paperback)
368 pages (illustrated)
Price: €28.00