SCHÖFFER, Nicolas. Conversations with Jean-Louis Ferrier. - Lot 286

SCHÖFFER, Nicolas. Conversations with Jean-Louis Ferrier. First edition of these artistic dialogues, illustrated by Nicolas Schöffer with a frontispiece made of Plexiglas and aluminum, as well as three color silkscreen prints, numbered and signed by him. S.l. [Paris], Denoël, 1975. Folio-sized loose-leaf volume in a plain, padded paper slipcase, housed in a violet cloth slipcase lined with gray felt, featuring the title in white on the spine and a three-tone anodized aluminum plate (“multiple”) on the front cover. 55 pp. - 4 unnumbered folios, a color frontispiece made of Plexiglas and aluminum, and three color silkscreen prints, all mounted on serpentine paper. Some stains and scuffing on the slipcase, including a water stain at the top of the front cover. First edition of this work, laid out and illustrated by Nicolas Schöffer with a full-color aluminum and Plexiglas frontispiece set in a midnight blue satin frame (known as a “multiple”), signed and numbered in pen (117/125), as well as three original silkscreen prints, also in color, signed and numbered by hand by the artist. A second three-tone aluminum “multiple” is mounted on the front cover. Limited edition of 155 numbered copies on pure-rag Arches vellum; this is one of the 125 available for sale (no. 117). Nicolas Schöffer (1912–1992) is one of the leading figures of kinetic art in France. This modern illustrated book consists of three dialogues with art historian Jean-Louis Ferrier (1926–2002) on time, perturbation (within Schöffer’s work), and art and society. The three silkscreen prints, signed and beautifully executed, elegantly reflect Schöffer’s cybernetic approach through a play of geometric repetitions and chromatic tensions reminiscent of Op Art. A beautiful art book in very good condition.