2023-2025 dynamic

THE PURCHASE OF THE BUILDING: A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY SEIZED

Eugène Dufrénoy’s family had owned the storied workshop building all this time. After renting it to art printer Idem for 25 years, they decided in autumn 2022 to put it up for sale. A gem such as this, in the heart of historic Paris, was bound to attract a great deal of interest, and not just from within the art world.

The team at the endowment fund saw this as an opportunity rather than a threat: a chance for them to preserve this space and secure its future in the art world. Their target: 7 million euros in the space of a few short months!

Under the patronage of David Lynch, the endowment fund “L’Imprimerie d’Art de Montparnasse”, in keeping with its public-interest purpose, became the flagship of the acquisition project.

In just nine months, a circle of pioneering donors/investors/lenders discreetly raised the funds needed to sign the deed of purchase on 5 July 2023.

THE ENDOWMENT FUND AS PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDER

The aim is to enable the endowment fund to become the main shareholder in the workshop in order to :

– Protect the workshop from real-estate investors
– Allows us to pursue collegial governance
– Give us full control over the renovations.

The priority is to repay the loans that enabled the acquisition of the premises, to widen the circle of donors and investors, and to launch the first renovation projects for the premises and for the general interest.

Fundraising target : €4M

  • Donations in priority & investments.

RESTORE THE GLASS ROOF AND INSULATION

The natural light that is key to seeing colours as they truly are streams into the workshop through its glass roof dating from 1881. This architectural feat is testament to the progress in metalworking techniques at that time – as epitomized by Gustave Eiffel – and is the perfect pairing to the metal columns that punctuate the space below.

But time and the elements have taken their toll on this magnificent roof structure. The scars left on the metalwork by scaffolding tell of multiple façade and roof renovations. The iron skeleton framing each pane of glass has begun to warp and is no longer weatherproof. These days, we have to be careful where we store things in the workshop to make sure they don’t get water damaged when it rains. Some of the panes are still the original cathedral glass, which is no longer up to code.

Thanks to recent technological advances, we can now renovate the glass roof without detracting from its historic value.

Insulation is the second major priority. The brick walls and wooden beams of the 1881 construction provide scant thermal comfort. There is no roof insulation and no double glazing. The heat loss is staggering, but could be vastly reduced with some essential insulation work.

Fundraising target: €1,2M

  • Renovation of the glass roof: €600K
  • Other priority work (insulation, etc.): €600K

CHAMPIONING CONTEMPORARY ART CREATION

They all say the same, no matter where they’ve come from: there’s nowhere else quite like it; nowhere else that keeps such historic presses running for today’s artists. This is an exceptional creative space, equipped with everything they could want or need.

It is this rich blend of traditional expertise and innovative and experimental new techniques we offer contemporary artists.

In 2013, L’Imprimerie d’Art de Montparnasse acquired a remarkable lithographic printing press for the workshop, saving it from the scrapyard: a Double Grand Monde, measuring an impressive 6.5 m in length and weighing in at 16.5 metric tons. This extremely rare printing press has now been in operation at the workshop for a number of years and has become a particular favourite of artists such as William Kentridge, David Lynch and Paul McCarthy. Other presses are in line for refurbishment, including a historic collotype press acquired from Arte, another Parisian print shop.

A black & white silver photographic laboratory has recently been installed.

Piero Crommelynck’s widow recently donated her late husband’s intaglio presses, used by Picasso, Giacometti and other artists. The hope is that her donation will rekindle interest in the increasingly rare technique of photogravure: flatbed photo printing on copper plates.

The aim of the Endowment Fund is to restore and acquire these presses, and to finance grants and residencies for young contemporary artists.

Fundraising target: €400K

  • Residency grants for young artists: €200K  for 2-year residencies, starting in 2024.
  • Restoration and recommissioning of the collotype press : €100K
  • Installation of a photogravure workshop: : €100K

PASSING ON SKILLS ALIKE

Over the years, the workshop has attracted a new generation of printers and built up unique expertise and a wealth of experience in the process, not only in lithographic printing but also in other art printing techniques such as linocutting and woodcutting. Each new addition to the team adds their own skills to the mix.

Good vocational training in lithographic printing is becoming increasingly hard to find. The prestigious Ecole Estienne has phased out its courses, leaving no more than a handful of art schools imparting the basics. Well aware of the years of training that go into becoming proficient in this trade, our master printers have decided to do something about this.

L’Imprimerie d’Art de Montparnasse gives old hands the opportunity to train young apprentices, passing on their invaluable know-how and halting the slow but steady loss of skills in its tracks. The endowment fund also plans to offer grants for lithographic printers and forge partnerships with art schools to get directly involved in training in this field.

Fundraising target: €200K

  • Grants for lithographic printers, support for vocational training and skills retention: €200 K over 2 years