Atelier Clot – 125 years of lithography

With a one year delay, we are now celebrating Atelier Clot’s 125th anniversary. It is marked with a unique sales exhibition with original lithographs by Pierre Bonnard, Auguste Rodin, Renoir, Asger Jorn, Man Ray, Sigmar Polke, Wallace Ting, Kurt Trampedach, Pierre Alechinsky, Antonio Saura, Tom Krøjer, Kjell Nupen, Miquel Barceló, Francisco Toledo m.fl. All works have been printed at Atelier Clot in Paris for the past 125 years. In addition, we present all our recent releases with both Danish and international artists who have been to Paris in recent years. Among other things. Martin Bigum, Anette Harboe Flensburg, Morten Schelde, Paco Pomet, Jacob Rantzau, Peter Martensen, Ole Ahlberg, Marie-Dolma Chophel, Bjørn Nørgaard, Lars Nørgård.

Atelier Clot is today the world’s oldest lithographic workshop from 1896.
Founded by Auguste Clot, who was one of the most accomplished lithographers in Paris. His collaboration with one of the greatest art dealers of the time, Ambrosius Vollard, to publish art with artists such as Renoir, Degas and Toulouse Lautrec, made them known as the pioneers of stone printing as an art form. Thus, the foundation was laid for the amazing history of the workshop.

The high level continues !!
Time passed and in the late 1950s a young newly graduated lithographer, Peter Bramsen, came to Paris. He was educated by I. Christian Sørensen in Copenhagen. After a journeyman test with a bronze medal, he worked for a time in Copenhagen, but supported by a scholarship from the Craftsmen’s Bank and Knud Højgaard’s Foundation, he traveled to Paris in 1959 to further his education.

As early as 1963, Bramsen’s position as a lithographer was so firmly established that he was able to enter the lithographic business founded by Auguste Clot. The company had been inherited by the founder’s grandson, Guy Georges, who was not himself a professional. Peter Bramsen quickly became a partner in the old workshop. In 1965, Clot, Bramsen & Georges were founded and Bramsen became artistic and professional leader. He is credited with giving the workshop at that time again the status of Paris’ finest art printing house. And the workshop now occupies a prominent position in European graphics.

The first Bramsen to print is Arne Haugen Sørensen, who is still associated with the printing house. Later it is artists like Asger Jorn and most others of the CoBrA group who have their work in the workshop. But artists from all over the world come to Atelier Clot to print. Paris is in the 60s is a melting pot of graphic art. In the late 60s, the workshop moved to its current address in the Marais district. Very central in the city.

Particularly remarkable is the close collaboration Peter Bramsen has with Asger Jorn. The collaboration between Peter Bramsen and Asger Jorn is an important part of Atelier Clot’s history. manifested itself in the famous color woodcut series Etudes et surprises from 1972. Asger Jorn managed to make approx. 65 of his last best works in the last 7 years of his life.

Other Danish artists who have benefited from Bramsen’s high professional and technical level combined with the workshop’s inspiring atmosphere include Ejler Bille, Mogens Andersen, Egil Jacobsen, Carl-Henning Pedersen and Bjørn Nørgaard. Over the years, 3-400 foreign artists also managed to work in the workshop with Bramsen. Among other things. such as Pierre Alechinsky, Corneille and Antonio Saura and others.

The son Christian Bramsen became a partner in 1988 and he is the guarantor that the high standard continues. Christian is a trained book printer and lithographer in France. And thus continues the high professional and artistic level. Most recently, the third generation of the Bramsen family has joined the company. Christian’s son Victor is a trained art dealer in France, and is the daily manager of the gallery in Paris.

The workshop in Paris has been represented in Denmark for over 30 years. In 2004 Morten Brunholt takes over the representation of the workshop and publisher in Scandinavia. In 2013, Morten and Christian set up the Danish publishing house Atelier Clot, Bramsen & Brunholt. The publisher publishes Danish and international art in the highest quality. And since 2021, the lithographs have been displayed in the gallery on Frederiksø in Svendborg, which is led daily by Charlotte and Morten Brunholt.

The close relationship with Danish artists continues to this day, where the workshop still likes to invite Danish artists on a work stay to Paris, to work on Clot’s old limestone. History exudes and the inspiration is great when the artists visit the workshop in the Marais district. They become part of the same story that Renoir, Degas, Munch have created. Today, artists such as Martin Bigum, Jacob Rantzau, Anette Harboe Flensburg, Mie Mørkeberg, Peter Martensen, Morten Schelde have their walk in the workshop.

Come down to the harbor in Svendborg and experience the whole exciting story.
The exhibition will run until October 8, 2022.

On 12 February, the solo exhibition »Bjørn Nørgaard – Grafiske Arbejder« opens in the gallery at Atelier Clot, Bramsen & Brunholt on Frederiksø 16A. Graphics from 5 decades will be shown here. The exhibition runs until April 2, 2022.

It is with great joy and pride that we can welcome this solo exhibition with lithographs through five decades by Bjørn Nørgaard. He has become an integral part of Atelier Clot’s history. Over the years, he has performed works in the workshop in Paris that both provoke, amaze and excite. Right from the work »My grandmother’s allotment garden house« from 1978, which oozes cosiness to the work »The War« from 2015, which focuses on the horrors of war, and with the counterpart or perhaps the solution the work »The Woman«, as the peace-creating goal. Dare to focus on such large and sensitive topics is admirable and important – and Bjørn Nørgaard does.

The main work in the exhibition is the series: »Triptych, War, Woman, Peace« which consists of four series in four sizes – X, Y, Z and Æ.

Triptych is Greek and means triple. In the Middle Ages it was used about a three-winged altarpiece where the side wings are closed over the middle part. In modern art, this triptych motif is used as a mini-cartoon, where the three images form an epic sequence.

Bjørn Nørgaard says: “In 2014, I was in Dresden to see a large exhibition about a triptych of Otto Dix ‘The War’ with all the preparatory work, cartons and documentation from World War I, a number of sketches were made in the trenches. As the concept of war has moved close to Europe, and we can discuss whether World War III has been going on for a number of years, the visit to Dresden was a study visit with the aim of performing a triptych as a lithograph by Christian Bramsen and friends in Paris.

“The War – The Woman – Peace”, in contrast to Otto Dix “The War” is an attempt to discuss that we have a choice, the war is not a deterministic condition, but at best part of a political process, and the understanding of that the horror of war is never a solution, but that the feminine and peace are the goal, despite the censorship of time of everything and everyone, the artist maintains the woman who bears the fruit of love and peace where this fruit unfolds in the future.

In this triptych’s diversity of layers and images, it is suggested that we must interpret ourselves into the world, there are no simple answers to the complexity of the global reality we live in, the responsibility lies with the individual, it means all of us. ”

In addition to this strong work and important message, the exhibition offers i.a. on works such as »Gulvet til Proviantgården« – a beautiful lithograph which shows the decoration in Proviantgården, which Bjørn Nørgaard made in the 1990s. Proviantgården was built by Christian the 4th in 1604 and today houses members of parliament.

“Notes from Paris” – 45 lithographic works created in Paris during the period he worked with the Queen’s tapestries. The brand new lithograph entitled “D’Ur à Canaan” – inspired by the German author Thomas Mann’s stories about Joseph and his brothers.

We look forward to showing the exciting exhibition, which hides countless stories from Bjørn Nørgaard’s universe. Some are told and others are left to the individual’s imagination and interpretation. The exhibition will be shown until 2 April in the gallery in Svendborg. Well met!

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FACTS

• Professor and sculptor Bjørn Nørgaard was born in 1947.
• Lives and works in Copenhagen, on Møn and in Berlin. Member of the Ex-School.
• Professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen. Former Professor at CNAA, China National Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. Former Visiting Professor at Trondheim Art Academy, Norway; Oslo Academy of Fine Arts, Norway; Rijksakademiet i Amsterdam, Holland; Academy in Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.

In 1896, Auguste Clot founded our lithographic workshop – he was one of the first to use lithography as an art form, with the aim of making art accessible to a wider audience. Back then, it was artists like Renoir, Degas and Toulouse Lautrec who suddenly became available to art lovers who only dared to dream of owning works of these names. But it was not only the price that made lithography the popular medium it is today. The textural expression in the cotton paper with the saturated color layer, the precise reproduction of the artist’s drawing on the stone has made the art form a popular choice for artist as well as collector.

Today, it is still a popular choice. The artist is given the opportunity to challenge himself with a technique that, for most, is located a bit outside his own comfort zone. Here it is a very close collaboration between lithographer and artist that gives the perfect result. To dare to let go of control a bit and see how a lithograph is built up color after color – to finally appear as a perfect and finished work!

In the decor, the lithograph is also an obvious choice. In modern decor, art has become an increasingly integrated part of the expression. Art is no longer something you only see in museums and galleries. It is possible to acquire good art for its interior which is not just a decoration, but something that tells a story and has a meaning. Here, our lithographs are obvious choices. The selection is large. There are lithographs for the Nordic muted interior and there is art for the more expressive expression.

Our series Éditions Petit is a series of small lithographs which are especially suitable for decorating the home. These are original lithographs in smaller formats, all of which are printed in small editions at our lithographic workshop in Paris. Each lithograph is signed and numbered by the artist and framed in exclusive frame. Our handmade frame is some of the finest craftsmanship you can find. The materials are carefully selected and composed so that it highlights the lithograph in the best way. The frame is made of solid linden wood with ebony inlays. The glass strip is in solid oak.

We are pleased that interior designer Katrine Martensen-Larsen has seen the potential in this particular series. Katrine Martensen-Larsen has just published the book LIVING WITH ART – a book that inspires the reader to use art as a personal expression in interior design. Katrine has almost 30 years of experience in helping Danes with interior design. She has inspired us through her books and broadcasts, where she has shown that interior design is more about personality than what is “right and wrong”. Now our series Éditions Petit can also be purchased from Katrine. She has selected her personal favorites that fit with what she herself stands for in her work. Namely the personal together with the monochrome, Nordic and cool look – see which of our lithographs Katrine has chosen…

Éditions Petit – Katrine Martensen-Larsen

Atelier Clot in Paris has existed since 1896 and has since the 1960s been Danish owned by the internationally renowned art printers and lithographers Peter Bramsen and later his son Christian Bramsen. Peter Bramsen now lives in Svendborg. Christian Bramsen is responsible for the daily operations in Paris. The Danish publisher, Atelier Clot, Bramsen & Brunholt, which is owned by Christian Bramsen and Morten Brunholt from Lundeborg on Funen, has in the Nordic countries for the last 15 years presented the works, all printed in Paris, at personal visits and fairs. Now is the time to open a gallery and expand the printing business in Denmark.

Over the past year, Atelier Clot has been looking for the right premises. So when Svendborg Municipality sought partners to make “Frederiksø Kunst & Kultur” Svendborg’s cultural and maritime gathering point for the citizens, we could immediately see that we wanted something to contribute here. That the area, which was previously the address for Svendborg Shipyard, is absolutely fantastic with the maritime environment and soul made this the perfect place for Atelier Clot! We are confident that we will be an asset to the community and see it as a unique opportunity to get Danish and international art to not just Frederiksø, but to Svendborg. This will attract audiences and artists from Denmark, France and the rest of Europe.

THE PROJECT »PARIS COMES TO FREDERIKSØ«
Our ambitions with this project are to create a cultural space that both focuses on preserving and developing the old craft lithography and at the same time provide the users of Frederiksø with artistic experiences of international class. Through our large network, we will invite Danish and internationally renowned artists to work in the workshop and at the same time give them the opportunity to exhibit the works that are produced. The gallery will exhibit works with the already associated artists such as. Professor Bjørn Nørgaard, sculptor; Martin Bigum, visual artist and known from the Art Quiz on DR and Lars Nørgård with whom we in 2017 published the world’s largest lithograph entitled The French Clot-Nection. The work can be experienced in the gallery in Svendborg.

It is also our ambition to make historical exhibitions in the gallery with i.a. the well-known artist faction COBRA group, which spoke members such as Asger Jorn, Pierre Alechinsky, Corneille, Carl-Henning Pedersen and others. who have all performed works at the workshop in Paris.

We will continuously set up new exhibitions. At least 4 times a year, openings will be arranged which will be open to all interested parties. It will be announced in the press and on social media. The exhibitions will then be available during the gallery’s opening hours. The gallery will be open all year round. In connection with the exhibitions, we will also arrange “talks”, where artists or other cultural personalities will talk about different themes within the art world. There will be open workshop days where interested parties can get to know the rare and exciting craft for free.

ATELIER CLOT – SINCE 1896
Atelier Clot is today the oldest workshop for printing original lithographs in Paris. The lithograph originated in 1796, when German Aloys Senefelder experimented with the technique, and initially used it as an inexpensive method of reproducing theater posters. 100 years later, the French lithographer Auguste Clot, as one of the first, opens his eyes to the technique as an independent art form. It became a great way to make original art – and at the same time make it accessible to a wider audience.

was founded by Auguste Clot back in late 18th century, where he was known as the Capital’s finest Art Printer. From 1896, the most beautiful masterpieces signed by Impressionists such as Degas, Cézanne, Renoir, Sisley, Redon, Bonnard, Vuillard, Signac, Munch, Rodin and many others were printed on Clots presses. Auguste Clot continued as manager of his studio until 1934, when his son André succeeded him, with rouault, Matisse, Denis, Roussel, Guillaumin, Foujita and others also working. Peter Bramsen became co-owner in 1963 and in 1965 the publishing house Éditions Atelier Clot was established.

The workshop moves in 1968 from Rue du Cherche-Midi to larger premises in Rue Vieille du Temple in the middle of the Marais district. Here come skilled craftsmen and renowned artists to work on stone. Among the names are Asger Jorn, Pierre Alechinsky, Bram Van Velde, Lindstrøm, Wyckaert, Pol Bury, Topor, Arman, Saura, Bjørn Nørgaard, Voss, Toledo, Michaux and others. Christian Bramsen became a partner in 1988 and he is a guarantee that the high standard will continue. Christian Bramsen is Internationally oriented, he arranges retrospective exhibitions all over the world, mostly focusing on a specific artist and his works created at the workshop.

In 2004, Morten Brunholt takes over the representation of the workshop and publishing house in Scandinavia. In 2013, Christian Bramsen and Morten Brunholt set up the Danish publishing house Atelier Clot, Bramsen & Brunholt.

In Easter 2021, a gallery and lithographic workshop will open on Frederiksø in Svendborg. The day-to-day managers are Charlotte and Morten Brunholt.

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FACTS
* Atelier Clot is Paris’ oldest art printing house.
* Atelier Clot, Bramsen & Brunholt are today owned and operated by Christian Bramsen who lives in Paris and Morten Brunholt who lives in Lundeborg on Funen.
* Over the years, the workshop has worked with Lautrec, Degas, Cézanne, Renoir, Sisley, Redon, Bonnard, Vuillard, Signac, Munch, Rodin, Rouault, Matisse, Denis, Roussel, Guillaumin, Foujita, Asger Jorn, Pierre Alechinsky, Bram Van Velde, Lindstrøm, Wyckaert, Pol Bury, Topor, Arman, Saura, Bjørn Nørgaard, Voss, Toledo, Michaux, Lars Nørgård, Martin Bigum, Peter Martensen, Mie Mørkeberg, Trine Boesen, Anette Harboe Flensburg m.fl.
* The gallery will open on April 2, 2021.
* See more at www.atelierclot.dk.

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CONTACT
Atelier Clot, Bramsen & Brunholt
Frederiksø 16A, 5700 Svendborg

Charlotte Brunholt, tel. 20766850
Morten Brunholt, tel. 60882670

galleri@atelierclot.dk
www.atelierclot.dk

We are very pleased to be able to say that Atelier Clot, Bramsen & Brunholt are now opening a physical gallery and lithographic workshop in Svendborg. The gallery will be located on Frederiksøen – part of Svendborg Harbor – in the old shipyard buildings. The location is completely unique in the middle of Svendborg’s unique maritime environment. We become part of Frederiksø Kunst og Kultur, which is a community of maritime professions and diverse cultural initiatives. We are very much looking forward to getting started and expect to be able to invite to the first vernissage the last weekend in February.

We have just had the pleasure of having a visit from Peter Martensen, who is in full swing performing new lithographs at the workshop in Paris. Peter was born in 1953 in Odense and educated at the Funen Art Academy in Odense 1971-1977 and the Art Academy in Copenhagen 1982-1984. He lives and works in Odsherred. Solo exhibitions around the world. This is Peter’s first visit to Paris, but we are already looking forward to welcoming him again soon.