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Collage is an artistic creation technique that consists of combining different

Visual fragments on a support to form a new composition, a new narrative. These fragments can be cut-out images, printed papers, pieces of text, textile or organic materials. More than just a technique, collage is an artistic language in its own right.

Collage differs from the technique of papiers collés, which are composed of fragments of various papers, newspaper excerpts, musical scores, onto which the artist often integrates other drawing materials such as paint, gouache, pastel, felt... Papiers collés do not include advertising images or photographs, unlike collage.

Born in the early 20th century within the European avant-garde, collage first gained prominence with Cubism, through the works of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. It was subsequently widely adopted by the Dadaists and Surrealists, who saw it as a means of disruption, provocation, play, and exploration of the unconscious. Artists such as Hannah Höch, Max Ernst, and Kurt Schwitters elevated collage to an art form, placing it at the heart of a process of recomposing reality.

Today, collage is used in many contemporary art movements. It allows for the blending of eras, styles, and textures, while producing a unique and visually striking work. The artist can combine the figurative and the abstract, text and image, the precious and the trivial.

It is an art of hybridization, of juxtaposition, of free association. The support for collage is extremely varied: canvas, wood, cardboard, paper, fabric. The gesture can be raw or meticulous, spontaneous or slowly constructed. The assemblage does not adhere to a single method. Some collages are linear and graphic, others more abundant, layered, textured. Within this diversity, some artists develop a singular approach, like Valérie B Cartier. Her works incorporate antique materials (engravings, book fragments, printed images) and supports chosen for their texture and history. The whole is carefully recomposed to bring forth a new composition, halfway between visual narrative and formal exploration.

Valérie B Cartier's original collages bear witness to this plastic and poetic research; they are designed to leave room for observation and slow contemplation.

Come and discover them on valeriebcartier.com ,