Sayart.net - Behind the Scenes: Master Lithographers Working with Contemporary Art Stars from Their Dordogne Workshop

Stéphane Guilbaud and Deborah Chaney split their time between New York and La Force, where they relocated their Parisian workshop at the beginning of this year. Operating between New York and La Force, these master craftsmen and art printers aren't afraid of making dramatic changes. Since the beginning of the year, they decided to relocate their French workshop to this small commune in Dordogne, just a few kilometers from Bergerac. The massive Voirin press, weighing more than 20 tons and built in 1880, left its Parisian workshop location in the Viaduc des Arts to be reassembled in this remote corner of the Bergerac region. In mid-July, American artist Ethan Murrow came to create some prints at La Force. In June, street artists from Los Angeles visited the workshop. French painters Daniel Authouart and Gérard Garouste are also regular visitors to the location. All of them absolutely love this Périgord countryside. "We keep them here partly through our printing work, but mostly through our food," jokes Stéphane Guilbaud with amusement. "Our project accelerated with COVID," explains Guilbaud, who has owned this house in La Force for twenty-four years. "We wanted a place where the machine wouldn't cost us rent. And personally, I was born in Paris, but I can't stand living there anymore." In New York, the two renowned lithographers are developing the same concept. They purchased a house a few kilometers from Manhattan to set up a second workshop with accommodation to host visiting artists. Married since 2019, Deborah Chaney and Stéphane Guilbaud dedicate their lives to printmaking, specifically lithography - a printing technique invented at the end of the 18th century by a German, which made it possible to print both images and text simultaneously. "The principle is simple," explains the specialist. "The artist draws on limestone with a greasy substance, then we add some chemistry and water. When we apply ink to the greasy material and press it, the drawing appears on paper." The press that serves as the centerpiece of their operation represents both their commitment to traditional craftsmanship and their connection to contemporary art creation. Notable artists who have worked with them include Pierre Alechinsky, Claude Viallat, Gérard Garouste, Robert Doisneau, Willy Ronis, and Édouard Boubat, among many others who have taken up their summer quarters in Dordogne. The workshop attracts artists from around the world, drawn not only by the expertise of these master lithographers but also by the peaceful rural setting that provides inspiration and respite from urban art centers. "We are backstage people," they say, describing their role in supporting and facilitating the creative work of internationally recognized contemporary artists. Their unique position allows them to work intimately with major figures in the art world while maintaining the traditional craft techniques that have defined lithography for centuries.