Georges Hugnet “Huit jours à Trébaumec”

Ubu Gallery

[Image: Georges Hugnet "Sur les conseils de son docteur" (circa 1933-36) Collage. 10 1/2 x 6 3/8 in.]

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Ubu Gallery presents an in-depth exhibition exploring the richness of Georges Hugnet’s Surrealist masterpiece, Huit jours à Trébaumec. Published in 1969 by Henri Mercher, the renowned bookbinder, the book appears as a Guide Rose Micheline, a clever parody of the popular Baedeker, Guide Michelin Rouge. In Hugnet’s satire, it is not a Michelin man, but a Michelin woman serving as a tour guide leading us through the fictional “Trébaumec” or as Hugnet called it, “the little lost town in Brittany, paradise regained.” In 1947, Hugnet (1906—1974) traveled along the coast of Brittany photographing his excursions and popular tourist attractions. He was so inspired by his wanderings that he combined earlier collages with newly made ones and sequenced the 82 chosen collages into a Surrealist drama with accompanying handwriten text. The collages depict humorous, racy and grotesque situations in and around Trébaumec, a word play on “good looking guy.” A gap of 22 years followed before the publication was finally realized. The exhibition, which opens on May 19th and runs through September 30th, will feature various examples of the book, including an early maquette, one of the five deluxe copies containing 82 original photographs of the collages, and one of the 10 “semi-deluxe” copies specially bound by Mercher. Eighty-two vintage photographs of the collages acquired from the estate of Hugnet will be available for sale individually and will present the entire sequence of images from the book. Also on display will be 12 of the original collages, as well as ephemera surrounding the book. Gallery hours are 11:00 AM—6:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Ubu Gallery is located at 416 East 59th Street between First Avenue and Sutton Place. For further information or for visuals, please contact Lauren Oliver at (212) 753 4444 or info@ubugallery.com.