© Philippe Geluck
Le Chat is, as you may know, a comic strip by the Belgian cartoonist Philippe Geluck. It is one of the bestselling Franco-Belgian comics series. The title character, an adult, human-sized, anthropomorphic cat, first appeared in March 22, 1983 in a daily newspaper called « Le Soir ». Le Chat is deeply embedded in Belgian (and French) culture.
The character often comes up with elaborate reasonings which lead to hilariously absurd conclusions e.g. by taking metaphors literally or by adding increasingly unlikely what-ifs to ordinary situations. « Can we laugh about everything? » was wondering the French humorist Pierre Desproges. According to Philippe Geluck, the answer is yes! Le chat can be very controversial and politically incorrect which is something the cartoonist wanted to voice through his famous character. In regard to people who are uncomfortable with this belief, Geluck insists that “people who don’t like that we laugh about everything are people who have not completely resolved one problem or another.”
Not long ago, Geluck released his first publication in English which is great if you are worried about not understanding the subtle sense of humour in French! However by reading the comics in French (there are more than 20 albums) you could improve your understanding of the language and learn a lot about idiomatic expressions.
© Philippe Geluck
If you want to find out more about Le Chat and see some original drawings, The Huberty-Breyne gallery in Paris is currently presenting an exhibition dedicated to Geluck and his Cat.
Le Chat pays tribute to many artists such as Pollock, César, Klein, Munch or Mondrian. You will find many black and white drawings, original pages of the comic books but also videos. The website of the gallery offers a selection of drawings from the exhibition if you can’t make it but if you can, there is an opportunity to download your invitation online !
Practical Information :
Exhibition from 16 octobre – 29 novembre 2014
HUBERTY-BREYNE GALLERY PARIS (PETITS PAPIERS)
91 rue Saint-Honoré 75001 PARIS
Tél : 01 40 28 04 71 – www.hubertybreyne.com
Ouvert du mercredi au samedi de 11 h à 19 h
© Philippe Geluck
