The Phallic Frolics in the Engravings of Marc Brunier-Mestas

As known, Shunga prints tend to depict coupling couples, threesomes, or orgies and gang bangs. Besides these motifs, ranging from a happy sexual utopia to an elegant Sadean nightmare, many pictures in a pagan manner thematize male and female genitals, transforming them into animals, plants, mushrooms, gods, ghosts, etc. The French sculptor, engraver, and designer Marc Brunier-Mestas (b. 1968) creates linocuts resembling the humorous and grotesque eroticism of Shozan, Kuniyoshi, and many other masters of Shunga. Among his works, there is also an unavoidable little reference to the iconic Tako to Ama by Katsushika Hokusai.

Fig. 1. Marc Brunier-Mestas, 2017 (trombino.clermont-filmfest.org)

Fig. 2. Homage to Hokusai (Instagram.com)

Fig. 3. Threesome (facebook.com)

Fig. 4. facebook.com

Fig. 5. facebook.com

Fig. 6. Carved image (facebook.com)

Fig. 7. Dream, attr. to Kunimori or Shozan (japanese-finearts.com)

Fig. 8. Facebook.com

Fig. 9. Frog Kiss (facebook.com)

Fig. 10. sterput.org

Fig. 11. The Heart (quiero.fr)

Alternative Printmaking

Marc Brunier-Mestas, who resides in mountainous Auvergne (southern France), was born in Clermont-Ferrand and received his artistic training at the local École des Beaux-Arts (graduated in 1993). Nowadays, he teaches at the School of Plastic Arts in Riom. Nurtured by the alma mater of many visual artists, Brunier-Mestas didn't follow in the footsteps of his mentors, seeking inspiration outside the classroom, namely, in the studio of Michel Brugerolles. His artistic career started from etching, then he focused on linocuts and, finally, began making woodblock prints when lino stopped being challenging enough (yet major part of the works presented here are linocuts). On many platforms, Brunier-Mestas is presented as the leader of the alternative French printmaking movement, which probably refers not as much to the technique as to the controversial content. In terms of topics, his main orienteers are Roland Topor and Robert Crumb, who are sarcastic, sacrilegious, and obsessed with sexuality in their works. Since 1994, the artist has had around forty solo exhibitions in France and abroad and participated in numerous group shows since 1991. His work was awarded several prizes, for instance, the Espoir Prize at the Prix des Volcans in 1999 and the Second Grand Prize at the Ex-Libris competition in 2002. As a sculptor, in 2019, he collaborated with architect Boris Bouchet on the memorial in Issoire, which was devoted to the history of this region in the XXth century. Besides, he was a co-director of two animated films, Jia (2017) and Cambouis (2021).

Fig. 12. “I am the Alpha and the Omega” (facebook.com)

Fig. 13. facebook.com

In the extended Premium edition we go deeper into the "phallic" aesthetics of Brunier-Mestas' linocuts, the thematic comparison with Topor,  and the dissimilarities between the two, the engraver's treatise L'Arcibras (The Archlimb), 107 additional pics., and more...!

Click HERE for the works of young Ukrainian artist Mykola Tolmachev

Sources: quiero.fr; artsfactory.net; facebook.com