Encrer le quotidien. L’estampe à portée de main

Warhol in your living room, Niki de Saint-Phalle in your bedroom, Soulages in your kitchen... From 1985 to 1993, the Toulouse Art Library made this dream a reality by lending works of art to the public. When it closed in 1995, the art library’s works were incorporated into the collections of Les Abattoirs, then a museum of modern and contemporary art in the making. Thirty years on, students on the Master’s programme in Art Professions: Curation, Documentation and Art Education have chosen this collection as the starting point for an exhibition offering a contemporary reinterpretation of printmaking. Works from the former Toulouse art library and more recent acquisitions by Les Abattoirs, alongside exceptional loans, create a dialogue between the history of images and the collections.

Inking the Everyday: Printmaking at Your Fingertips offers an immersive journey from the street to the private sphere, exploring the ways in which contemporary printmaking has established itself as the democratic medium par excellence. From depictions of urban landscapes to activist posters, from public collections to personal appropriation, the exhibition examines our relationship with art and its place in our lives.

In 2025, museum attendance in France reached a record high. Against this backdrop of enthusiasm for culture, the exhibition highlights the essential role of art libraries as community institutions. At a time when the Toulouse metropolitan area is preparing to welcome a new art library in Labège, the exhibition invites visitors to (re)discover this unique initiative.

Thanks to an exceptional loan of works and a layout designed specifically for the venue, the exhibition offers a journey that bridges public and private spaces, allowing visitors to appreciate the richness of contemporary printmaking.

To complement the exhibition, a rich programme of artistic and cultural events, entirely free of charge to all, is on offer: screen-printing workshops in collaboration with the Frissons et Hanneton association, linocut workshops, flash tours, themed tours...

Featuring works by: Sophie AGHAJANIAN • Jean-Paul ALBINET • Karel APPEL • Eduardo ARROYO (also known as Eduardo GONZALES-RODRIGUEZ) • Hiroshi ASADA • Mario AVATI • Jean BAZAINE (also known as Jean-René BAZAINE) • BENRATH • François BOISROND • José Manuel BROTO • Leonetto CAPPIELLO • CÉSAR (also known as César BALDACCINI) • Eduardo CHILLIDA • Antoni CLAVÉ • Daniel CLOCHEY • Sonia DELAUNAY • Hervé DI ROSA • Bertrand DORNY • DUL (Daniel BEUGNIOT, known as) • Christian D'ESPIC • Gérard FROMANGER • Monique FRYDMAN (Monique GRINFELD, known as) • Clara GAGET • Yarek GODFREY (Nowicki JAROSLAW PAWEL, known as)• Alma GRYGIER • Curt HAMNE • Jenny HOLZER • Philippe HORTALA • Michel KANTER • Sister Corita KENT (Frances Elizabeth KENT, known as) • Wifredo LAM (Wifredo Oscar DE LA CONCEPCIÓN LAM Y CASTILLA, known as) • Rose LECAT • Valentine LE RAY • Bengt LINDSTRÖM • François MALBREIL • André MASSON • MATTA (Roberto Sebastián Antonio MATTA ECHAURREN, known as) • Zwy MILSHTEIN • Jacques MURON • Ernest PIGNON-ERNEST • OX • Naftali RAKUZIN • Maya ROCHAT • Guy de ROUGEMONT • Jean-David SABAN • Jean SOLOMBRE (Jean RAIMOND, known as)