CDLA

The Centre des livres d'artistes, commonly known as CDLA, is a French cultural institution dedicated to the artist's book as an independent form of contemporary art and publication. It is based in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche in the Limousin region, approximately 40 kilometres southwest of Limoges. Its activities combine the functions of a specialist collection, exhibition venue, research and interpretation centre, publisher, and host for artist residencies. CDLA's institutional history grew out of the First Biennial for Artist's Books, held in Uzerche in 1989. That event was connected to the Pays-Paysage association, founded in 1979 by the artist Henri Cueco, and developed through twelve editions that generated catalogues and helped establish a sustained regional platform for artist-book practices. The Centre itself was established in 1994, transforming the biennial's accumulated knowledge and materials into a permanent institution. Since 2005, CDLA has operated from a building in the historic centre of Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche. The premises include three exhibition rooms, facilities for presenting video and audio material, collection storage, an educational-activities room, and offices. The institution also supports artist residencies, allowing artists to develop or present work in a setting focused specifically on the material, visual, textual, and sequential dimensions of the book. A central part of CDLA's identity is its collection. The institution holds approximately 6,000 items associated with around 600 French and international artists. The collection is broad in medium and format, including artists' books, magazines, posters, prints, postcards, CDs, and DVDs. It contains important groups relating to Fluxus, concrete poetry, and the work of individual artists. Its holdings include a substantial body of publications by the Dutch artist Herman de Vries, described in the reference material as the largest such collection in France, as well as major groups devoted to artists including Eleanor Antin, Ida Applebroog, Irma Blank, Barbara Bloom, Alighiero Boetti, Marinus Boezem, Christian Boltanski, Ulises Carrión, Claude Closky, Hanne Darboven, Mirtha Dermisache, Hamish Fulton, Richard Long, Annette Messager, Olaf Nicolai, Richard Nonas, Maria Nordman, Martha Rosler, Dieter Roth, Claude Rutault, Ben Vautier, and Lawrence Weiner. The institution presents as many as four exhibitions a year, generally combining historical figures, internationally active contemporary artists, and focused investigations into publishing and artist-book practices. Exhibitions and related programming may include artist talks, lectures, expert discussions, and screenings or presentations of audio-visual documents. Examples cited in the reference material include exhibitions involving Pol Bury in 2022, Carolee Schneemann in 2020, the collective Crass in 2018, and Herman de Vries in 2015. CDLA also publishes artists' books, essays, monographic studies, exhibition catalogues, and catalogue raisonné material. Its publishing programme has included a 2005 catalogue raisonné on Herman de Vries, publications concerning Mirtha Dermisache, Claude Rutault, Paul-Armand Gette, Peter Downsbrough, Claude Closky, and Elsa Werth, among others. Through these activities, CDLA functions not as a commercial consumer brand but as a specialist cultural platform preserving and circulating experimental forms of publishing. The institution is led by Didier Mathieu, who is also associated with the Sixtus publishing house.

CDLA's roots lie in the development of artist-book activity in the Limousin region during the late twentieth century. The Pays-Paysage association, founded in 1979 by artist Henri Cueco, helped create a local cultural framework for interdisciplinary artistic work. In 1989, the association collaborated with the city of Uzerche on the First Biennial for Artist's Books. The biennial became a recurring event and eventually ran for twelve editions, producing catalogues and bringing together artists, publishers, researchers, and audiences interested in the artist's book. The experience accumulated through the biennial provided the basis for a permanent institution. The Centre des livres d'artistes was established in 1994 with a mission extending beyond temporary exhibitions: it would preserve a significant body of artists' books, provide a venue for public presentation, and support study of the form's history and contemporary development. The institution's subject is deliberately broad. Its collection encompasses not only conventional bound books but also magazines, posters, prints, postcards, audio recordings, video-related materials, and other forms of experimental publication. In 2005, CDLA moved into a building in the historic centre of Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche. The purpose-built institutional arrangement provided three exhibition rooms, collection storage, facilities for audio and video presentations, an educational room, and administrative offices. The move strengthened CDLA's role as a permanent cultural venue rather than a periodic event. It also enabled the institution to combine exhibitions with educational programming, public discussions, and artist residencies. The collection became one of the Centre's principal distinguishing assets. Reference material describes approximately 6,000 works by about 600 French and international artists, making it one of France's largest specialist collections of artists' books. Its holdings include early Fluxus documentation from the 1960s, an extensive group of publications by Herman de Vries, a major international collection relating to concrete poetry, and sizeable bodies of work by numerous influential artists. The collection's scale allows CDLA to connect individual publications with wider histories of conceptual art, poetry, post-war experimentalism, independent publishing, and the changing relationship between image and text. Exhibitions are another core part of the Centre's history and public identity. CDLA can present up to four exhibitions annually. The programme has included exhibitions focused on internationally recognized artists and movements, while associated talks, lectures, panels, and documentary presentations provide context for the objects on display. Examples recorded in the source material include programmes involving Herman de Vries in 2015, Crass in 2018, Carolee Schneemann in 2020, and Pol Bury in 2022. Publishing has developed alongside collecting and exhibiting. CDLA produces artists' books, exhibition catalogues, monographs, essays, and catalogue raisonné publications. Notable cited publications include the 2005 Herman de Vries catalogue raisonné with CD-ROM; a 2008 publication concerning Mirtha Dermisache; a 2011 publication on Claude Rutault; a 2012 volume on Paul-Armand Gette; a 2015 publication by Peter Downsbrough; a 2017 publication by Claude Closky; and a 2020 publication by Elsa Werth. These publications extend the Centre's work beyond its physical premises and provide durable scholarly and artistic records. Didier Mathieu is identified as the director of CDLA and is also the founder of the Sixtus publishing house. Under its continuing institutional model, CDLA operates as a regional French cultural organization with an international artistic scope, maintaining a specialized collection while commissioning, presenting, publishing, and interpreting artists' books.

• 2005

  Move to historic-centre premises in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche

  [1]Centre des livres d'artistesen.wikipedia.org

  CDLA began operating from a dedicated building with exhibition galleries, storage, audio-visual facilities, educational space, and offices.

• 1994

  CDLA established

  [1]Centre des livres d'artistesen.wikipedia.org

  The Centre des livres d'artistes was created as a permanent institution devoted to collecting and exhibiting artists' books.

• 1989

  First Biennial for Artist's Books held in Uzerche

  [1]Centre des livres d'artistesen.wikipedia.org

  The first Uzerche biennial, organized with Pays-Paysage and the city, established a recurring platform for artists' books and generated a series of catalogues over twelve editions.

• 1979

  Pays-Paysage association founded

  [1]Centre des livres d'artistesen.wikipedia.org

  The association associated with the later development of the CDLA was founded by artist Henri Cueco, creating an organizational foundation for regional artistic and cultural projects.

A specialist French cultural institution positioned at the intersection of contemporary art, independent publishing, archival collection, and public interpretation. CDLA emphasizes the artist's book as both an art object and a vehicle for experimentation in language, image, sequence, material, and distribution.

• Collection · 1994

  Artists' book collection

  CDLA maintains a specialist collection of approximately 6,000 works associated with around 600 French and international artists. The holdings extend across artists' books, magazines, posters, prints, postcards, CDs, and DVDs, with particular strengths in Fluxus documentation, concrete poetry, Herman de Vries, and major modern and contemporary artists.

• Exhibitions · 1994

  Exhibition programme

  The Centre organizes up to four exhibitions a year concerning artists' books and related contemporary-art practices. Exhibitions may be accompanied by talks, lectures, expert panels, screenings, and presentations of audio or video documents.

• Art publishing

  CDLA publications

  CDLA publishes artists' books, monographs, essays, exhibition catalogues, and catalogue raisonné projects. The programme has included publications on Herman de Vries, Mirtha Dermisache, Claude Rutault, Paul-Armand Gette, Peter Downsbrough, Claude Closky, and Elsa Werth.

• Residency programme · 2005

  Artist residencies

  CDLA hosts artist residencies that support the development or presentation of work related to artists' books and experimental publishing. The residency activity complements the Centre's collection, exhibitions, and educational work.

1. 1Centre des livres d'artistesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2CDLA official websitecdla.info