I have heard that Graphia magazine will no longer be published. I am very sad and shocked, it's terrible. What is hap- pening with your magazine is difficult for me to understand, but here are my thoughts on the matter.
This magazine has great authority in the world. The news of the magazine's closure was an earthquake in the world of culture and the event will have detrimental consequences for future generations. It is a blow to the Belgian culture and to the culture of Western Europe. I understand that a person cannot live forever, but cultural heritage must be passed on to our children and our grandchildren. Why is the state standing aside?
Ex libris selection
1. René Magritte (BEL, 1898-1967) for Pierre Bourgeois, P, 1919 (fig. 1)
A long time ago in the nineties, when the borders opened, I received a letter, possibly from the Austrian collector and artist Ottmar Premstaller. The stamp on the letter featured a painting by René Magritte. For the Soviet area, Magritte was quite unknown, the internet did not exist back then and I had to spend a lot of time to find out about this wonderful artist. I didn't know he had also made a bookplate, until I learned about this one for Bourgeois.
By the way, I have met other Belgian artists in ex libris meet- ings, for example Martin R. Baeyens, whose ex libris I like and who frequently sent me his PF's. And there is also Frank Ivo van Damme, who makes very dynamic images. Some of his erotic prints were given to me by collectors (but it is a problem finding them now, due to the circumstances: the studio is a mess).
2. Sergiy Hrapov (UKR) for Masahito Sakamoto, C3/C5/C7, 2024, Seeker (fig. 2)
I have selected from my own work one ex libris that I made last summer. It was created in harsh working conditions: heat and darkness and severe power cuts. And the situation remains like that. Every day is a lottery...
