Fredun Shapur - surprise surprise !

About

The exhibition will show Fredun Shapur’s multi-faceted talent, through a selection of vintage books, toys and posters, displayed in glass cases. A series of photographs, reprinted for the occasion (with the kind collaboration of Mira Shapur and Carole Daprey), will also be part of it, as well as Shapur’s books, recently re-edited by french publisher Mémo. Displayed on low tables, they will be at the disposal of young visitors, free to be handled at their leisure.

Creative workshops for both children and adults will be organized, introducing Fredun Shapur’s artistic world through a singular experience. The exhibition will be part of our Laterna magica festival (December 19th - 18th, 2016), which attracts an average of 3000 visitors each year. Fredun Shapur’s books and toys (the puzzles, for example) will be on sale in our bookshop.

Artist and graphic designer, Fredun Shapur has always looked at the world of childhood with a particularly inventive and daring eye. After his graphic design studies at the Royal College of Art of London, he opens his own studio in 1959 and creates logos, packaging, posters.

In 1965, he writes and illustrates
his most famous book Round and round and square, making a lasting imprint on a whole generation, with its original use of shape and primary colour. Pursuing in work, he creates wooden toys, first handmade, then produced by manufacturers such
as Naef, Galt Toys in Europe, and especially Creative Playthings in the United States. Ranging from wooden puzzles to paper bag costumes, featuring all sorts of animals, these toys display a colourful and simple graphic design which remains surprisingly modern today.