When I opened L’Affichiste I was (admittedly so) a poster snob. I was not at all interested in contemporary posters, nor did I see their merit. For me, at the time, the only periods of poster art that were worth anything were Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

How short- sighted I was!

I’ve been fortunate to work with young people who opened my eyes to the wide variety of modern poster artists from around the world who are continuing – and continuing to define – the world of poster art. Artists like our favourite Dane Mads Berg, a very cool retro-futuristic American artist named Steve Thomas, and a whole host of other worthy talents.

I recently opened a pop-up shop within a store called Ludovik that is largely devoted to contemporary posters in an area of Montreal called Griffintown. This trendy zone is filled with new lofts and condos – the kinds of places that are full of white walls, small spaces, and generally, folks in their first apartments. We think our pop-up poster selections are perfect for these kinds of spaces, and given the kind of press we are receiving, evidently we’re right on target! See this weeks MTLBlog post here. 

 

We love the way our Underdog posters look next to their Haitian animal-friends. The Underdog Club was started in Montreal a few years ago to find forever homes for hard-to-place dogs. We think that next to the papier-maché menagerie created by Haitain artists (you can read more about this artform here, here and here) and we’re pretty certain that they have really interesting conversations among themselves when the lights are off and no-one’s watching …

When we look at posters we occasionally forget the effort that goes into their design. There are multiple books that have been written on the subject, museum exhibitions that have dealt with the topic (you can find more information on a Cooper Hewitt exhibition here, as well as a great article from Dwell at this link: The Story Behind Over 125 Stunning Poster).

We look forward to welcoming you at the pop-up, as well as at our original location in Old Montreal. Happy Spring everyone!