Convinced as he was that madness was a source of creative fecundity, Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) set out to look for art unfettered by cultural and/or social conditioning. In 1945 he began assembling a collection of art brut, a term he coined himself. He donated his entire collection comprising of 5’000 works by 133 creators to the City of Lausanne in 1971, and five years later the Collection de l’Art Brut opened to the public.

As the world’s first and finest art brut collection, the museum has forged strong links with related institutions devoted to this outsider form of art, creating a network to encourage exchanges, similar initiatives and collaborations. Since its creation, the Collection de l’Art Brut has worked intensely on behalf of the recognition of art brut, bringing the collection to 70’000 works by 1’000 authors, presenting over one hundred temporary exhibitions, and publishing over sixty catalogues or monographs.

Besides lending out individual works, the Collection de l’Art Brut has launched the Art Brut Biennial in 2013, thematically curated using only the pieces of the collection, making it both relevant and convenient to tour abroad.

This exhibition is available in Materialise:

• Art Brut Biennial