Bidon l'Esbroufe

With the distinct Hourloupe style, Dubuffet established a vocabulary that enabled him to “dive into fantasy, into a phantasmagorical parallel universe.” Over time, this universe began expanding into three-dimensional space, as Dubuffet created sculptures covered in the same system of interlocked cells. Many of these works depict invented characters with mysterious presences. The title of Bidon l’Esbroufe, which resists translation, suggests phoniness and showiness. Logogriph with a Grimace curiously gives not only a physical form but also a face and skeptical attitude to a logogriph, a type of complicated word puzzle often presented in poetic verse.