Editorial design for The Channeling—A Series of Love Letters Between Claude Monet (1840–1926) and Marge Hugo (1927–2013), an artist book and catalogue published in conjunction with Nicky Broekhuysen’s exhibition The Channeling at Davidson Gallery in New York. The exhibition and the accompanying book are inspired by the fascinating, real-life story of Marge Hugo, who for a decade channeled the spirits of Claude Monet and other notable Impressionist painters through her writing.

The Channeling

Editorial design for The Channeling—A Series of Love Letters Between Claude Monet (1840–1926) and Marge Hugo (1927–2013), an artist book and catalogue published in conjunction with Nicky Broekhuysen’s exhibition The Channeling at Davidson Gallery in New York. The exhibition and the accompanying book are inspired by the fascinating, real-life story of Marge Hugo, who for a decade channeled the spirits of Claude Monet and other notable Impressionist painters through her writing.

For this project we devised a book divided into two distinct yet complementary parts, offering a rich, multi-layered exploration of Hugo’s channeling experience which inspired Broekhuysen's creative process.

The first section of the book presents a selection of the channelled letters exchanged between Marge Hugo and Claude Monet. These letters reveal a unique spiritual connection, allowing the reader to engage with the evolution of their intimate yet platonic relationship over the course of ten years. Alongside the letters, Hugo's own artwork is featured, offering visual insight into her personal creative journey and the ways in which she was influenced by her metaphysical connection to Monet and the broader Impressionist movement.

The second part of the book is dedicated to Nicky Broekhuysen’s artwork. Broekhuysen’s large-scale recreations of Monet’s iconic paintings are meticulously executed using her signature technique of stamping binary digits—‘0’ and ‘1’—across the canvas. These binary codes, symbolic of the digital age, contrast sharply with the organic, emotive brushstrokes of Monet’s original works.

This section features closeups of Broekhuysen’s works, allowing readers to experience the impressive detail of the paintings. By presenting the letters and Hugo’s smaller-scale works alongside Broekhuysen’s large recreations, the book highlights an intriguing interplay of scales and techniques.

Client   Davidson Gallery
Type   Editorial design
Year   2018
Print   Offset print
Format   160×240 mm