David Lynch Works on Paper

In 2007, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain organized the exhibition The Air is on Fire. For the first time, it unveiled a vast collection of artwork dating from the 1960s by the renowned American director, David Lynch, to the general public. In addition to numerous paintings and photographs, many of the artist’s drawings, sketches, and notes spanning a period of forty years were presented.
The Fondation Cartier wished to bring together this collection of more than 600 drawings in an exceptional book copublished with Steidl. Sketches, watercolors, or simple doodles, these works—carefully conserved by David Lynch since his adolescence, and regularly used by him as a source of inspiration—offer a unique perspective on the artist’s creative process.