Genevi?ve Castr?e: Complete Works 1981-2016

An immersive curation of Geneviève Castrée’s stunning life’s work and expansive artistic legacy

It’s not easy to label an artist like Geneviève Castrée―cartoonist, illustrator, musician, sculptor, stamp collector, activist, correspondent―a person with busy hands and a mind too creative and wild to stop doing.

Those familiar with Castrée's seminal memoir about her childhood, Susceptible (included fully within), will know that she, to a large degree, raised herself. It was in those unattended, semi-feral childhood years that Geneviève used art to pull herself out of what could have otherwise been a bleak existence. Instead, she found beauty and depth around her and blended it gorgeously with the harsh, devastating realities of this world, creating a body of work that is so stunning, heartbreaking, and magical that it leaves you aching.

From rarely- or never-seen illustrations and comics, to album covers and photographs, to studio scraps, Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works 1981-2016 is a breathtaking collection of Castrée’s work and soul. A remarkable woman who made remarkable art, her love and spirit weep and shine from the pages.

With an introduction from Castrée’s widower Phil Elverum, who devoted himself to designing and curating the book, we gain further insight into the details of her life. Translations are lovingly and expertly provided by Elverum and Aleshia Jensen.

Geneviève Castrée (1981-2016) was born in Québec. Swept away by comics, she wanted to be a cartoonist since the age of nine. Castrée felt the urge to publish her mini-comics early, and appeared in the Montréal underground scene while she was still a teenager. In addition to her books, Castrée had a number of exhibitions in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan. She spent her adult life in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and daughter, where she drew, made small sculptures out of porcelain, and played music under the name Ô PAON.