Christophe Poot

Christophe Poot (born 6 June 1971 in Brussels) is a Belgian comics artist, author, publisher, and critic. He is a co-founder of the independent publishing house La Cinquième Couche and the founder of the micro-imprint Nu-Tête. He is known for a small but highly distinctive body of work characterised by an expressive, laconically drawn style, with literary influences drawn from Eugène Delacroix and Gustave Flaubert.

Biography Training and early career Poot was born on 6 June 1971 in Brussels. After studying at the Institut Saint-Luc de Bruxelles, he co-founded La Cinquième Couche in 1993 alongside a group of fellow students from the school's comics workshop, including Xavier Löwenthal, and others.

Since 2011, Poot has been part of the organising committee of the Prix Fernand-Baudin, a Belgian award honouring excellence in book design in Wallonia and Brussels.

His major long-form work, the Graham Schalken cycle, was conceived as a romantic narrative following a pianist through New York and Stockholm, drawing on literary references including Gustave Flaubert and composers such as Franz Liszt.

Publications Solo works Cèdre et Séquoia, La Cinquième Couche, Brussels, 1999. . Hareng Couvre-Chef, La Cinquième Couche, Brussels, 2001. . Graham Schalken, l'Inconsolé (Tunis, chapter 1), La Cinquième Couche, Brussels, June 2006. . Magnolia Stellata, Nu-Tête, Brussels, 2013. Hareng couvre-chef et autres chansons de marins (expanded edition), La Cinquième Couche, Brussels, 4 October 2019. . Konvalescens: Stockholm 1906, La Cinquième Couche, Brussels, 7 April 2023. .

Collective publications Comix 2000 (collective including Christophe Poot), L'Association, Paris, December 1999. . Le Coup de grâce (collective), La Cinquième Couche, Brussels, 26 August 2006. . 40 075 km comics (collective including Christophe Poot), L'Employé du Moi, Brussels, January 2007. . Suisse – Belgique (collective including Christophe Poot), Castagniééé, Vevey, May 2008. . Ainsi, dire (with Éric Lambé and Florian Huet; scenario by Erwin Dejasse), Wittockiana, Brussels, 2018. .

Exhibitions Louisiana Manifest (collaboration with the Jean Nouvel workshops), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, 6 June – 18 September 2005. Bruxelles, objectif BD, Galerie Petits Papiers, Brussels, 8–17 September 2009. Ainsi, dire, Bibliothèque Wittockiana, Brussels, 29 September 2018 – 20 January 2019.