"There is a real enthusiasm among the French for art": how the magazine "L'Œil" is escaping the press crisis

L' Œil magazine is one of those titles that is not suffering from the crisis of the paper press. Founded in 1955, the leading magazine in the arts world is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2025. This 783rd issue is an opportunity to highlight two artists by publishing two covers, two original works inspired by two famous paintings: a Matisse and a Magritte. " Two artists were asked: a man, a woman, two different generations to imagine a cover for L'Oeil," explains Olivier Celik, editor-in-chief of the magazine. It is also a way of building a bridge between the past and the present for this 70th anniversary.

A special issue that is completely faithful to the DNA of L'Oeil, according to the editor-in-chief, who is largely committed to democratizing art and making it accessible to all. " We think that art is elitist, that it is cutting-edge, but we must still know that for the last twenty years, there has been an explosion in museum attendance ," insists Olivier Celik. Proof that " the craze for art is real ."

It was by moving from a review to a magazine that L'Oeil wanted to work towards this democratization: " The review seeks out texts that are much longer, sometimes a little more unrelated to current events. Today, we will rather accompany the discovery of current events, either through previews that will show works, that will explore them, analyze them or through critiques ." An essential critical approach to accompany the reader in the art world for Olivier Celik: " We actually have an expert critique that tells you: is the exhibition project successful? Is it worth it? "

"Our job is to democratize by giving people the keys to understand the works. And of course, to make people want to go to the museum."

Democratizing art also means democratizing its diversity, insists the editor-in-chief of the magazine. "L'Œil is all the arts, and all the arts: it is from parietal arts to contemporary creation. We do not forbid ourselves any field. Moreover, we even go a little towards cinema, towards live performance, he explains. Wherever there is an artistic gesture, we try to be there."

Behind the magazine, there is no large group: a precious independence and freedom that guarantees the quality of the content and expertise. " This prevents us from having collusion with this or that particular institution that should be treated with kindness, for example. We can be critical, we can be completely independent, we can advise what we want. That is our strength ", assures Olivier Celik. A formula that seems to work since the title is staying on the market without even having launched a digital interface. " More than in any other press, I think we need the object. We talk about art anyway, we have a lot of high-quality reproductions and it is still more pleasant to look at a painting on paper than in a paper magazine ", concludes Olivier Celik.