| The
history of books and bookmaking is extensive, from sacred objects
of vener-
ation to downloadable printouts, but artists’ books are a
special circumstance.
This exhibition explores what the book can mean to an artist –
as the site for
introspection and exploration – as well as how an artist’s
book may function
for an audience, where the essentially timeless products of visual
art enter the
narrative stream of time. The show presents a variety of contemporary
artists’
books - most often one-of-a-kind - and focuses on the book as a
very private
form of public expression.
Personal drawing journals by Russell
Crotty and Jose
Antonio Suarez Londoño
are included, as well as 365 small-scale hand-made books (one made
every
day) by Susan Marie
Dopp. Studio-produced books by Michael
Light and Lukas
Felzmann, and limited edition books by Ed Ruscha and Sol Lewitt
use photo-
graphic imagery. Dominic
Di Mare has created books of sequential drawings
that lead the viewer on a journey into alternate worlds. Crystal
Liu extends
her musing narrative drawings into open-ended tales in book form.
The book as object is addressed in works by Jonathan Callan, whose
physically
transformed books have a sculptural presence with their own form
of stored
content. John O’Reilly,
known for his photo collages, works with found books; a
sense of transgression is felt in his internal reorganization of
old volumes and
his insertion of autobiography into history. Works by Buzz Spector
and Ana
Tiscornia reconfigure the form of the traditional book, thus changing
the way
conceptual or political content is delivered. The play between a
book’s actual
and virtual reality, and between word and image is explored in flat
art by
Liliana Porter.
Other artists represented in the show include Bryan Hunt and
Shahzia Sikander.
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