TOMES, an exhibition of artist books opens Friday, July 19, 2019 and continues through December 15, 2019 at the Williamson Gallery. An opening reception will take place on Thursday, July 18, 2019 from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Curated by John David O’Brien, artist, writer and ArtCenter professor and Piero Varroni, artist and editor of Edizioni EOS Libri d’Artista, the exhibition is a survey driven by a desire to represent the many different types and ways of making artist books. The multitude of ways that these works have been created, modified and distributed are countless. The viewer of this exhibition is encouraged to take a walk through the plenitude of artist books and see: first, the variety of ways these specific artists have articulated their social, humane and artistic positions; and second, as much as possible, how these examples stand with respect to the better known production of artists’ works for display in galleries.
The works on display in TOMES were drawn primarily from the collections of libraries in Southern California, institutions which have been collecting and preserving artist books for decades. This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Joan Hugo and Judith Hoffberg, who both worked tirelessly to promote artist books and whose efforts helped libraries in the Greater Los Angeles area amass their collections.
Institutions contributing to TOMES include The Getty Research Institute, USC Libraries Special Collections, Otis College Millard Sheets Library, Whitmore Rare Books, ArtCenter’s Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography (HMCT), ArtCenter’s James Lemont Fogg Memorial Library and the Edizioni EOS Libri d’Artista.
Artists and book makers featured in the exhibition include Allison Dalton, Amandine Nabarra Piomelli and Steve Roden. Additional pieces are from the artist book collections of Penny and Petra Cortright (Steven Cortright) and Tom Knechtel (miniature books). Artists represented in TOMES include Ching Ching Cheng, April Durham, Gloria Kondrup, Olga Lah and, courtesy of the Craig Krull Gallery, Danae Falliers and Bruce Richards.
Williamson Gallery exhibitions are made possible in part through the generous support of the Williamson Gallery Patrons and a grant from the Pasadena Art Alliance.
