News Flash

The Art of the Book
Exhibit Opening: 5:00-7:00 pm on Friday, September 9
Exhibition Dates: September 9-December 31, 2016
Spring River Gallery

When we think of a book, chances are we imagine an object that is to be read, whether it is a hard-back novel or a Kindle. Yet the book is also a versatile and often personal art form that extends well beyond the text on a page. Using a variety of materials, many contemporary artists channel the book’s history as a tool for communication to create objects charged with layers of meaning.

The Art of the Book explores the diverse world of contemporary book arts in New Mexico, with each work on view presenting a different manifestation of the book as both a physical object and a conveyor of content. Some artists have taken existing books and altered them into new forms through collage, deconstruction, and other methods, while others create their own, entirely new books through papermaking, printmaking, and even sewing. Some artists write their own stories between the pages, while others forego text altogether. What all these works share, however, is a love of the book as both an art form and a means of personal expression. In looking at these works, viewers are invited to reconsider their definition of a book, and to ask themselves what form their ideal book would assume.

Caption Info:
Joy Campbell
Kusudama Flowers, 2015
Altered music books
15” x 14” x 7”
Courtesy of the artist