Two black & white illus. Düsseldorf: Galerie Schmela, 1964.

Announcement card for Arakawa’s second exhibition with Galerie Schmela. The front of the card is a reproduction of a telegram sent by the artist to the gallery. Includes a brief biography of the artist.

Near fine. More

14 black & white illus. 36 unnumbered pages. Irregularly shaped small 4to (200 x 200 mm.), die-cut corners (spine faintly rubbed), staple-bound. [Chicago]: The University of Chicago Library, 1986.

An important exhibition catalogue as well as reference work on artists’ books. This catalogue was designed by the book artist Buzz Spector (b. 1948), and his pencil notes for the mock-up have been reproduced in this final version. Jeffrey Abt, the organizer of the exhibition, writes in an insightful essay: “The contemporary artist’s book…represents an evolution of the book’s use from a vehicle for text and its illustration to an artistically... More

Many illus. 131, [1] p. Small 4to, orig. semi-stiff pictorial covers, title on spine, perfect-bound. London: British Council, 1975.

The uncommon catalogue for this important exhibition hosted by the British Council, with the essays printed in parallel English and German text. Somewhat overshadowed by the exhibition Artists’ Books of a year later, this show consisted of an impressive presented 120 bookworks and reference books. As is explained on pp. 18-23 (and shown by several illustrations of the exhibition space), each book was displayed on a book shelf and could be handled by visitors. “Art works” were denoted with red stickers... More

Text on recto, verso blank. Amsterdam: Seriaal, 1971.

Card announcing the exhibition and sale of a very rare Beuys multiple (12 copies). It was to be exhibited for one day only. This card is in fine condition. More

Illus. throughout (several in color). Oblong thick 8vo, semi-stiff pictorial wrappers, metal fastener. Unpaginated. Amsterdam: 1986.

Boekie Woekie’s first catalogue, issued several months after the bookshop’s founding in January 1986. A collaborative effort and filled with snapshot images of many of the books, this is an important catalogue heralding the opening of the artist-run shop and its considerable efforts to distribute artists’ books worldwide. The original founders were Henriette van Egten, Rúna Thorkelsdóttir, Jan Voss, Pétur Magnússon, Kees Visser, and Saskia de Vriendt.

The catalogue lists 130 items, some with prices. It includes work by Voss, Thorkelsdóttir, van Egten, Visser... More

Three black & white illus. 9 unnumbered pages. 8vo (210 x 135 mm.), orig. gray printed wrappers (a little sunned), staple-bound. Paris: P. Rosenberg, 1936.

A scarce Braque exhibition catalogue of paintings made since 1931, featuring mostly still lifes along with two nudes. It lists 20 paintings, three of which are illustrated. Rosenberg had lured Braque away from Daniel Henry Kahnweiler and his brother Léonce in 1922. Braque’s first solo exhibition at Paul Rosenberg’s famed gallery on 21, rue la Boëtie took place in 1924. The final page of this catalogue announces future exhibitions for Seurat, Picasso, Monet, Matisse and... More

Black & white illus. [32] pp. 4to (270 x 215 mm.), printed semi-stiff wrappers. Amsterdam: Visual Arts Office for Abroad, 1982.
Near fine copy of this scarce Stanley Brouwn (1935-2017) catalogue, published on the occasion of his exhibition at the Dutch pavilion (unknown edition size). The catalogue contains reproductions of the work and photographs of Brouwn’s Biennale exhibition installation. With an informative text — in English and Italian — on the artist’s practice by the art historian Jan Debbaut (b. 1949).
Near fine; a few trivial scuffs. With the printed eight-page illustrated insert laid-in.
❧ Harry Ruhé, Stanley Brouwn: a.... More

A trio of rare Stanley Brouwn (1935-2017) artist’s books published simultaneously, with identical paginations and produced in editions of 700. This joint work was made on the occasion of the artist receiving the 2000 Oeuvreprijs van het Fonds voor Beeldende Kunsten, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst.

All three volumes are in fine condition, but for some minor scuffing to the covers. The Clark Art Institute is the only American library with a complete set of all three.

❧ Harry Ruhé, Stanley Brouwn: a chronology (2nd ed.: 2005). More

Unpaginated, printed on rectos only. Thick 4to (156 x 156 mm.), printed softcover, artist’s name on spine. Eindhoven: Van Abbemuseum; Barcelona: MACBA, 2005.

Uncommon artist’s book by Stanley Brouwn (1935-2017), jointly published by the Van Abbemuseum and MACBA in an edition of 1400 copies. The exhibition for which this book was printed took place at the Van Abbemuseum (23 January-17 April 2005); MACBA (22 June-25 September 2005); and Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (14 December-5 March 2006).

The distances in the book are cyclically recorded from Africa, North America, Europe, South America, Oceania, Antarctica, Asia beginning on 24 January... More

[1] leaf (title-page), 21 leaves, printed on rectos only. Square 4to (194 x 198 mm.), black printed wrappers (trace of spine label), staple-bound. Schiedam: Stedelijk Museum, 1970.

The artist’s first publication produced to mark a solo museum exhibition. For the remainder of his life, Brouwn (1935-2017) generally made square-format artist’s books with minimalist white covers to document (or materialize) his shows with museums and galleries. Based on Harry Ruhé’s exhaustive bibliography and exhibition list of Brouwn, this is very probably the first exhibition catalogue/artist’s book that Brouwn co-published with a museum.

In this book, the artist invites the reader to... More

Many black & white illus. throughout. Unpaginated. Small 4to, printed wrappers & orig. printed dust-jacket, staple-bound. London: Kettle’s Yard Gallery, 1986.

One of the great exhibition catalogues on artists’ books. This sharply conceived book was published for a 1986 exhibition at Kettle’s Yard Gallery (1 November-7 December). Organized by Pavel Buchler (b. 1952), who also designed and wrote this catalogue, the exhibition included loans from Christian Boltanski, Ulises Carrión, Nigel Greenwood, Richard Hamilton, Kasper Koenig, Annette Messager, Anthony d’Offay Gallery, Hansjörg Mayer, Barbara and Gabriele Schmidt-Heins, Michael Werner Galerie, Karsten Schubert, Lawrence Weiner, etc. The exhibition featured the work of... More

Black & white illus. on recto, details on verso with printed address label. Photographic postcard, mailed. Munich: Rüdiger Schöttle, 1980.

Scarce postcard for Buren’s second solo presentation with Schöttle. Part of the installation for Buren’s first exhibition with the gallery (3-31 May 1977) is shown on the recto. Fine; mailed to Eve Sonneman.

❧ Michael Lailach, ed., Printed Matter: Die Sammlung Marzona in der Kunstbibliothek (2005), p. 104. More