ABC – Artists Book Cornucopia « Abecedarian Gallery's Blog

On display in the main gallery April 1 – May 8, 2010, Artists’ Book Cornucopia is a juried exhibition including a broad range of artists’ bookworks. It was juried by
Michael Levine-Clark Special Collections Librarian
Penrose Library, University of Denver. Printed exhibition catalogs are available here:

Denver, Colorado

Juror’s Statement:

I have chosen 45 books by 37 artists. These books represent a range of styles, prices, sizes, and techniques – hopefully together they create a true cornucopia of artists’ books. Books range in style from the traditional codex to sculptural objects. They range in price from $45 to $1,800. They include one-of-a-kind works and editions, simple and complex structures, and books printed letterpress and books sewn together: something for everyone.

In choosing as broad a range as possible, I frequently opted to include just one book from a particular artist; in general, if an artist entered two books from the same series or with a similar feel, I chose just one. I did choose multiple books from some artists, but in these cases, I felt that the books were dissimilar enough to warrant inclusion.

Judging a show based purely on photographs and brief written descriptions is difficult. Some artists did a great job conveying a sense of the book – its subject, its appearance open and closed, and most importantly, the experience of reading. Others included just a single image, or multiple similar images, making it difficult to judge the book as a whole. It’s possible that other images oversold the books they represented. On some level, what I judged was the ability of an artist to show off a three-dimensional interactive object via a few images and words.

Gallery Director’s Statement:

The question I am asked more than any other is “What is an artists’ book?” That question is most easily answered by providing examples drawn from the wide array of works this term describes. Exhibitions such as Artists Book Cornucopia give me an opportunity to exhibit a selection that is inclusive of most of the sub-genres of artists’ books.

This exhibition is one of special signifance for the gallery as the books are on display in the main gallery of Abecedarian, rather than being restricted to the gallery’s Reading Room. The exhibit includes works by artists already familiar to me as well as works by artists’ previously unknown to me. A juried exhibit has the potential to be only as good as the best of the artworks submitted (and concepts such as good and best are, obviously, very subjective). I am honored that so many artists submitted such high quality entries, contributing to what is a wonderful array and, as Michael says above, a true cornucopia of artists’ books.

Alicia Bailey
– Gallery Director and Exhibition Curator