FOREWARD

As a collector, over many years I have seen and handled thousands of artists’ books and seldom regretted the choices I’ve made, and those few regrets have always been online. Being able to see and handle an artists’ book makes decisions much easier and sometimes I know almost instantaneously whether a book ‘works’. One is weighing a multitude of factors to determine whether they coalesce into an interesting, innovative and intelligent work while hoping for perfection. With the three artists in this exhibition, after handling a few of their books when I first began to collect them and considering content, structure and material, I instinctively knew that they were probably unable to make a bad book - and I have not been disappointed over the years. Although variety is also a goal when perfection is unobtainable, these artists have, in my estimation, often succeeded in making the perfect book. In most cases I would have acquired their books even without considering the integration of content into the excellence of the physical object, but in all cases their research is integral to their practice, however esoteric the idea. Having an open mind in collecting artists’ books helps! In other aspects of book collecting, the subject is usually the most important consideration, but with artists’ books, the subject has only to be interesting and fit; the other visual and haptic aspects predominate. The variety of all aspects of book making on exhibition here could hardly be surpassed.

Jack Ginsberg

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 Veronika Schäpers

 Robbin Ami Silverberg

 Julie Chen

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