Buenos Aires: Marina Soria, 2022. Two unique artists' books with text in Spanish. The text that inspired this piece was written by the famous Argentine historian, Ruth Corcuera, in her book, "Teleras, Memoria del monte Quichua." Ediciones Arte Etnico Argentino. Following is an English translation of the text that inspired this piece. Soria's calligraphy includes pieces of this text in the original Spanish:   “Thousands of years ago, when only the voice recorded small and big events of everyday life, women would cover their newborn child in a wrap. In this we see a space created between the mother´s womb and the world outside.   We believe textiles were born from such gestures, within the realm of feelings and from a women´s view: to protect, to give warmth and to sustain life.   In time, textile art will be the means to tell us through colors and designs that the world can be read through symbols, (signs) as in a written text.   In the great American cultures these symbols were a kind of lingua franca and textiles a major art with many roles, among them to express that where words did not suffice.” The calligraphy and design in these books plays with the concept of positive and negative space. Gouache on Ingres color papers, sewn by machine, with metal rings, wooden dowels, and two accompanying bundles of multi-colored wool that can be attached one of the rings or the wooden dowel. Both books are bound in black linen by the artist with inlaid paper featuring a calligraphic coyote. In fine condition. [6 pages.] Size: 123 x 30 cm open; 20.5 x 30 cm closed (each) Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marina Soria is a seasoned artist and educator with degrees in Fine Arts and Graphic Design. Not content to just immerse herself in learning calligraphy at international conferences, and through courses with renown calligraphers, she studied Eastern principles of Beauty in sumi-e (Japanese painting). She distilled and blended these principles with her rich experience and background in the fine arts, typography and graphic arts, employing unique approaches and techniques. She has also dabbled in the textile arts, creating a metaphor for weaving; letters as stitches and text as if it were a textile. Her works, vibrating with a love for nature and exploding with life and color, can be found in calligraphy collections in museums, universities, and libraries in the U.S., Europe, and South America. Marina has received numerous national and international awards, and has been featured widely in calligraphic arts publications. A prolific artist, experimental calligrapher, book artist, and educator, her goal is to mingle diverse disciplines to challenge the limits of conceptual art and technique. ARTISTSB/101422. Fine. More

Buenos Aires: Marina Soria, 2022. A calligraphic work on paper. The text that inspired this piece was written by the famous Argentine historian, Ruth Corcuera, in her book, "Teleras, Memoria del monte Quichua." Ediciones Arte Etnico Argentino. Following is an English translation of the text that inspired this piece. Soria's calligraphy includes pieces of this text in the original Spanish:   “Thousands of years ago, when only the voice recorded small and big events of everyday life, women would cover their newborn child in a wrap. In this we see a space created between the mother´s womb and the world outside.   We believe textiles were born from such gestures, within the realm of feelings and from a women´s view: to protect, to give warmth and to sustain life.   In time, textile art will be the means to tell us through colors and designs that the world can be read through symbols, (signs) as in a written text.   In the great American cultures these symbols were a kind of lingua franca and textiles a major art with many roles, among them to express that where words did not suffice.” Gouache on tan colored handmade paper from Papeterie Saint-Armand. In 2022 this piece was featured in an exhibition at the Embassy of Argentina in DC and was sewn to a hanging textile, leaving several tiny and obscure needle holes to each corner of this piece. In fine condition. Size: 37.5 x 28.5 cm Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marina Soria is a seasoned artist and educator with degrees in Fine Arts and Graphic Design. Not content to just immerse herself in learning calligraphy at international conferences, and through courses with renown calligraphers, she studied Eastern principles of Beauty in sumi-e (Japanese painting). She distilled and blended these principles with her rich experience and background in the fine arts, typography and graphic arts, employing unique approaches and techniques. She has also dabbled in the textile arts, creating a metaphor for weaving; letters as stitches and text as if it were a textile. Her works, vibrating with a love for nature and exploding with life and color, can be found in calligraphy collections in museums, universities, and libraries in the U.S., Europe, and South America. Marina has received numerous national and international awards, and has been featured widely in calligraphic arts publications. A prolific artist, experimental calligrapher, book artist, and educator, her goal is to mingle diverse disciplines to challenge the limits of conceptual art and technique. ARTISTSB/101422. Fine. More

Buenos Aires: Marina Soria, 2021. A unique artists' book with text in English by Ruth Corcuera from the book "Teleras, Memoria del Monte Quichua." The text describes the importance of textiles in the Andean region and describes how they were used "to protect, to give warmth, and to sustain life" - much like a mother's womb. Corcuera's text goes on to say that "In time, textile art will be the means to tell us through colours and designs that the world can be read through symbols, as in a written text ... Textiles [were] a major art with many roles, among them to express that where words did not suffice." Marina Soria's calligraphic interpretation is in a style that resembles the flowing of thread arranged in rows of color like in a woven textile. In some places the words are clearly legible, but in others they are are purposefully distorted to create an impression of thread, texture, and weaving. When viewed fully open, each letter appears like a stitch to create the illusion of a sewn tapestry. This homage to Andean textiles, which were traditionally conceived of and created by women, depicts the shape of a womb in negative space with words stretched along the edges. The text reads: “Thousands of years ago, when only the voice recorded small and big events of everyday life, women would cover their newborn child in a wrap. In this we see a space created between the mother´s womb and the world outside.   We believe textiles were born from such gestures, within the realm of feelings and from a women´s view: to protect, to give warmth and to sustain life.   In time, textile art will be the means to tell us through colors and designs that the world can be read through symbols, (signs) as in a written text.   In the great American cultures these symbols were a kind of lingua franca and textiles a major art with many roles, among them to express that where words did not suffice.” Bound in brick red cloth by the artist with an inlay of antique textile. Includes an attachement of fleece, beads, and found objects. The calligraphy is done in gouache on Rives BFK, 100% cotton paper. This piece can be unfolded and read as a codex or displayed in full on a wall using the cloth tabs bound into an edge of the front cover and accompanying wooden dowel. In fine condition. Size: 110 x 22 cm open; 22 x 25 cm closed. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Marina Soria is a seasoned artist and educator with degrees in Fine Arts and Graphic Design. Not content to just immerse herself in learning calligraphy at international conferences, and through courses with renown calligraphers, she studied Eastern principles of Beauty in sumi-e (Japanese painting). She distilled and blended these principles with her rich experience and background in the fine arts, typography and graphic arts, employing unique approaches and techniques. She has also dabbled in the textile arts, creating a metaphor for weaving; letters as stitches and text as if it were a textile. Her works, vibrating with a love for nature and exploding with life and color, can be found in calligraphy collections in museums, universities, and libraries in the U.S., Europe, and South America. Marina has received numerous national and international awards, and has been featured widely in calligraphic arts publications. A prolific artist, experimental calligrapher, book artist, and educator, her goal is to mingle diverse disciplines to challenge the limits of conceptual art and technique. ARTISTSB/101422. Fine. More

Penngrove, CA: Spell & Bind Press, 2023. Hardcover. 700. Number 4 of 8 copies. Tiana Krähn is an accomplished book artist who makes small edition, hand-bound, letterpress printed poetry and story books under the name Spell & Bind Press. She writes about her work: "For me, hand setting type is a meditation. There is intention behind each letter, each word, each sentence. I believe that words, like spells cast into the world, should be carefully chosen. As I work I have pause to examine my motives. Poems and stories open portals in and out of other realms. Printing on a letterpress machine is such a physical process, and as the weight of the words sink deep within the page, I am always struck by the permanence of this action, and the beauty of marks that make meaning out of chaos and ink. The binding of books is yet another ritual I relish. It is work full of metaphor where each stitch is a scaffold in the building of a physical home to our thoughts and feelings, resulting in an intimate object to be kept close or to be shared. That is the magic of it all. " Bush Tea is an collection of vignettes, the memories of one man's childhood in rural Jamaica in the late 40's. As he grapples with the onset of Alzheimer's the simplicity of those early years are salve to his soul. Once bemused by the many jars of unlabeled herbs in my father's kitchen cupboard in London, I learned from him what he learned from his grandmother, that Bush Tea was the answer to all life's problems. It is a hot drink made from the healing herbs and edible plants one might find growing in the yard or along the roadside. Bound in red cloth with a black spine in a variation of a drum leaf binding, with a cream title label on the front cover. Black endpapers with images of plants. The book is letterpress printed on tea dyed Fabriano paper, with hand colored original illustrations that depict some of the traditional plants that might be used for tea in the Caribbean. In fine condition. Measures 5 x 6.5 inches. Unpaginated [about 15 pages]. ARTB/052423. Fine. More

Chicago: Starshaped Press, 2021. 1 of 50 copies. Printed as part of the Project Chicago campaign - which involved working with the Design Museum of Chicago to invite artists to help spread the word about getting vaccinated. The project called for only digital art, but the Starshaped Press decided to create a set a of limited edition posters that encompass the elements of Chicago - from its buildings and gardens to its neighborhoods, with a message to consider both self, family, and community. This poster is not only intended to promote the Covid-19 vaccine, but all vaccines. It is a reminder of the good work that these shots do. Letterpress printed in 7 colors on recycled white card stock. Proceeds from sales benefit Heartland Alliance and Howard Brown Health, two Chicago based organizations working hard to get vaccines to marginalized populations of the city. Size: 14 inches square. Fine. More

Chicago: Starshaped Press, 2019. Hardcover. Number 21 of 100 copies, signed and numbered by the artist. "The Almighty Starshaped is an ornamental romp through the streets and alleys of Chicago, a colorful snapshot of street vernacular. Taking the form of a little black sketchpad, or piece book, its imagery is neither a glorification of glistening architectural facades, nor the seedy underbelly of the city’s infamy" (book artist). Black cloth boards with paper title pastedown to front cover. Letterpress printed using metal type and thousands of ornaments in multicolor on Mohawk Superfine White paper. Includes prospectus. Size: about 7.25 x 5.25 inches. [48 pages.] PRI/051319. Fine. More

Eugene, OR: Susan Lowdermilk, 2007. Hardcover. Number 7 of 15 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. Susan Lowdermilk is a book artist and printmaker working in traditional processes such as woodcut, wood engraving and intaglio etching as well as digital media. Her artist’s books involve movable parts, pop-ups and LED circuitry. She is a professor at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, teaching courses in printmaking, artist books and graphic design. Her work has been collected by over 60 public institutions including, the Getty Museum, the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library. Her artist’s books are represented in galleries throughout the United States. She earned her Master’s of Fine Art from the University of Oregon. Her artist's statement: "Our experience of reading books is increasingly changing from being physical and tactile to digital and virtual. My artist books are hand printed and hand constructed and feature low-tech movable elements that are meant to be technologically transparent. I view my artist books as a counterpart to the flood of mass-produced, digital imagery that we contend with constantly. I am interested in the dualities that complicate our human condition—chance versus strategy, faith versus reason, serendipity versus design, peace versus war, winning versus losing and our relationship to and separation from nature." She met the poet Jeanine Hathaway several years ago at a show of her prints in Eugene and they became friends. ""Jeanine was inspired by my woodcut diptych titled, “Remembering, Forgetting,” and wrote the poem, “XO, On what might have been our anniversary.” I created my artist’s book, inspired by her poem, printed with the woodblocks from “Remembering, Forgetting,” thus continuing our circle of creativity and inspiration." Bound accordion-style with red paper covered boards. The text is laser printed with Futura Book and Bernhard Modern Italic type on organdy fabric that overlays the woodblock designs printed on Zerkall Frankfurt paper. In a paper chemise with woodblock design. In fine condition. 6.5 x 4.5 x .75 inches. ARTISTSB/073118. Fine. More

Bennington, VT: The Bird Press, 2019. Number 2 of 30 copies, signed and numbered by Thorsten Dennerline. Founded in 1997 by Thorsten Dennerline, The Bird Press is an artist-run publishing project that has focused on hand printed artists’ books. All projects utilize some inherent aspect of the book and often take the form of open-ended collaborations with writers. Each project is a response to the last, both in form and content, in order for the work to continually to evolve. Poetry, broadly defined, is a major inspiration for most of the work. They produce editions of between 15-40 copies, utilizing various print media including: flatbed offset lithography, stone lithography, etching, letterpress, wood blocks, and digital pigment printing. The Bird Press books are represented in many library collections, including The New York Public Library, Stanford University, Smith College, Yale University, The Library of Congress, The Getty Research Foundation, and The National Gallery. This book contains visual collaboration by Thorsten Dennerline working with six poets, each on a 4 page section. Each section has a stunning visual inventiveness that complements the poet's words and meaning. Most of the poems include its English translation. Susanne Jorn, who selected the poets included, writes in her introduction: " I have chosen six distinctive Danish poetic voices for an art project in which words and images encounter one another in widely different dialogues. The six poets' diverging views of the world represent new contemporary Danish poetry as a whole." In the afterword, Anne-Marie Mai says: "What Dennerline and the poets have created here is a new artwork, an object in the world, an artist book, where texts and visual elements interact, challenging the book medium." This folio book was created using stone, late, and offset lithography, metal and polymer letterpress, woodcuts, handmade and machine made papers and is hand bound. The colophon cites the several printers, artists, and others who contributed to this beautiful achievement. Bound in white paper covers with an open spine and the letters NDP on the cover. The book is housed in a blue cloth covered slipcase. In fine condition. Measures 13 x 18 inches. ARTISTSB/111720. More

Bennington, VT: The Bird Press, 2017. Number 15 of 30 copies signed by the creators of this production. This complex and ambitious work is the result of an exchange between choreographer Susan Sgorbati and Thorsten Dennerline. They take Sgorbati’s concept of “Emergent Forms” as their point of departure. “Emergent Forms” grew out of Sgorbati’s study of the spontaneous composition of form in complex systems. Elements of order and interaction create recognizable patterns in these systems, but they remain dynamic, engendering differentiations that influence and modify the form. This phenomenon – the creation of order from a rich array of self-organizing interactions – is found not only in dance and music; indeed, it is present throughout the natural world. This project consists of four emergent forms (Pattern, Memory, Landscape, and Dream), each represented by a “volume”, a unique print/object. The texture, color and gesture of each form on paper emerged through the process of collaborative dialogue, reminiscent of a shared choreography. Each volume is not only a documentation of this dialogue, but also an interactive visualization of these emergent forms [artist's statement]. Various techniques were used in the creation of the volumes, including letterpress, woodblock, and stone lithography. The four volumes are housed in a CNC milled wooden box with a cloth top. The box in turn is in a stiff paper slipcase. In fine condition. Measurements: Box, 244x390 mm (9.5x15.5 inches) Books inside box: Pattern, 78x152mm Memory, 206 x151mm Landscape, 214x94 mm Dream, 151X305 mm. Founded in 1997 by Thorsten Dennerline, The Bird Press is an artist-run publishing project that has focused on hand printed artists’ books. All projects utilize some inherent aspect of the book and often take the form of open-ended collaborations with writers. Each project is a response to the last, both in form and content, in order for the work to continually to evolve. Poetry, broadly defined, is a major inspiration for most of the work. They produce editions of between 15-40 copies, utilizing various print media including: flatbed offset lithography, stone lithography, etching, letterpress, wood blocks, and digital pigment printing.The Bird Press books are represented by many library collections, including The New York Public Library, Stanford University, Smith College, Yale University, The Library of Congress, The Getty Research Foundation, and The National Gallery. Link to Video: https://youtu.be/0ZkNuAHvlFg ARTISTSB/111320. More

Seaton, UK: Old School Press, 2018. Paperback. Number 21 of 60 copies. Numbered and signed by the poet, artists, translator, and printer. This collaboration between Mexican poet, Carmen Boullousa and English artist, Philip Hughes was inspired by space travel. According to the introduction, both the poet and artist decided to create this book after viewing new images of the planets and moons taken during recent space missions. The first step in this collaboration was Hughes's paintings, which are colorful abstractions of photographic planetary landscapes. Boullousa's poetry draws on Hughes's imagery and also on her research into celestial bodies in mythology, ancient rituals attached to their worship, and perfumes used during these rites. She cites Hesiod's "Theogony" and "Orphic Hymns" as being influential. This is the third book that Boullousa, Hughes, and translator, Psiche Hughes have collaborated on.  This work is comprised of an introductory booklet and twelve folders containing poetry and artwork, each devoted to planets or moons including: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Europa, Saturn, Enceladus, Rhea, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. All text is letterpress printed in English and in Spanish. The contents include 32 artworks by Phillip Hughes, printed digitally from paintings, pastels, and digital collages, 13 poems, an introduction, and a list of included celestial bodies with details about relevant space missions. The poetry was hand-set in Hunt Roman type on Somerset Velvet Radiant White and the images were printed on Somerset Velvet Enhanced and mounted on Velin Arches Noir. Housed in an aluminum box with magnetic closure, which was produced by Graphic Metal Company, Ltd. with a blue silk-screened design to the front panel. Phillip Hughes (1936 - ) is a self-taught English artist that often paints unusual landscapes from remote areas and archaeological sites; however, this is his first series of work dealing with extra-terrestrial topography. For this book, he was heavily influenced by photography from the New Horizons mission (2015) which provided close-up images of Pluto as well as images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2016), the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn (2016), the probe Dawn to the dwarf planet Ceres (2016), images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and more. His work is held in international collections including The British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Library of Congress. Mexican poet, novelist, and playwright, Carmen Boullousa (1954 - ), often addresses issues of feminism and gender roles in her work. When researching celestial bodies for this project, she was pleased to learn about Tapputi, a Babylonian woman who is considered to be the first female chemist and perfumer recorded in history. It is perhaps due to her that Boullousa chose to include references to perfume within her poetry.  Folder Size: 12.5 x 14 inches. Box Size: 14.75 x 16.5 x 3.75 inches. Fine. More

(London): Sadie Coles HQ, (1997). Paperback. Number 29 of 50 copies. Signed by both authors on title page in pencil. A collection of fifty love poems by English artists Thomson (1966) and Lowe (1967), who are known best for their humorous and sometimes offensive installations pieces. Their work often involves recreating elements from historical artworks by using everyday objects such as cigarettes or whiskey bottles to make statements about popular English culture. Fitting with their visual art, these poems are terse, crude, and very funny. They poke fun at the seriousness of the love poetry genre with verses like: "Tonight I want you more, than any other, it's crazy I know, after you left me for, me brother." The poems are printed in black ink on fine paper and are housed in a black paper covered box titled in silver on the front panel. Unpaginated. [51 pages.] ARTB/081914. Fine. More

San Francisco: Terry Turrentine, 2020. One of ten copies, signed by the photographer and book artist Terry Turrentine Two copies are artist's proofs and one is a handling copy. Although she grew up in a family whose traditions included guns and hunting, as an adult Terry became an esteemed artist and wildlife photographer, specializing in capturing spectacular photographic images of birds. Her previous artist's books were of snowy owls, egrets, and gannets. This latest work offers magnificent images of falcons and a message of hope at this challenging time in our history. She writes in her colophon: " Widening Circles celebrates the ferocious beauty of the falcon, and the interdependent relationship of all beings to each other. Some may see the portraits of falcons in their protective hoods as disturbing. But those familiar with the ancient art of falconry know the hoods are a means to protect the bird from the assault of outside stimuli, as they are extremely sensitive to light, sounds, color, and motion. This is why falcons are such fearsome predators. All predators and their prey maintain the balance of nature and are essential for the world as we know it to exist. It is the natural order of things that there is destruction and rebirth in every second of every day. The ultimate predator, mankind, however, often abuses the privilege of living off the resources of this planet, and upsets the natural balance, causing extreme destruction. As a result, we are witnessing a death spiral of the climate, of the social order, and of the basic balance we need to survive as a species." Terry says of the Rilke poem, "Widening Circles," printed in the book in both English and German: "Over 100 years ago, this was also the observation of Rilke, as he saw the degradation of some of the cities he visited. He could only find solace in God and the wonder of nature - and he dedicated his timeless love poems to both." She concludes: "Life, death, and renewal - each stage is fluid. I believe the sublime gift of living is its constant change, its eternal cycles, and our capacity for transcending destruction through creativity." The credits for this beautiful production: Photographs and creative direction by Terry Turrentine; Book and text design by Dana F. Smith; Editorial consulting by Susan Gangel; Typography and letterpress printing by Dina Pollack; Bound by John DeMerritt Bookbinding; Images printed at Electric Works by Noah and Kris Lang. The stunning images are printed in brilliant colors against a black background, with a line from the poem appearing on each page out of the dark background. The work is housed in a custom black cloth box with a red leather cover. Measures 10.5 x 14.5 x 1.5 inches. In fine condition. ARTISTB/052621. More

Chicago: Ann Tyler, 2018. Hardcover. Number 4 of 5 copies. Signed and numbered by Ann Tyler, the book artist. A book about Syria, the violence taking place there, how abstract the atrocities feel to us in America, and how we attempt to process the information. Ann is a noted book artist and print maker whose works have been exhibited at many galleries across the United States. Her artist’s books are in several permanent collections including the Tate Gallery, London, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Joan Flasch Artists Book Collection, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She says of this powerful and complex work: "Catastrophic Geometries emerged from my research on Syria and the government military violence against the citizens. These books focus on one particular detention and torture site: Hospital 601. Hospital 601 is part of a military complex in Damascus. In news articles, aerial images of the site were published along with descriptions of what occurred at the site; images were smuggled out of Syria and provided to human rights organizations; testimony and documentation were provided by human rights organizations and in turn published in the media. The aerial images of building exteriors and roofs and shadows cast provided the basis of the abstractions I developed for this book. Catastrophic Geometries requires explication, as the sequencing of the text content underpins the viewer’s understanding of/relation to the abstractions – even though the abstractions comprise the bulk of the pages." The texts for each volume discuss visual and psychological factors that affect perception and understanding. For example, in volume IV: Car Garage Addendum: "The greater the distance the less detail. This tells us we are far away. Additionally, the greater the anticipated effort required then the greater the perceived distance. In tests, people within our own group are perceived to be closer while people out of our group are perceived to be further away because of the anticipated effort to understand that culture. Someone is sitting in a chair in the United States looking at a satellite image taken approximately 500 miles above Damascus, Syria reading a description of the site as told by another person who was standing at the scene photographing bodies but who has now fled to London carrying the evidence. The dead are strewn on the concrete floor of a car garage — some are isolated, some are slightly touching one arm on another, some are piled onto each other with no space in between. How do we determine distance in this scene? And what is the effort required?"    This work is a four volume set housed in a custom slipcase. The books are casebound in red and magenta linen cloth and are hand-sewn with gold foil stamped titles and volume numbers on their spines. The graphite notations on one of the last pages of volume IV are individually hand-drawn lines and numbers. Being hand-drawn this page varies slightly with each set.   Type set in Futura and Adobe Garamond and printed on MOAB Entrada Rag Natural paper. In fine condition. Books measure 9 3/8 x 12 1/8 inches. Slipcase is 9.5 x 12.5 x 3.5 inches. Volume I: 90 pages; Volume II: 52 pages; Volume III: 48 pages; Volume IV: 32 pages. ARTISTSB/072921. Fine. More