Buenos Aires: Marina Soria, 2022. A unique artists' book. Signed and dated by the artist. The text is in Spanish and has been hand illuminated by Marina Soria over a silkscreen print of the Soria's original calligraphy, printed by Professor Enrique Cambón. 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.” Bound in grey linen with embroidery and tassles by the artist. Created using gouache on Arches Text Wove, 100% cotton paper. This piece can be unfolded and read as a codex or displayed on a wall using the two fabric tabs bound into the top panel of the front cover. In fine condition. Size: 130 x 51.5 cm open; 16.5 x 51.5 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

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 cream 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, 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 purple 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, 2022. A unique artists' book with calligraphy inspired by cattle brands from Buenos Aires. Signed and dated by the artist. The text is in Spanish and has been hand illuminated by Marina Soria over a silkscreen print of the Soria's original calligraphy, printed by Professor Enrique Cambón. 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.” Created using gouache on CM Fabriano 100% cotton paper. Accordion bound by Diego Ismael in tan linen covered boards with metal rings and removeable wooden dowel. Calligraphy title label to front board. This piece can be unfolded and read as a codex or displayed on a wall using the accompanying dowel. A fabric charm with metal pieces can also be hung from the dowel. In fine condition. Size: 114 x 57 cm open; 19.5 x 57 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, 2022. Hardcover. Number 3 of 15 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." Matriarch commemorates two great women who held positions of power within the complicated systems that both honored and enslaved them in their particular roles. One of the two women is the Queen Elizabeth II. The other is the book artist's great-grandmother, Alice Watson Ford. They were mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers with an immeasurable influence. One a monarch, the other a Jamaican woman, and dedicated queen to her small community, the two women were similarly employed. This book references complex feelings and experiences due to Jamaica once being a colony of Great Britain, an influence which remains ever present. Krahn writes that when creating this book about holding her great grandmother in reverence, Queen Elizabeth died. She decided it made sense to hold them up together, to explore their roles and to commemorate them with a carefully considered comparison of two women in positions of power, beloved, and not forgotten. This handsome work is a triptych bound by Mark Summers of Namnavoe Book Binders in hand dyed dark brown Fair Goat Skiver and tooled with 23 carat gold leaf. The title and floral ornament on the cover and the spine has the initial M and press name all in gold leaf. The covers open to reveal interior frames that hold original intaglio prints depicting images of the two queens. The center between the two frames has a pocket in which sits a sewn single signature booklet that has been letterpress printed on white vintage WH Hodgkinson paper. With a burlap sleeve holding the book closed with an image of the British flag. Accompanied by a single sheet with the book artist's background on creating this book. In fine condition. Measures 5 x 6 inches, Unpaginated. ARTB/052423. Fine. More

Chicago: Starshaped Press, 2019. Hardcover. Number 6 of 50 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. This powerful book was created by book artist and printer Jen Farrell to describe the pain and anguish she experienced as Jo, her young daughter, was treated in 2018 to stem the growth of tumor nodules around her right lung. She writes: "While the treatments were challenging, the fallout that followed over the winter was unbearable. The chest pressure, pneumonitis and inability to breathe sent us to the hospital repeatedly, with unsatisfactory results. By ‘unsatisfactory’ I mean punching-a-hole-in-the-wall angry at the lack of understanding about why Jo had these side effects and the weeks, sometimes months, it took to get appointments with specialists. I sought solace in songs that directed my frustration away from people around me. One of these was Black Star’s Respiration, with lyrics that expressed a metaphorical difficulty to breathe in an urban environment. Many of the words applied to our reality; rewriting the lyrics was an outlet for acknowledging the trauma....Respiration is a rewrite of the song, but in this case applied to watching my child struggle to breathe." The book unfolds as a poster measuring 20x14 inches that folds down to approximately 5x 7 inches within red paper covered boards. The covers are printed in two colors on Mohawk Keakolour and the interior text is printed on Fabriano Tiziano paper with ‘fuzz’ in the texture as a nod to the scarring fuzz in Jo’s lungs. The book is accompanied by a white folded paper reference guide to the lyrics with notes on Jen's rewrites. In fine condition. Fine. More

Chicago: Starshaped Press, 2017. Hardcover. Number 20 of 50 copies, signed and numbered by artist. "The term 'girl' has a host of negative connotations; it sounds condescending to any woman who's done her share of living in the adult world. The subcultures represented here owned it, building their personas on style, music and most importantly, their attitude and approach to creating a self-defined culture. The girls of the Starshaped Press are letterpress printed with modular metal type and rule, proving even squares are hip" (title page). Includes four "girls" with accompanying lyrics: Rude Girl, Mod Girl, Good Girl, and B-Girl. Bound in black paper wrappers with circular cut out revealing title on first page (appropriately resembling a record cover). Includes prospectus, which has photographic images of the metal type used to create two of the four girls. Printed on black and metallic silver Mohawk Paper. A creative and beautifully printed book. [8 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 22 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. Boullosa'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