January 17 through February 19, 2012

Rare Beauty: Contemporary Visions in Book Arts

(To download the full press release, please click here.)

The Joseloff Gallery is proud to present the exhibition Rare Beauty: Contemporary Visions in Book Arts, a group exhibition featuring the work of six distinguished printmakers and book artists, in the gallery from January 17 through February 19, 2012.

Rare Beauty will showcase the work of the 2011/2012 Georgette and Richard Koopman Distinguished Chairs in the printmaking department at the Hartford Art School: Steven Daiber, Pati Scobey, and Barb Tetenbaum, as well as three invited guest artists: Julie Chen, Kathy Kuehn, and Wilber H. Schilling.

The exhibition comprises a diverse sampling of handmade books in all forms, demonstrating the incredible scope of the craft.  From traditional, recognizable book forms to interactive boxes, text-wrapped jawbones, embroidered scrolls, and installations; the books in this exhibition stretch all familiar boundaries of what defines a “book”.

The title of the exhibition, Rare Beauty, was inspired by a quote from one of the artists included in the exhibition, Wilber H. Schilling, who said, “In this increasingly digital age, a carefully handmade, inspiringly clever and tactile book is a rare beauty.”

In addition to the exhibition, there will be a panel discussion held on Thursday, February 9, 2012 from 3:30-5:00pm in the Wilde Auditorium, directly followed by a public reception in the Joseloff gallery from 5-7pm.  The panel will include all six artists in the exhibition and will be moderated by Ruth Rogers, curator of special collections at Wellesley College.

Rare Beauty was organized by Lisa Gaumond, managing director of the Joseloff Gallery, with the help of the faculty of the Hartford Art School printmaking department: Jim Lee, Jenni Freidman, and John Willis.

Ruth Rogers, who has also written the introductory essay for the Rare Beauty exhibition catalog, says of the handmade artist’s book,

“To fully appreciate the range of form and content in the artist’s book, there is one requirement of the viewer: you must suspend your expectation that a book is a narrative text with a beginning and end, bound securely between two covers.

Artists’ books can range from the recognizable codex form with letterpress printing, handmade paper, photographs, and other printmaking techniques to unconventional formats such as a box, scroll, or accordion. They may be editioned or unique.  Text may be present, but it is not required to tell a story.

In the hands of artists, a familiar form takes on new dimensions and defies any attempt to classify it as either book or art.”

An exquisite, full-color exhibition catalog will be available to purchase.  Please email or call the gallery for more details.

Panel Discussion: Thursday, February 9, 2012, 3:30-5pm, Wilde Auditorium
Public Reception: Thursday, February 9, 2012, 5-7pm, Joseloff Gallery

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11am to 4pm, and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4pm.  Admission is free.