Book Arts of Houston

-

  • Erica Reed Lee, "Memories at a Distance", 2021, Monotype Artist Book, 6 x 6 inches closed, 12 pages.

  • Anna Mavromatis, “as time goes by” 2010 12” x 4.5” x 5/8”, opens to 30” x 4” Monotypes on Rives BFK, suminagashi on washi, bound in a concertina structure.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Opening Reception
Saturday, April 22, 4 – 6pm

Live Video Walkthrough
Friday, May 5, 12 – 12:45pm

Curator Conversation: Erica Reed Lee
Thursday, May 25, 6 – 7pm  |  Register

“Book Arts of Houston” uncovers and promotes the legacy of Houston artists working in the artist book medium. In this exhibition, artists from and of Houston introduce new ways of seeing by presenting books as both performative and narrative objects. The exhibition introduces the book arts’ history within the Houston community and demonstrates historical and contemporary approaches to the medium, and demonstrates its enduring popularity amongst individual Houston artists. Using “book arts” as an umbrella term to refer to a range of practices including bookbinding, artists’ books, and multiples, the exhibition provides a broad range of craft and conceptual work.

The exhibition offers a survey of artists and the medium by featuring an impressive 35 bookworks by 30 artists including Charis Ammon, Keliy Anderson-Staley, Missy Bosch, Penny Cerling, The Center for Imaginative Cartography & Research, Lauren Moya Ford, Ian Gerson, Jessica C. González, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Brandon Tho Harris, Hillerbrand + Magsamen, Gaby Hurtado-Ramos, Jonathan P. Jackson, Cathie Kayser, Suzanne Manns, Anna Mavromatis, Mystic Multiples, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Paratext, Janet Reynolds, Caroline Roberts, Adrienne Simmons, Lee Steiner, Roberto Tejada, Lynn Williams, and Geoffrey Winningham.

The exhibition also features Bayou Books from the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and selected works from the Hirsch Library courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

In conjunction with the exhibition, The Printing Museum will host several workshops led by exhibiting artists and publish a catalogue with writing by the curator.

About the Curator: Erica Reed Lee is an artist and curator based in Houston. Exploring themes around the technological present, she creates textile works, paintings, and artist books. Her recent work includes “From the Cave,” an installation and online performance that explored the ways in which isolation and technology has shaped our psyche over the course of the pandemic. In 2022, she curated the exhibition “Gathering What’s Tangible” at Flatland Gallery. Centered around craft and connection in response to the pandemic, the exhibition featured works by members of the artist collective Open MFA.

The project is funded, in part, by a grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.