Books and Art

A trip with Vladimir Kush

Pillow BookRussian artist Vladimir Kush is a one man surrealism factory. With four of his own galleries in the U.S. and more coming around the globe you know he paints a lot. Fortunately for us, the book is well represented in his portfolio.Here is what Kush has to say on the subject:BOOK is a metaphor for the history of human life. We use the analogy of the book when talking about a significant event in our lives, "one more page is written." For instance, when we mention man’s first flight into the cosmos or to the moon, we say, "one...

Continue Reading →

Wordpharmacy: Take two verbs and call me in the morning

Wordpharmacy is a concrete poetical work from Danish language poet, Morten Søndergaard. Playing with the language of pharmaceutical products Søndergaard has a field day. The work consists of ten medicine boxes, each representing one of the ten word-groups with each box containing a leaflet that functions as an instructional poem.Like pills, language is something to be consumed by the body, and in turn it does not only affect our conceptions of things, but it also comes to designate our very corporal movability in the world. Consequently, words are not only something we consume, they are refractory entities that in turn define and consume us. Wordpharmacy can be...

Continue Reading →

Curt Lund: Book Surgeon

Exhibition Title Graphics, Minneapolis Central LibraryFrom his graphic design work to his altered book pieces Curt Lund is pretty adept at handling his scalpel. He turns some of his hand-cut works into elaborate book dioramas. Here is a sampling from his work:Poster for MCBAFrom the series The West, (2007-08). Hand-cut and burned books, found images, found objects.Stones from the River, (2010). Hand-carved altered book, stones.Chemistry, (2010). Hand-cut altered book, glass.Field Guide, (2010). Hand-cut altered book, glass.Curt Lund on Behance

Continue Reading →

Jane Freilicher: Painter Among the New York Poets

Jane Freilicher and John Ashbery, 1952. Photo: Walter SilverOn the heels of their successful 60th anniversary exhibition, “Painters and Poets,” The Tibor de Nagy Gallery features a showing of the work of Jane Freilicher.Titled Painter Among Poets, the exhibit takes the same format and approach as it predecessor in closely examining the pivotal role of the painter among the poets, in this case The New York School. Freilicher "was not only the poets’ closest friend and confidante, she was also their muse," she is the Jane in title of Frank O’Hara's noted series of “Jane poems.”It will be the first exhibition to...

Continue Reading →