Drop Dead Gorgeous: Fine Bindings of La Prose du Transsibérien Re-creation

(above: fine binding of La Prose du Transsibérien Re-creation by Dominic Riley)

 

 

Exhibition Run Dates :: September 6 – October 6, 2019

 

Curator :: Kitty Maryatt

 

Location :: San Francisco Center for the Book, 375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA. 94103

 

Opening reception :: September 6, 2019, 6-8 pm (Remarks @ 7pm) :: RSVP via Eventbrite(link is external)

 

Join SFCB in celebrating the artists and fine bindings of Dead Gorgeous: Fine Bindings of La Prose du Transsibérien Re-creation. Featuring fine bindings from design bookbinders around the world, this exhibition showcases both the innovation of the original 1913 volume and artistry of contemporary bookbinders of today. Light hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served. 

 

   

(left: fine binding by Coleen Curry   ::   right: fine binding by Derek Hood)

 

About the exhibition :: The remarkable book by poet Blaise Cendrars and artist Sonia Delaunay, La Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France, was produced by letterpress and pochoir in 1913. It was a landmark achievement for its time with its unprecedented format, avant-garde typography and abstract imagery, and remains vibrant and modern today.

 

Kitty Maryatt of Two Hands Press has been researching the production of La Prose du Transsibérien since 2012. In 2018, she debuted a new edition of 150 copies, which faithfully incorporates techniques and methods used in the original. At the same time, Maryatt and her underwriters commissioned fine bindings by notable design binders from around the world. These bindings, along with Maryatt’s La Prose du Transsibérien Re-Creation, have resulted in a traveling exhibition titled Drop Dead Gorgeous: Fine Bindings of La Prose du Transsibérien Re-creation.

Debuting in San Francisco, the exhibition will feature the work of twenty-four design binders, including Don Glaister, Monique Lallier, Midori Kunikata-Cockram and Julian Thomas. Tools, materials, and supplemental material used in the creation of Maryatt’s edition of La Prose will also be on display. Upon closing in San Francisco in October, the exhibition travels to additional venues in the United States, Canada and England.

 

   

(left: fine binding by Samuel Feinstein   ::   right: fine binding by Don Glaister/Fool's Gold Studio)

 

Featured artists ::

Kathy Abbott(link is external) :: Servane Briand(link is external) :: Coleen Curry(link is external) :: Sue Doggett (link is external):: Samuel Feinstein(link is external) :: Erin Fletcher / Herringbone Bindery(link is external) :: Donald Glaister / Fool's Gold Studio(link is external) :: Derek Hood(link is external) :: Susan Hulme(link is external) :: Midori Kunikata-Cockram / Jade Bookbinding Studio(link is external) :: Monique Lallier(link is external) :: Kitty Maryatt / Two Hands Press (link is external):: Sabina Nies / Sun Book Arts(link is external) :: Patricia Owen :: Dominic Riley / Owl Barn Studio(link is external) :: Tracey Rowledge(link is external) ::  Priscilla Spitler / Hands On Bookbinding(link is external) :: Julian Thomas(link is external)

 

Exhibition catalog :: A fully illustrated catalog of this exhibition will be available for purchase from San Francisco Center for the Book.

 

Exhibition sponsors :: Grants For The Arts | San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund | The Kahle Austin Foundation | Toby Schwartzburg | Simon Eccles | Kitty Maryatt | Anonymous