Artists’ books have a long history: they might be traced back as far as William Blake, who made his own books to express his distinctive vision free from commercial pressures. This exhibition at the Warburg Institute celebrates that kind of independent thinking, narrowing its focus to artists’ books from the 1960s onwards and celebrating just how varied they can be (22 May–2 August). These range from Nicole Wermers’s Croissants & Architecture (2016), in which photographs of pastries are eroded by sandpaper, to Mike Kelley’s Why I Got into Art (1991), a series of 22 erotic black-and-white photographs of women engaged in dance, avant-garde theatre and other performative activities. Bibliophiles will learn a lot about bookmaking and publishing, while art lovers can appreciate the many ways in which visual artists have continually reinvented the book.
Find out more from the Warburg Institute’s website.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary
Production shot of Les choses qu’on dit (2024) by Camille Yvert. © Camille Yvert
The Word (2024), Lisa Chang. © Lisa Chang Lee
Artist edition of Martyrology (2020–), self-published by M Lissoni. © M Lissoni
The Warburg Institute makes its mysteries more public
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