Printed Matter is pleased to announce an exhibition featuring a new set of publications by Maurizio Cattelan from Three Star Books. The show runs January 26th through February 11, 2012. Please join us for an opening at Printed Matter on January 26th, 6-8PM.
Conceived as artworks in the spirit of Duchamp’s Boîte-en-valise, the large format and loose-page boxed set surveys Cattelan’s career with an autobiographical account that verges on the mythological.
Designed and edited by the artist, these three books: “Die / Die more / Die better / Die again” (2007), “The Three Qattelan” (2010) and “The Taste of Others” (2011) are beautifully produced objects, printed offset in 5 colors (note that “Die / Die more / Die better / Die again” (2007) is printed in 6 colors using Staccato screens with UV inks).
For the duration of the exhibition, Printed Matter will have regular editions available for purchase individually as well as boxed sets.
The completion of this set marks the artist’s continued interest in publishing and elaborates on a career making wry and penetrating sculptures, most famously a life-size Pope John Paul II brought down by a meteor. These works from Three Star Books are as ambitious in scope and partake in the subtle delivery of his past works.
Pages of text and photos have been translated into hand-painted plates following an original typeset model and subsequently printed offset on recto only; the images of Cattelan’s own sculptures, photos and publishing efforts are likewise painted as miniatures by artists Fu Site and Xinhui Li.
For the most recent edition (published in October 2011) long-term Cattelan collaborator and New Museum curator Massimiliano Gioni recounts the many editions and ephemeral projects spawned by the artist. Beyond merely listing works in catalogue raisonne form, Gioni’s text is done in a magisterial style, often written about himself in the third person to demonstrate the intricate crossovers between friendship and work. The other editions include writing by writer and curator Francesco Bonami and Bice Curiger, chief editor of Parkett and curator at Kunsthaus Zurich.
Each of the Three Star Books measures 12.7 x 16.9 inches and is produced in an edition of 1,000. Special signed and numbered deluxe copies are available for both “Die / Die more / Die better / Die again” (2007) and “The Three Qattelan ”(2010) editioned at 100 copies and the deluxe copy of The Taste of Others (2011) is available in an edition of 50. All three titles in deluxe form include an original hand-painted illustration.
Each book comes in a hand-crafted cardboard box with embossed and foil stamped text including a printed image in a plate sink. The complete sets retail for $1,750 USD and can be purchased at Printed Matter or online here. “The Taste of Others”, the newest publication in the series, retails for $375 USD and can be purchased here.
