Printed Matter is pleased to present Book as System: The Artists’ Books of Sol LeWitt, organized by curator and editor Emanuele De Donno, with the collaboration of the LeWitt Estate. The exhibition surveys the varied and historically significant publication practice of conceptual artist Sol LeWitt through a near-complete presentation of book works drawn from the expansive research of Giorgio Maffei Archive and VIAINDUSTRIAE archive in connection with private collections. On occasion of the show Printed Matter is very pleased to issue a facsimile reprint of LeWitt’s iconic Four Basic Kinds of Lines & Colour (1977), co-published with Primary Information (Read more here)
Please join us for an opening reception on Friday, June 28, 6-8PM. Attend on Facebook here. A roundtable discussion will take place Saturday, June 29, 5PM – details here
Known primarily as an installation artist and sculptor, LeWitt also produced many dozens of artists’ books starting in the late 1960s—often in association with gallery shows—until his death in 2007. LeWitt was among the first wave of conceptual artists who helped to establish a new radical framework for the publication-as-artwork, and his exemplary approach was instrumental in charting out the reaches of the medium. Drawn to the format for its broad accessibility, LeWitt explored notions of seriality and permutation, seeing the page as a rich site for experimental sequences of line, color, geometric forms and, later on, photographic images which often took on a parallel approach to exhaustively documenting common objects and surroundings.
The exhibition starts with LeWitt’s 1967 Serial Project No. 1 (Aspen magazine) and features iconic publications across his career, including his submission to the legendary Seth Siegelaub-produced project known as the “Xerox Book”, and his contributions to the bulletin of Amsterdam-based gallery Art & Project. The extensive presentation of more than 75 book works—including octavo paperbacks, staple-bound booklets, and folio sets—lends insight into LeWitt’s interests across conceptual, minimal and post-minimal art, and his return to series and systems across various material forms.
Book as System includes the execution of Wall Drawing 350, a suite of three outlined isometric forms (trapezoid, parallelogram, triangle), realized with black crayon.
We are pleased to make an extensive selection of nearly 50 publications, exhibition cards and ephemeral works available for purchase. A PDF of for-sale items is available on request— please write to sales@printedmatter.org with inquiries.
