Printed Matter Presents the NY Art Book Fair Sept. 21-23

Printed Matter presents the thirteenth annual NY Art Book Fair (NYABF), from September 21-23, 2018, at MoMA PS1. The NY Art Book Fair is the leading international gathering for the distribution of artists’ books, celebrating the full breadth of the art publishing community. 

Free and open to the public, the event draws more than 35,000 individuals including book lovers, collectors, artists, and art world professionals each year. In 2018, the NYABF will host 365 exhibitors from around the world featuring a wide variety of works - from zines and artists’ books to antiquarian books and contemporary art editions. The NYABF offers countless opportunities to attend free programs including artist-led discussions, performances, interactive workshops, and curated exhibitions. 

THE NY ART BOOK FAIR PREVIEW

Join us on Thursday, September 20 from 6-9 pm, at MoMA PS1 for the opening night preview. The evening will feature special live performances from DJ Monchan, Roe Enney, and Odwalla1221, presented by Blank Forms. Ticket is $20 and includes a limited edition work by artist Ryan Gander. 

NYABF 2018 FUNDRAISING EDITIONS
Printed Matter presents new limited-edition artworks by Laylah Ali, Ryan Gander, and Eileen Quinlan. 

Comfort with Rage (shown right) is a 4-color silkscreen print by artist Laylah Ali. The new work is based on a recent drawing emblematic of the artist’s interest in creating narratives and imagery that question the stability of fixed cultural, racial, and sexual definitions. Signed and numbered in an edition of 100.

Accelerated Logic by Ryan Gander is this year's ticket edition. This laser die-cut stencil in orange acrylic contains annotations made by the artist to page 11 of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing. The annotations select, highlight, and censor the still in-print publication. Mirroring the mass production of the book, the work considers the possible multiplication of a personal perspective through the function of the stencil. Produced in an edition of 2000.

Artist Eileen Quinlan releases two new gelatin silver prints, Cleaved Crow and Pole Position. These photographic editions utilize images found online, each printed and rephotographed, then manually manipulated through analog processes. In Cleaved Crow, the bird is representative of Quinlan's interest in non-human intelligence and what constitutes "being" in relation to the emergence of artificial intelligence on a mass scale. In Pole Position, the artist reworks a rendering of a supernova in which the star and surrounding sky evoke existential questions about our place in the universe. Center points (apertures, orifices, bullet holes, vanishing points, and the eyes of storms) are a recurring motif for the artist. Signed and numbered in an edition of 20 each.

PRINTED MATTER @ NYABF

Visit us this weekend in the MoMA PS1 Lobby, where we'll present an offering of recent contemporary favorites from the bookstore, as well as at our Out of Print booth (L03), featuring an exciting selection of rare and out of print materials. Highlights at the OP booth include two issues of the classic mimeograph artists' periodical 0 to 9, Seth Siegelaub's famed the Xerox Book, vintage Marcel Broodthaers exhibition posters, print multiples by Barbara Kruger from the 80s and 90s, a complete set of the experimental fiction periodical by women authors Top Stories, and a broad selection of artists' books from the 60s and 70s by Mel Bochner, Ed Ruscha and Lawrence Weiner, and more.

PRINTED MATTER SIGNING EVENTS

Printed Matter hosts book signings throughout the NYABF at the main booth (LOBBY)

9/22, 2PM - Signing of Weaving Language II by Francesca Capone 

9/22, 3PM - Signing of Passion by Bernhard Kleber. Published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH. 

9/22, 4PM - Launch of The Mysterious Tale of Gentle Jack and Lord Bumblebee. Signing with Stephen Ostrowski. Published by Small Press. 

SPECIAL PROGRAMMING

A History of Zines!

Printed Matter proudly presents a wide-reaching historical exhibition of zine publishing across the 20th century and onward, beginning with science-fiction and underground horror publications of the 1920s, and concluding with new works created on occasion of this year’s NYABF. A History of Zines! gathers more than 400 self-published works and related archival materials, spanning genres and offering an unmediated view into various subcultures and grassroots activism, including LGBTQ, punk, hip-hop, the Mimeo Revolution, photography, skateboarding, the Beats, and feminism. A selection of zines will be available for browsing. A History of Zines! is dedicated to the memory and legacy of Shannon Michael Cane. Curated by 8-Ball Community and Johan Kugelberg/Boo-Hooray.

The Classroom

The Classroom provides space for informal lectures, readings, screenings and other activities by artists, writers, designers and publishers. The program highlights exciting new releases at the Fair and fosters dialogue around important themes for contemporary art publishing and the broader community. Participants include: Ann Butler, Johanna Drucker, Lia Gangitano, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Tammy Nguyen, Jeanine Tang, Lynne Tillman, Ruth van Beek, and Martha Wilson, among many others. Organized by David Senior, Head of the Library and Archives, SFMOMA.
See the full Classroom schedule 

Friendly Fire

A component of the NYABF since its inception in 2006, Friendly Fire features presses and artists' collectives that practice different forms of cultural, social and political activism. This year's participants include 8-Ball Community, Allied Productions, Inc, Interference Archive, Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, True Laurels, and Visual AIDS among others. Curated by Printed Matter’s Executive Director Max Schumann.

See the full Friendly Fire list 

Exhibitor Project Spaces

The 2018 NY Art Book Fair features a number of special exhibitor projects, including an immersive interactive reading room of The Free Black Women’s Library by 3 Dot Zine , a presentation of posters and drawings from Richard McGuire by Alden ProjectsTM, a project space in collaboration with choreographer William Forsythe presented by Gagosian, an exhibition of works and notebooks by Dan Asher from Martos Gallery, an installation of new limited edition artists’ book editions from onestar press and Three Star Books, new screenprint portfolios by artists Shio Kusaka and Nicolas Party from Karma, and the return of the special Boiler Room installation from Netherlands-based Werkplaats Typografie.  See full Exhibitor Project Details

Project Focus: Press Press & We the News

Press Press and We the News develop two new projects for the NY Art Book Fair in the MoMA PS1 courtyard, addressing questions around immigration and the immigrant experience in the US. Baltimore based printing studio and storefront Press Press present an interactive exhibition and program series around Sentiments: Expressions of Cultural Passage, a new publication compiling conversations, artist projects, and writings that explore cultural passage, immigrant identity, and notions of sanctuary. Meanwhile, We the News, a project by artist and designer Lizania Cruz, presents a newstand featuring zines by black immigrants and first-generation black Americans. See more on these projects 

Shannon Michael Cane Award

The Shannon Michael Cane Award is granted to four first-time NYABF exhibitors (artists, artists' book publishers, or collectives) in the early stages of their career. The inaugural year winners are backbone books, Ian Giles, MonoRhetorik, and Sming Sming Books.

SMC Bulletin Board & Program 

Throughout the Fair weekend, visitors are invited to contribute memories, thoughts, illustrations, and other personal expressions to a bulletin board located in the Basement to remember our dear friend and colleague Shannon Michael Cane (1974-2017). Printed Matter hopes to compile and publish these pages, online or in print, in remembrance of Shannon’s lasting impact.  We invite you to gather in the Basement Theater from 11am -1pm, Sunday, September 23, to share memories, stories, or simply reflect. 

Contemporary Artists’ Books Conference (CABC)

This year the Conference (Friday and Saturday) relocates to the newly opened Book Culture space at 26-09 Jackson Ave, just a few blocks away. Planned session topics include queer and trans perspectives in artist publishing, migration and diasporic community-based publishing, vernacular photography with poetry and prose, the history and influence of Avalanche magazine, and the relationship of comics and graphic novels to artists’ books and the fine arts.

Courtyard Stage

The Courtyard Stage has a ten year history of showcasing emerging talent alongside legendary artists and will host performances from musicians and sound artists to poets and performance artists running throughout the fair weekend. This year's programs are presented by Blank Forms, Printed Matter, Inc., Heavy Trip, and Pioneer Works. See the full list of Fair performances here.

Montez Press Radio
Montez Press Radio will present a day-long live broadcast (Friday, September 22, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Basement Theater) featuring performances, conversations, and recordings with a focus on the benefits of piracy, small presses, and alternative forms of distribution. In the spirit of pirate radio and its history, the station will broadcast from an onsite RV for the remaining duration of the fair. 

Social Media

Follow the NYABF on Instagram to stay up to date with everything that's going on @printedmatter_artbookfairs.