Kay Rosen

Happy Birthday to Kay Rosen. 

Endre Tót | Leporello N° 12

Endre Tót

Leporello N° 12

Gothenburg, Sweden: LL'Editions, 2025

99 x 14.2 cm., accordion fold

Edition of 250 

Released in August of this year, this is the twelve in a series of boxed leporellos, following works by Fiona Banner, Shannon Ebner, Ryan Gander, Micah Lexier,  Jonathan Monk,  Maurizio Nannucci, Kay Rosen and others. 

It can be purchased from the publisher, here, for €30.

"Since 1971, Hungarian artist Endre Tót has worked with a series titled ‘Joys’ — beginning as a reflection of the dictatorial conditions Eastern European socialism during 1970s. The absurdity of the naive and euphoric expressions of joy stood in stark contrast, not only to the oppressive political climate, but also to the intellectualism of the art world. In 1978, Tót wrote “I’d be happy if I could write on the other side too” on the Berlin Wall. Over the years, Tót has repurposed this phrase a number of times, in different contexts.” 

- publisher’s statement

Kay Rosen | Duck in the Muck

Kay Rosen

Duck in the Muck

Gothenburg, Sweden: LL'Editions, 2024

10 pp., 99 x 14.2 cm., accordion fold

Edition of 250

For their Leporello Series, ll’Editions invites a well-curated selection of excellent artists (Jonathan Monk, Micah Lexier, Fiona Banner, Maurizio Nannucci, etc.) to conceive of a work in the accordion fold format. Beyond this format stipulation, artists are given carte blanche to respond any way they wish. 

For the tenth iteration of the series, Kay Rosen revisited a work not seen for over a decade. Duck in the Muck was presented at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver in 2013, as part of Rosen’s first solo exhibition in Canada (see below). The work was conceived in 1989, the year of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. 

On March 24th, 1989, an oil supertanker owned by the Exxon Shipping Company struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, ten kilometres west of Tatitlek, Alaska, at midnight. The tanker spilled over ten million gallons of crude oil over the next few days.

It was the second largest oil in U.S. waters, and the environmental impact was exacerbated by the remoteness of the site. Prince William Sound is only accessible by helicopter, plane, or boat, making government and industry response efforts difficult. 

Many miles of coastline were affected and species as diverse as sea otters, harlequin ducks, and orcas whales suffered immediate and long-term losses. Some have still not recovered. 

Duck in the Muck (also known as Exxon Axxident) consists of nine distorted variations of the word “quack” reflecting "genetic damage to living species by oil and chemical spills, and as a worldwide disaster, the multiple spellings allude to the cries of voices from populations around the globe.”

Duck in the Muck was released earlier this month in a small edition of 250 copies. Get yours for €30, here. 

Andreas Friberg Lundgren

This greeting card (2023 Happy Holidays, 2024 Back to the Grind) arrived from Andreas Friberg Lundgren, who (alongside Carl-Johan Lindqvist) operates the design studio Lundgren+Lindqvist, which produces the wonderful boxed ll’Editions. 

Happy Birthday to Micah Lexier

Maurizio Nannucci | Leporello N° 06

Maurizio Nannucci

Leporello N° 06 

Gothenburg, Sweden: LL'Editions, 2022

10 pp., 14 x 8 x 19.1 cm., accordion fold

Edition of 250

For The Leporello Series, ll’Editions invites artists to contribute a work in the accordion fold format, otherwise giving them carte blanche. Other artists in the series include Heimo Zobernig, Micah Lexier, Fiona Banner, Ryan Gander, Shannon Ebner, Karl Holmqvist and Jonathan Monk.

Olivia Vander Tuig | Various Small Fires

Olivia Vander Tuig

Various Small Fires

Gothenburg, Sweden: ll'Editions, 2020

3.9 x 5.7 x 1.4 cm.

Edition of 20 signed and numbered copies

"The Zippo™ is the archetypical form of a lighter. It is an object which has obtained pop cultural status, appearing in many films, books and works of art. One such example is Ed Ruscha’s artist’s book Various Small Fires and Milk (self-published, 1964). The book is Ruscha’s second photographically illustrated artist’s book, cataloguing a range of flames and a glass of milk. One of these small fires happens to be (you guessed it) a Zippo lighter.

As with many other small, utilitarian objects with a long lifetime, engraving and personalising Zippo lighters has been around for as long as the lighter itself. From the Zippos bearing testimonials of the terrors of war or the mirage like desires of the American soldiers during the Vietnam war, to Don Draper’s personalised brass zippo in the television series Mad Men; the Zippo is a constant companion – whether it is used for lighting cigarettes or candles.

Olivia’s edition for ll’Editions is a follow-up to a bespoke lighter that was made by the artist for our co-founder, for which the same motif had been requested. After receiving many questions about the lighter, we decided to ask Vander Tuig to make a small edition of 20 lighters for ll’Editions.

The result is in equal parts an homage to Ruscha, with the title of his seminal artist book engraved mimicking its cover, and to the tradition of artist’s books. Every order includes a hand engraved original zippo lighter and comes in an original Zippo box, which has been hand painted, titled and numbered by the artist. Each lighter is engraved with ‘VARIOUS SMALL FIRES’ on the front and ‘AND MILK’ on the back. The sides of the lighter are engraved with ‘LL’EDITIONS’ along with its number in the edition on one side, and the artist’s signature and year on the other."

- publisher's blurb