photos from the LABF

A few quick iPhone shots: the opening few minutes of the fair, our table, some Paul + Wendy editions  and things from other friends, Martin Creed performing in the corner. 

Art Book Fairs Tomorrow, in London and NYC

Both the London and New York Art Book Fairs open tomorrow night. Details here and here.

If you're in London, visit the Nothing Else Press at Booth 44 on the 1st floor of Whitechapel Gallery.

Harry Ruhé

We spent the day yesterday with Harry Ruhé, both at his home (the former Galerie A) and his more recent gallery and shop, CultClub, with Jeannette Dekeukeleire.

Slow hotel internet and a shortage of time will delay reports back, but visit his site here for a selection of many incredible things he has for sale.

Hans Eijkelboom | People of the Twenty-First Century

Hans Eijkelboom
People of the Twenty-First Century 
London, UK: Phaidon, 2014
512 pp., 22 x 17.5 cm., paperback
Edition size unknown


Hans Eijkelboom has produced over fifty artist's books in the last thirty-five years. Yesterday we visited his Amsterdam studio and were shown a small sample of them, including the first copy of his forthcoming Phaidon title, People of the Twenty-First Century. The thick volume features an essay by David Carrier and over 6000 photographs by Eijkelboom.

He described his process of unassumingly standing on a street corner with a camera around his neck. A remote is fed through his shirt so that he can surreptitiously take photographs of passersby. He begins by spending half an hour to decide on his "teams". The "teams" may be women wearing pink, men dressed in plaid, people carrying coffee, wearers of concert shirts, fans of Al Pacino, etc. Once decided, he typically allots himself a two-hour period in which to document members of the "team" (though a forthcoming project extends the time in order to find couples that link the groups in a sort of daisy-chain).

The resulting grids, called Photo Notes, become anthropological typologies. The work investigates notions of identity and the myriad cultural sub-categories one chooses to self-identify with. The grids also become portraits of the cities in which they are made, with the book covering projects in Amsterdam, New York, Paris and Shanghai, from a period of over twenty years (of his over forty year old practice).

Eijkelboom's early books were made in small editions, often self-published. This forthcoming title will have a production size of around 40,000 copies and may see a collaboration with Urban Outfitters to appear in their over-400 retail locations worldwide. 

The book is released in late October, and can be pre-ordered here, for €29.95.

Bookclub at the Book Fair / Contest

I've just been putting together a powerpoint presentation where Bill Clarke, Roula Partheniou and myself will represent Bookclub (which also includes Micah Lexier, Derek McCormack, Paul Van Kooy, Michael Klein, Sarah Robya Sheridan, Derek Sullivan and Wendy Gomoll) at the London Art Book Fair next week. We'll talk about the origins and activities of the group, and share some favourite titles. There will be a Q&A afterwards, and some raffle prizes.

The event takes place at Whitechapel Gallery next Friday, the 26th of September from 3 to 4pm. Booking is required.

Above are some of our bookshelves. The fair is offering chance to win 10 Art Books by posting a photo of your own bookshelves to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #artbookshelfie. The fair will be selecting a winner in a prize draw on Monday 29 September. The deadline for submissions is Sunday 28 September, 6pm. It is a requirement of the contest that the books be collected personally, but if you happen to win I'm sure we could work something out...

Douglas Gordon turns 48 today

Paul + Wendy Projects

In addition to our own books and multiples (including four or five we are launching there, depending on a shipment arriving today or not), we will have a number of editions by Paul+Wendy Projects at the London Art Book Fair next week, including works by Micah Lexier, Derek Sullivan, Sara MacKillop, David Shrigley, Michael Dumontier, and ourselves.