Collections
Modern British bookbinding : Bibliotheca Wittockiana, Brussels & Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague, 1985.
Books
REF.EC.1833
44 p. : col. ill. ; 30 cm.
1985
Bookbinding, Art, Modern, England
"This collection of British bookbindings exhibits a vitality of expression rarely found in book art elsewhere. The chief impression is one of a rugged, plastic, almost sculptural creativity. The seemingly spontaneous effect characteristic of some of the works may evoke the criticism that the artists are not particularly skilled makers. This was criticism leveled at painters like Van Gogh, or more recently, Willem de Kooning; but had those artists' works seen executed in the smooth ans polished manner of a Vermeer of a Magritte, it would have been immediately apparent that the expressive nature endowed by the technique itself- an integral part of the statement- would have seen lost. So it is with such artists of the book as David Stellars and Trevor Jones. The way the work is executed is essential to the sensibility of the expression, and the manner of execution is as deliberate in these works as it is in those with traditionally 'high craft' finish."-- from introduction
Includes English, Dutch, and French text.
Includes bibliographical references and index.