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Livres d'Artistes: Selections from the Ritter Collection
Georges Braque / Guillaume Apollinaire
This exhibition highlights a rare and remarkable form of artistic
production,
the livre d'artiste, or artist-illustrated book. Complimenting
prose and
poetry from the classic to the obscure, the exhibition features original
imprints
by celebrated masters of modernism. The livre d'artiste took
shape in the
early 20th Century as a previously unknown collaboration between artists
and
writers, with the support of art dealers looking to attract collectors.
Great attention was given to the design, typesetting, paper selection,
packaging, and printing of these often-ornate books.
The Ritter Collection contains exemplary samples of the livre
d'artiste genre.
Mel Ritter, a long-time Tucsonan, has been collecting these books for
twenty-five years. Notes Ritter, "As both a book lover and an artist,
I think the livre d'artiste is amazing. I find continual
enjoyment
in this unique form of artistic expression." Adds UAMA Chief Curator,
Lisa Fischman, "The exhibition is a testament to the important and
enduring relationship between museums and private collectors.
Through the wonderful generosity of the Ritters, UAMA has the
opportunity to present this selection of rare and exceptional
objects to which many audiences might otherwise not have access."
A number of celebrated artists working in France during the early
years of the last century contributed to livres d'artistes, and
are featured in the exhibition, including Pablo Picasso,
Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, and Marc Chagall. Contemporary
variations on the artist-illustrated book tradition will also be
represented, through works by artists such as Francisco Clemente,
Davis Hockney, Joan Mitchell, and Jasper Johns, among others.
Highlights of the exhibition include Salvador Dali's interpretation
of Alice in Wonderland and Robert Mapplethorpe's response to
Arthur Rimbaud's Une Saison en Enfer (A Season in Hell).
To enhance the visitor experience, UAMA created a reading room
environment with available trade versions of selected books in the
exhibit. "The exhibition is particularly well timed for the heat of
Tucson's summer months. With several trade versions of the texts
available, it is my hope that the public will come, view the
exhibition, and stay a while to read in the museum," comments Fischman.
UAMA hosted an opening reception for Livres d'Artistes:
Selections from the Ritter Collection on Thursday, June 8
from 5:00 to 6:30 pm. The Museum presented related programs and events
throughout the
duration of the exhibition.
Visit our Exhibition History page for information
on past exhibitions at UAMA.
UAMA: (520) 621-7567
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