8/17/2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

bookart@artspace, An Invitational Curated Exhibition

September 25 - November 1, 2009

Fourth Friday Reception: 7:00 - 10:00 PM, Friday, September 25, 2009

Opening Artists' Reception: 7:00 - 10:00 PM, Friday, October 2, 2009

Fourth Friday Reception: 7:00 - 10:00 PM, Friday, October 23, 2009

Closing Curator / Artist Talk: 4:00 PM, Sunday, November 1, 2009

Artspace Gallery, Zero East Fourth Street, Richmond, VA 23224.

Local artist Michael Pierce and VCU instructor and artist Ginna Cullen curated this exhibit that presents a broad array of bookart works, both one-of-a-kind and editioned. The work will be exhibited on pedestals in the gallery and selected images of the work will be displayed on-line and in a printed catalog. In addition, the public can spend some time in a “Reading Room” at the gallery created by Douglas D’Urso; there you can sit and handle some of these bookart works (when artists have granted such permission) and experience them in time and space.

Some highlights of the show include:

· A bookart work by Keith Smith, from Rochester, NY, who has been one of the gurus of bookart for over 40 years, influencing many book artists through both his personal work and his textbooks.

· A collaborative piece by Ivarykeith, made by Keith Smith and his friend Ivary, who lives in Korea.

· Several bookart works by Scott McCarney, another accomplished Rochester-based book artist, who experiments with print on demand editions.

· A recently published and signed book by Kenny Scharf, an artist working in Brooklyn, NY and Los Angeles, who was a key figure in the East Village art scene of the 1980s and created album covers for the B-52s during that time.

· Several late bookart works by Richard Carlyon (1930 - 2006), an Influential and highly regarded artist and teacher in Richmond. (Carlyon’s work will also be showcased in a concurrent retrospective at VCU’s Anderson Gallery, 1708 Gallery, The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, and Reynolds Gallery.)

Other artists in the show include:

· Richmond-based artists Mitzi Humphrey, Amie Oliver, Chuck Scalin, Kathleen Westkaemper, Rosemary Jesionowski, , Anne Savedge, Jake Urbanski, Jill Zevenbergen, Keithly Pierce, Megan Mattax, Gary Garbett, Robin Ryder, JoAnna Hickman, Lynda Ray, Caudia Weisner-Lombecher, Michael O'Neal, Jennifer Stumpt, and Kim Young.

· Virginia artists Marc Borzelleca, Leslie Brier, Michelle Lieb, Susan Vick, Heather Warstler, Merenda Woodward, and Hilary Woznica.

· Artists from Arizona, Los Angeles, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, and New York including Sarah Benson, Mark Christopher Harvey, Patti Kessler, Jeff Nilan, G. Alex Norwood, Kris Sanford, Charlotte Weber, Maureen McCarren and Mel Odom.

You can view the bookart works included in the show on-line now at http://bookartatartspace.blogspot.com .

Contact: Michael Pierce

Email: mapierce2001@comcast.net

Phone: 804-337-5979.