The Austin/Burch Gallery
SFCB has mounted over 70 book arts related exhibitions since its inception in 1996, ranging from collections or group works to individual retrospectives featuring local, national and international book artists in our Austin/Burch gallery. Named for our co-founders Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch, this 1,400 square foot exhibition space is adjacent to our print and bindery studios, creating the perfect environment for visitors to see both works in progress and fully realized art work. We have also presented exhibitions at off-site venues including the Commonwealth Club, ODC Dance Theatre at Project Artaud and the Marin Community Center.
Exhibition Opportunities:
Proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis. Unsolicited proposals will not be returned without a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Review can take up to 12 weeks. Artists and organizations interested in exhibition opportunities at SFCB can send proposals to: Exhibitions, SFCB, 300 De Haro, Street Ste. 334, San Francisco, CA 94103
From June 1, 2012 in the Austin Burch Gallery
SAN FRANCISCO CENTER FOR THE BOOK (SFCB) IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE EXPLODING THE CODEX EXHIBITION
Exhibition runs June 1-August 31, 2012
Gallery Hours 10:00 am- 5:00 pm Monday-Friday, Saturday 12-4pm
Free and open to the public
SFCB is proud to announce its summer exhibition in the Austin/Burch Gallery, Exploding the Codex, a group show featuring the works of over 40 book artists from the collection of Mary Austin, curated by Daisy Carlson. The show explores the theater of the book and storytelling through structure. These books go beyond the traditional format to unveil new ways of presenting and telling stories. Often theatrical or stage-like in their presentation, they pull the viewer into their individual dramas and diverse varieties of form and presentation.
The exhibition explores the ways in which a book's size and dimensions determine our relationship to it and what it is trying to tell us. One can choose between the intimacy of a tiny journal, private and curious, easily hidden as if keeping a secret between reader and teller; or we may choose to be awed by a ceremoniously large book that engages us in alto, the spine boasting of a grand celebration. The size, structure, and shape are the book's octave.
Exploding the Codex explores information and presentation: in our lifetime, we have seen an incredible change in the way information is presented. As information becomes digitized, our relationship to information and access is evolving. The form of information is a large part of how we interpret the story. Despite the proliferation of digital information, there will always be room in our lives for theater, and for the privacy of the printed word and the luxury of paper between our fingertips. Books are monuments to consciousness and begin collective conversations that evolve our culture and our perception of ourselves in the world. As the Codex explodes so does our perception of our place in the world.