Brice Marden – Notebook Sept. 1964-Sept. 1967

Info

Hardcover, 130 pages
7.5 x 4.5 inches
Published by Karma, 2015

Words

A glimpse into an artist’s notebook is about as close as we can get to witnessing the origins of a finished piece, offering an intimate level of access that is not often afforded to the public. Karma has released just such a curio devoted to Brice Marden’s art during a three-year period: September 1964 to September 1967. In some ways it functions as an autobiography of process; designed to resemble an actual notebook, it includes photos, postcards and handwritten notes which provide a personal insight into how his work came together at the time.

—Available from Karma

Will Boone – Prison Rodeo

Info

48 pages, 10.5 x 8.75 inches
Edition of 750
Published by Karma, 2014

Words

The naive design sense of this Will Boone book, published by Karma, immediately caught my attention when I first saw it. The description states: “Prison Rodeo catalogues reference photographs used in Boone’s practice over the last several years. From heavy metal to Elvis to the American South, the artist’s influences are displayed as side by side colour images in diverging order.” This volume offers an insightful look into a world of inspiration that wouldn't generally be presented as a single work of art.

—Available from Karma

La Fine del Mondo

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—01. Designed by Sinisa Mackovic and Robert Milne.

Words

I wasn't supposed to be buying books. I wasn't even supposed to be shopping. But when something catches your eye, in a place that you love and trust, and that thing is only $10, there's really only ever going to be one outcome. Le Fine del Mondo – published by Rainoff books – has been produced by Marco Fusinato, Felicity D. Scott and Mark Wasiuta on the occasion of their contribution to the 14th International Architecture Exhibition at la Biennale di Venezia. The installation they put together, under the same name, includes not only this print document but also a series of "sensor-triggered audio-visual components depicting related records from Turin's Piper Club of 1966 and three Milanese centri sociali: Leoncavallo, Cox18, and Virus." Both book and installation aim to question the use of nightclubs and other social spaces as "sites of political meditation." Which sounds intense, and to be honest is not something I know a lot about. Which is as good a reason as any to purchase a book. They're supposed to be tools for learning and inspiration, after all.

—Rainoff
—Available from Karma

Joe Bradley – Our Gang

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—01. Colour offset.

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Our Gang, published by Karma, is something a little different from New York-based painter Joe Bradley, who has a habit of keeping people guessing. The 32-page book, released this year in an edition of 500, features colour photographs of children wearing paper animal masks – a simple yet haunting exercise that stands out next to his painted works.

—Available from Antenne Books

Ken Price at Karma

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—01. See if Turtle Cups will Float? Shots in Pool.
—02. Sculpture Park with Viewing Walls.

Words

My obsession with Ken Price's work has hit feverish levels. Between the quality of his recent publications, and seeing his most recent show at Matthew Marks, I can safely say that aesthetically he is in a league of his own. The way he translates his strange, erotically charged alien world so effortlessly between mediums is truly something to admire. I suggest picking up See if Turtle Cups will Float? Shots in Pool to fully understand the breadth of his work.

—Available at Karma

Amy O'Neill – Red Headed Stranger

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—01. Published in an edition of 500.

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Amy O'Neill is one of the most talented and multi-faceted individuals working in contemporary art today. The bulk of her output is either highly conceptual sculpture or scrappy hand-drawn work, but this book is neither of those things. To put it simply, it is 28 half blank pages filled with pictures of red heads. The seemingly simple book manages to conjure a potent undercurrent of dread as you flip through, to the point where you feel each woman included came to some terrible and well-publicized demise. It's a feeling that's hard to explain, so just pick it up and see for yourself.

—Available at Karma

Nicholas Gottlund – Make Ready

Info

April 18th - May 1st, 2013
Opening Thursday April 18, 6-8pm
39 Great Jones Street
New York, NY

Words

Opening tonight at Karma's newly opened Great Jones Street location, MAKE READY is an exhibition of printed work from artist and publisher Nicholas Gottlund. The show features an archive of one-off publications Nicholas has made, alongside the matching pair he produces each time, to insure he has a spare in case something later goes awry; an A and a B. As Nicholas himself describes it: "It is how these separate yet linked objects relate to one another when viewed in the same space that demonstrates their making most clearly."

—MAKE READY
—Nicholas Gottlund

Sam Falls - Life Size

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—01. 322 Pages.
—02. Edition of 1000.

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Published by the New York based Karma books, this is a beautifully crafted, highly detailed, and at times playful look at the day to day life and works of photograpaher and artist Sam Falls.

—Available at Karma