Top: Peter Wüthrich; On the Art of Making Bouquets, 2005; mixed media; dimensions variable
Bottom: Matthew Higgs; A Picture is a Picture, 2006; Framed book cover; 17 1/4 x 14 3/4 inches
| Ex Libris: Matthew Higgs and Peter Wüthrich
Wednesday, September 26 - Sunday, December 9, 2007
University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, UMass Amherst
Ex Libris: Matthew Higgs and Peter Wüthrich is an exhibition that brings together two internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, Matthew Higgs (UK) and Peter Wüthrich (Switzerland), who explore the book as “found” conceptual art and sculptural form. This exhibition coincides with BookMarks, a region-wide celebration of the book sponsored by Museums10 in fall 2007.
For the past fifteen years, Matthew Higgs' signature works have been made from book pages and covers carefully taken from their binding and original context to make unique works that have surprising impact and wit. They are either framed title pages extracted from an existing book or an altered version of a book cover. Peter Wüthrich makes reference to Minimalist sculpture and monochrome painting, simulating and creating landscapes and objects with playful use of form and color. The book as object and metaphor has constituted the key material of his artistic practice since the early 1990s.
Their art is an inexhaustible inventory of forms and styles, by its intrinsic components: typography, grammar, ink colors, illustrations, bindings, covers, and bookmarks. The results are as much about poetry as about art, and represent a contemporary homage to the book. |
