LA Biblioteca Talk & Tour

LA Biblioteca: Artists' Books from Los Angeles/Italia is an exhibition of thirty-two handmade, or produced, artist's books by eight artists form various parts of Italy, and eight Los Angeles-based artists. In the title, the presence of the Italian word “Biblioteca", translated in English to mean ‘library’, alludes not only to the participation of Italian artists but also to contents related to Italian culture, also present in the works of the American artists. Also, allude to by the title, the ‘LA’ is an article with double meaning: not only is the article suitable for the term library in Italian meaning ‘the’ in its feminine form, but it is also the acronym of Los Angeles (LA), the county hosting the exhibition. 

The books on display, two by each artist, range from a single copy to a graphic book in limited series. The shape of each book varies, from the browsable book to a scroll that is laid out, from the object book to the book composed of several tabular components. Each book is made through the use of various materials. In addition to paper and cardboard media, exhibited books are also fabricated using fabric, wood, assorted materials, and glass. Production techniques range from computerized ones, to embroidery, from painting to photography, from collage to animation. 

The exhibition is curated by Raffaella Lupi, John David O’Brien and Stefania Severi who have been dealing with artist books for years. The Italian artists are: Francesca Cataldi, Eleonora Cumer, Vittorio Fava, Koefia High Fashion Academy (sketchbooks by Allievi Diplomati), Luigi Manciocco, Riccardo Pieroni, Lydia Predominato, Maria Grazia Tata. The American artists are: Allison Laytin Dalton, Mary Addison Hackett, Nancy Monk, John David O'Brien, Stas Orlovski, Carolie Parker, Steve Roden, Susan Sironi. 

LA Biblioteca is an exhibition facilitated by Curator Michele Cairella Fillmore at the Huntley Gallery, Cal Poly Pomona.