EINDHOVEN.- The library exhibition The Metamorphosis shows a broad selection of artists’ books from the LS Collection of the Van Abbemuseum from the period 1989-2013. The exhibition focuses on the interaction between genres in the art of books and examines how Russian artists have worked with books in the past twenty-five years.

Background
The LS collection of the Van Abbemuseum started in 1990 as a private collection. For their study of Russian art the art historians Albert Lemmens and Serge Stommels had to start their own library in order to acquire sufficient background information. While they were collecting materials it became clear that in Russia – unlike in the Netherlands, for example – many books had been designed and/or illustrated by great artists. These had become works of art in their own right, resulting in the art of the book. Over the course of twenty-five years a number of key elements developed in the collection, including the artist’s book.

LS collection
The selection from the LS collection which is exhibited here reveals a predilection for the quality of craftsmanship in the finish of the books. In addition, some of the projects have an experimental character, unpicking the traditional function of the book. Another factor is the interest of Russian artists in the interaction between objects and language, playing with language at different levels. Language can become a strategic tool with the use of humour, poetry and beauty. Language can be used as a pure means of expression when its task is to examine how far it is possible to go in representing matter by language. We also see the emergence of the phenomenon of the ‘objet trouvé’, and how texts, words, illustrations and objects are dealt with in a way that transforms them into something completely new. The artists do not make a distinction between unique works of art, but ensure that they are totally engaged with the artistic oeuvre and thinking. In this selection of artists’ books it is the artists who have the final responsibility, even if they sometimes make use of other disciplines to finish the work as perfectly as possible. Both the content and the form bear the mark of the creator.