THESE ARE NOT BOOKS

THESE ARE NOT BOOKS explores the book as an idea made visible. The works presented transform the book itself into the artwork, expressing artistic intent through form rather than content and challenging our perception of what a book can be. First emerging in the early twentieth century, artists’ books developed alongside new reproduction and distribution technologies, as artists began to use publishing as an experimental space. From Dada and Constructivism to Surrealism, Pop, and Conceptual Art, the book evolved into a structure that was experiential, material, and conceptual. This deliberately small selection, drawn primarily from the Serralves Foundation’s Artists’ Books and Editions Collection, initiated over 25 years ago, highlights the diversity and inventiveness of the medium. It presents the book as an autonomous space where concept and material coincide.

The exhibition THESE ARE NOT BOOKS is organised by the Serralves Foundation — Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, and is curated by Christophe Boutin and Sónia Oliveira.