The Spirit Books: Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord

Date: 

Saturday, May 19, 2018, 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: 

Hunnewell Building

May 4 – July 22, 2018

Opening Reception, Saturday, May 19, 1:00-3:00pm

Artist Talk, Saturday, June 2, 3:00-4:00pm

LocationHunnewell Building

Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord's Spirit Books will be displayed in the Hunnewell Building's Visitor Center. These art books reveal Gaylord's connection between the inherent spirituality and mystery of nature with the long-standing tradition of books as testaments of faith and belief. She gathers twigs, branches, vines, and roots, then uses them to cradle her stitched, wordless books. Incorporating beads and seeds with handmade papers from around the world, she constructs sculptural altars; the supports of natural materials as integral to the art as the beautiful books they cradle. From a distance, these books do evoke sculptures; however, their essential "bookness" becomes apparent upon closer observation. Gaylord encourages "reading" the books as a contemplative experience, one that will take the viewer out of the everyday world.

Gaylord is best known for her Spirit Books. Since she created her first one in 1992 and coined the name, the Spirit Books have been exhibited throughout the US, Canada, and in Korea. She has exhibited at the Center for Book Arts in New York City, the University of Indiana Art Gallery, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and the Seungnam Book Fair in Seungnam, Korea. Spirit Books are in the book arts collections at Bowdoin College and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton county, and many private collections. They are also well-represented in print.

 

Free, no registration required

Note: For exhibition availability, refer to Hunnewell Visitor Center hours.