What is an Artist’s Book? You may get the answer to that question if you visit Malmö Artists’ Books Archive which is located at KKV Grafik, a collective printmaking studio and workshop.
This archive is the beginning of a collection that will show various examples of what an artist´s book can be. It is also a unique initiative as in Sweden there are no public collections or collections of Artists’ Books in libraries.
The archive is based solely on donations by artists who work with the book as a mode of expression. The collection is under development and will gladly accept more books (see donation form below)
The archive is accessible for everyone interested, artists, students, and the general public at this website. It can also be viewed at KKV Grafiks premises at Västmanlandsgatan 3 in Malmö at pre-arranged visits. We are also planning to exhibit the archive in various connections where the Artist ́s Book is the main focus.
Working with the book, with image, with text, has become an inspiring development for many artists at KKV Grafik in Malmö. The interest was born in 2011 after an intensive period of courses. The work yielded results, and during the following years has led to exhibitions at the Monastery in Ystad and at Malmö Konsthall under the title “Post Scriptum”. Other exhibitions that followed were at ADDO during Malmö City’s major investment “Malmö Nordic 2013” and “Artists’ Books” at Axel Ebbes Konsthall in Trelleborg 2015.
That same year, a group of KKV Grafik ́s members traveled to visit the Women’s Studio Workshop in the USA. WSW have a long and ongoing emphasis on Artists ́ Books and the development of these in their residency program. Their collection is rich in experimentation and a sense of form, and the interest from collectors and libraries in the USA is great, the books are spreading and many benefit.
“Artist-made books” became the title of a large and extensive exhibition at Lund Art Gallery curated in 2016 by Thomas Millroth. In 2021 “Artists ́ Books from a Swedish point of view with special attention paid to the contributions of Denmark and GDR “ was published, with essays by Thomas Millroth. A milestone.
Generating interest, disseminating knowledge and creating a basis for future research is the goal of the archive in Malmö. International contacts emerge during trade fairs such as BABE (Bristol), Codex (San Francisco) and MABB (Malmö) – everything has just begun!
Donations for Artists’ Books Archive