Artist: Kate Bernstein, UK

Work: Discovering Magellan

I would expect this work to be a small edition. Having this week finished a large project that I have been engaged with since 2018 I have been researching Magellan’s Voyage and the form a book might take but have not yet begun physical work on the book and so cannot describe in full the proposed work. However, I am fascinated by the tumultuous nature of the voyage in contrast to the romantic vision of the successful circumscribing of the globe. Also, by the ebb and flow of Magellan’s reputation. As such I am currently planning a folding book that can be perceived in different ways depending on its display and handling. I intend the work to be for sale and to fit into a display case, it will be designed to display open and if possible I will supply a facsimile edition or parts of such for handling, as I strongly believe that holding the book is of great importance to an engagement between the book and the audience.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

At the core of my practice is printmaking and book arts, I specialise in screen print and as a qualified bookbinder I bind my own work. I frequently work with historical sources, including art works, and recontextualise these reflecting our current perception of them. Materials are chosen specifically for each book and I have used traditional materials such as vellum, leather and gold leaf and also contemporary materials including wood and various papers and I am currently exploring 3 D printing. I appreciate the history of artists books as a democratic art form as well as the possibility for making singular pieces. Book fairs are a good opportunity to meet the public and engage in conversations about the work and its content and so I produce books in small editions for these events which can be sold at a reasonable price enabling people to buy original art works and engage with artists directly.

As a result many private collectors, national and international, have my work as well as public collections. Larger unique, or very limited editions, emerge from specific events, commissions or collaborations such as the collaborative project I have just finished with Dr Prosser, Librarian and Archivist of the Royal Astronomical Society in London.

CONTACTS

Website: www.katebernsteinbookartist.co.uk
Email: k.bernsteinarts@gmail.com

Here is a selection of images of works in the exhibition. Scroll down this page for comprehensive individual Artist submissions, including descriptions of their work, more images, artists’ statements and contact details.