SELECTIONS FROM THE ATHENAEUM’S ERIKA AND FRED TORRI ARTISTS’ BOOK COLLECTION: Lawrence Weiner

Max and Melissa Elliott North Reading Room

SELECTIONS FROM THE ATHENAEUM’S ERIKA AND FRED TORRI ARTISTS’ BOOK COLLECTION

Lawrence Weiner

June 23–July 14, 2007

Over thirty Lawrence Weiner books were on display for this exhibition. Lawrence Weiner, born in the Bronx in 1942, was one of the central figures of conceptual art during the mid-20th century. He employed a variety of media, including video, performance, sculpture, installation, and graphic art. He began working with text—often directly on the walls of galleries—in the 1960s, and created his first book, Statements, in 1968. This small, 64-page paperback is considered one of the seminal conceptual artists’ books of the era. The Athenaeum holds a copy of Statements in its collection, along with over 50 of Weiner’s other artist’s books created over the last four decades.