2021
20 unique copies
Signed and numbered
20 unique copies
Signed and numbered
36×29× approx. 12 cm
14.17×11.41× approx. 4.72 in.
Slipcase with label
14.17×11.41× approx. 4.72 in.
Slipcase with label
Cardboard, fabric
Glitter, glue, color pigments, household paint etc.
Glitter, glue, color pigments, household paint etc.
IMPORTANT:
Please note that all books are unique as each volume that composes the edition contains six original “painting remains”.
When John Armleder makes paintings, apart from acrylic paint for artists or glitter mixed with glue, what is lying around the studio is often welcomed to be added into a work, such as wood chips from previous projects, household paint or industrial lacquers…
As Armleder’s large atelier in Geneva is getting ready for a painting session and the stretched blank canvases are vertically aligned next to each other, the floor has been protected with plastic sheets by the studio assistants. Then the artist dressed in a white Tyvek overall —to protect his unequalled collection of ties...— is handed cups and buckets of prepared color pigments mixed with glue and odd materials…
Quickly the blank canvases are covered with color. As Armleder is not using any brush, but as materials and pigments are literally projected onto the canvases, the glue that is supposed to hold all this together slowly pours down leaving what seems essential to the success of completed works. Ultimately what deserves to stick on the canvases will soon become John Armleder’s new paintings. Gravity is an important component in the artist’s creative process…
The next phase is to clean the studio to be prepared for a new batch of works. The dried remains of paint, glitter and found materials are carefully detached from the protective plastic and added to large bins to be stored in the artist’s basement. These treasured remains sometimes find their way back into future paintings.
Early 2021, Three Star books went to visit Armelder’s studio and noticed a large box of “painting remains” from a painting session by the studio elevator. We asked Armleder if we could grab a peel as a souvenir of our passage.
Back in Paris we delicately placed that precious remnant on our souvenir shelf along with a sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan a drawing by Ebecho Muslimova, an original Sex Pistols flyer from 1977 and a lamp by artist Elvire Bonduelle.
The idea of using these “painting remains” emerged later when Billy Tang, senior curator at the Rockbund Museum in Shanghai, invited us to think about a book that could celebrate the finissage of the first solo show in China dedicated to John Armleder by the museum in 2021.
Three Star Books called John in Geneva who was immediately enthusiastic about the idea of using these “painting remains” to create unique books, binding solutions needed to be solved, the artist picked all the “painting remains” that compose each of the volumes, the herbarium format seemed the best fit for the presentation of the “painting remains” in book form.
And last but not the least, as the working title of the project was LEFTOVERS, John gave us the choice to choose between LEFT and OVERS; Three Star Books picked LEFT.