Turn the Page

A group exhibition showcasing artworks repurposed from deaccessioned books of the Providence Public Library. These new works of art, sculptures and collages inspire the idea of transformation and turning the page in our own lives. It also invites dialogue about taking on the challenge of recycling materials.

Andre Lee Bassuet (she/her/hers) is a Korean American artist, designer and educator based in Rhode Island. She reuses materials that have been discarded or forgotten to explore themes of ancestral trauma, feminine identity and belonging. She completed her MFA at Osaka University of Arts on a Monbusho scholarship and a bachelor's from New York University. Her bookarts are in the Columbia University Libraries, Harvard Fine Art Library, John Hay Library, MassArt Libraries, RISD Fleet Library collection, SMFA Tufts Library, Western Michigan University's Special Collections, as well as private collections. She is currently teaching the Art of the Book at Brown University.

Iris Wright (xe/xem/xyr) is a transdisciplinary artist. Xe grew up in northern Illinois and trained as an artistic writer before pursuing a degree in Visual Art and Literary Arts at Brown University in Providence, RI, where xe graduated with honors and was awarded the Ann Belsky Moranis Award for exceptional skill in visual art. Xyr artist's books and zines are housed in the special collections of the Rhode Island School of Design, the Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender Zine Library, and the Savannah College for Art and Design. Xe is a founding member of the artist collective abcpvd (Art Book Collective, Providence), where xe collaboratively organizes group art shows that prioritize interactive art. Xe makes art that is worn, spoken, and touched to demonstrate communication’s futility, especially where it attempts to capture queer and othered being.

Kevin Veronneau enjoys utilizing a variety of materials to ground his conceptual art. He specifically finds crossing art genres with modern construction materials, signage, and other nontraditional art practices, the most fun. A playfulness in skewering norms and fondness for art history usually are the nexus and drive into his creative process. Veronneau lives in Providence and works as a librarian in North Providence.

Lara Henderson is a book artist, printmaker, and designer based in Providence, RI. She is a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. She prints her work out of AS220, a community printshop located in Providence, RI. Henderson received a BFA in Graphic Design from UMass Dartmouth and an MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from the University of the Arts.

Michael Ezzell uses a range of media to create his illustrations. In the stories he tells with his printmaking and painting he explores esoteric symbolism and mysticism, weaving characters and icons reminiscent of Greek and Roman myths into new narratives and worlds. Ezzell’s work presents a window through time and reality; an escape into realms of fantasy and wonder that mix and merge into one another, inviting us to question what is real and what is make-believe. Ezzell works and lives in Providence, RI. He holds a BFA in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art & Design.

Xiao Guo is a printmaker and teacher currently based in Providence, RI. Born and raised in China, she moved to the United States to attend Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she received a BFA in Textiles and an MA in community-based art education. Her current practice includes printmaking, independent publishing and teaching. She make prints and books that merge textiles with printmaking, working at the intersection of slowness and urgency. In her practice, the care given to handcrafted textiles and the distributive potential of printed multiples are both celebrated.

Programming

Wednesday, October 8, 4:30 to 7:00 pm: Opening Reception and Artist Talk for exhibition "Turn the Page"

Artist Talk and Demo for exhibition "Turn the Page"

Saturday, January 17, 12:00 to 2:00 pm: We celebrated the closing month of the group exhibition Turn the Page. These events took place in the Mural Room and Updike Room, 3rd Floor.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.