about the 2025 exhibits

Art of the Book & Paper

      August 18 - November 15, 2025

            Artists' Reception: Wednesday September 17, 2025 (5:30 - 7:00 pm)

      Rochester Public Library - 115 South Avenue, Rochester NY 14604

            (Enter the new building on South Avenue; go to the lower level and pass under South Avenue to the old building - the exhibit is upstairs in the lobby on the first floor)

            About the Exhibition (from Rochester Public Library website):           

            In 2011, we held the first Art of the Book exhibit in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Rochester Public Library. At the time, we wanted to celebrate what has been at the core of libraries for centuries–the book. We marveled over the intricate interpretations of this humble format, and we were thrilled with the response to the exhibit from the community.

            In subsequent years, the exhibit has grown to include entries from all over the world, featuring well-known artists for their exquisite work. We have built a reputation worldwide among book artists, and we are so pleased to see that reputation upheld. For the 10-year anniversary in 2021 we added the category of Paper Sculpture.

            Books continue to ensnare the imagination, both for their form and content. Artists manipulate those two components to create breathtaking, mind-bending works of art that tease and cajole people to consider the intricacies of paper, ink, words, and meaning. Every year the range of work never ceases to amaze us.

            This year we have an auxiliary exhibit adjacent in the Arts Division– The Works of the Judges of the Art of the Book & Paper. See the beautiful artists books, bindings and collages by Richard Kegler, Scott McCarney, Gerald Mead, and Susan Tkach.

            We hope you enjoy the 14th Annual Juried International Art of the Book & Paper exhibit this year from August 18-November 15, 2025. The Artists’ Reception is Wednesday, September 17 from 5:00-7:00pm.

Emulate, Recreate, Translate

       Surface Design Association's International Exhibition in Print - Fall 2025

            Each year, SDA’s International Exhibition In Print showcases the breadth and depth of contemporary artists and designers working with or inspired by fiber art and/or textile-based materials, methods, and techniques. The work of selected artists is featured in the Fall 2025 issue of the Surface Design Journal.

            About the Exhibition (from SDA website call for entries):

“It is the task of the translator to release in his own language that pure language that is
under the spell of another, to liberate the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation
of that work.” –Walter Benjamin

In recent years, fiber’s boundaries have been pushed to their limits like never before. The tenth annual International Exhibition in Print celebrates fiber’s potential to emulate, recreate, and translate other qualities and contexts.

Some themes that expand translation as a material practice:

• Work that explores translation of language, metaphor, or concept in the medium of fiber.
• Work that emulates qualities of other materials.
• Work that illustrates fundamental aspects of fiber with thought-provoking reflections on other matter and material.
• Work that bridges cultural gaps, encouraging people from diverse backgrounds to appreciate and engage with each other.

The resulting Exhibition in Print will focus on translations and the “release” of limited understandings of what fiber can become. We are looking for poetic creations that embody fiber’s power to communicate through and beyond its materiality.