Welcome to PHOTOFAIRS PRESENTS: The Photo Book online exhibition. Bringing together an international and multigenerational group of artists and publishers, this exhibition explores the photobook as an art form, and celebrates the vital role publishing has within contemporary art discourse. 

While the term photobook is recent, it is a form—invented in the mid-19th century—that remains one of the most critical aspects to the photographer’s practice, as well as the history of photography. A photobook is a book, or a book object, in which the photograph is the dominant content. The book can be manifested in various ways but ultimately it is a work of art that is meant to be experienced and to challenge the conventions and possibilities of photography. 

This virtual exhibition assembles a collection of works—handcrafted or mechanically produced—that can be interpreted as monographs, poetries, personal albums, scrapbooks, sculptures, mementos, alternative sites for exhibitions, and more. The 51 artists featured here consider the physicality of both the book and the photograph and how they affect one another across a wide range of styles, narratives and approaches. 

There is something playful, authentic and democratic in this craft that represents a commitment seen throughout the programming at PHOTOFAIRS: to champion an evolving generation of makers and thinkers, who experiment, stretch, and play with the medium of photography. In a time of digital omnipresence, it is all the more imperative and resonant to celebrate such corporeal ingenuity that is found in the printed book. 

All works presented are available to purchase at the PHOTOFAIRS website from January 11 to February 28. The Publishing sector within PHOTOFAIRS, launched in conjunction with the exhibition, is now open for applications—through May 21, 2021.

Publishers

Artist Publishers