TURNING PAGES

Artists’ Books of the Present

The book as an artistic medium plays a central role in the work of artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Milena Büsch, Ed Ruscha, Isa Genzken, as well as many contemporary young artists in the Austrian and international scene.

1.10.2025—6.4.2026

Central Room MAK Design Lab

Books are used as instruments to design poetic visions and to expand concept art. The artists’ books in this exhibition initiate dialogues about gender roles and socio-political questions. At the same time, books are a form of cultural memory and commemoration. Against the backdrop of the digital world, artists experiment with the medium of the book and transcend traditional boundaries of image, text, and material.

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by the publication TURNING PAGES: Artists’ Books of the Present, edited and authored by Lilli Hollein and Bärbel Vischer, graphic design by Atelier Dreibholz, Paulus M. Dreibholz & Angelika Mayr. German/English, 72 pages with numerous color illustrations. MAK, Vienna 2025. Available at the MAK Design Shop and online at MAKdesignshop.at for € 21.

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Exhibition space with display cases and books

Bookcover with text "Ravers saw themselves as the first trans youth unity movement"

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog.

CURATOR:
Bärbel Vischer, Curator, MAK Contemporary Art Collection

Logo AbeX

The exhibition TURNING PAGES: Artists’ Books of the Present, along with its supporting program and the accompanying publication, is part of the interdisciplinary Creative Europe project AbeX, funded by the European Union.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.