CONTEXT: Art, Books, & Freedom
Curated by Meg Hitchcock
Columbia University
Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Butler Library, 6th Floor
535 West 114th St., NYC 10027
Library hours: Monday - Friday, 10 - 4:00
Exhibition is up through May 29, 2026
In CONTEXT: Art, Books, & Freedom, artist and curator Meg Hitchcock brings together 15 artists whose work incorporates books and text. The artists diverge in their approach and content, from social commentary to political statement to literary allusion, but their common ground is their love of the printed word. The artists use books and text as tools of investigation, exploring the psychological impact of visual language while pushing the boundaries of our freedom to express views that diverge from popular opinion. Paradoxically, the book is used as a means to question its own authority within the context of a revered liberal arts library.
ARTISTS: Audra Wolowiec (NY), Brian Dettmer (IL), Brian Singer (CA), Buzz Spector (NY), Carolyn Thompson (UK), Donna Ruff (FL), Doug Beube (NY), Gary Gissler (NY), Jeff Wallace (NY), Julia Bloom (DC), Kerith Lisi (CA), Lisa Kokin (CA), Meg Hitchcock (NY), Oriane Stender (NY), Stefana McClure (NY)
PLEASE NOTE:
Due to access restrictions on Columbia's campus, you must register 24 hrs. in advance and bring photo ID. To request a guest pass, please email Courtney Chartier, Director of the Rare Books & Manuscript Library:
cc4785@columbia.edu