As one of the world’s largest publicly available source for artists' books, Printed Matter is an important voice in a vibrant and expanding field. At the heart of our mission is a longstanding open submission process, inviting artists and independent publishers to submit their books for sale at Printed Matter. We circulate over 32,000 publications annually on behalf of artists and small presses through our non-profit store in Chelsea, our online catalog and other distribution channels. With a commitment to representing and engaging a diverse community of artists, Printed Matter is in many cases one of the few outlets for artist-made publications on the peripheries of mainstream distribution networks.
In addition to maintaining an expansive inventory of 37214 titles from 26641 artists, Printed Matter is a dynamic center of non-profit services and activities offered in support of artists who make books. We maintain a busy programming calendar which includes exhibitions of contemporary and historically significant artists books, artist talks, book launches and performances, a PM Window Series presenting installations in our storefront window, and a a recently revamped PM Publishing Program.
Our organization also offers a number of services intended both for those familiar with the field of artists' books and those encountering the medium for the first time. These include educational services such as class visits and off-site lectures, research and bibliographic services through our extensive, publicly available artists’ book records, and collector and library and consultation services which advises private and public collections. Our Archive, collected since the organization’s founding in 1976, stands as an important record of the developmental trajectory of the artists’ book field as it intersects with Printed Matter’s institutional history.
Archival activities:
Collected since 1976, our Archive stands as an important record of the developmental and trajectory of the artists’ book field as it intersects with Printed Matter’s institutional history. The Archive is comprised of printed material created over the course of the non profit’s early programming history through to the present, including announcement cards, flyers, press releases, posters, and other ephemera related to artist installations, book launches, publications, editions and various events. The material features images of the long-running window installation series organized by Lucy Lippard documenting early-career exhibitions by Jenny Holzer, Antoni Muntadas, Barbara Kruger and Richard Prince, and many others. Also included are early correspondences between administrators and publishers in which founding members are seen formulating the mission, strategy and practice of the organization to broaden the appeal and impact of artists' publications as a legitimate artistic medium.
In 2012 Printed Matter’s Archive was badly damaged during basement flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy. The material is undergoing a conservation effort to digitize material and make it available in its entirety on our website. Thanks to everyone who has helped with our Archive recovery effort. In the meantime, the Archive is available for viewing by appointment or through our traveling exhibition, Learn to Read Art: A Surviving History of Printed Matter, which includes material from the Printed Matter Archive and presents our institutional history as it intersects with the broader artists’ book field.
Contact: Max Schumann
Location:
195 Tenth Avenue
New York
NY 10011
USA
Opening hours:
Monday–Wednesday: 11.00am - 07.00pm
Thursday–Friday: 11.00am – 08.00pm
Saturday: 11.00am – 07.00pm
printedmatter.org
catalogue: printedmatter.org/catalog