Printed Matter presents the fourth annual LA Art Book Fair, from February 12 through 14, 2016, at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Downtown LA. A ticketed preview will take place on Thursday, February 11, 6-9PM.

Free and open to the public, Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair is a unique event for artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines presented by more than 300 presses, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers from over 20 countries.

The LA Art Book Fair is the companion fair to the NY Art Book Fair, held every fall in New York City. Over 35,000 artists, book buyers, collectors, dealers, curators, independent publishers, and other enthusiasts attended the NY Art Book Fair in 2015.

THE LA ART BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
Join us on Thursday, February 11, from 6 to 9 pm, at The Geffen Contemporary for a three-hour opening night preview, with special musical performances by MOON UTERUS (Devendra Banhart, Amy von Harrington, Mel Shimkovitz) and CHRISTEENE.

Entry to the Preview costs $10 ($5 for Printed Matter Members), with proceeds going to support LAABF16. The first 2,000 visitors to pre-pay online or to pay at the door (while supplies last) will receive an enamel pin set ticket edition by artist Sigrid Calon (variations pictured left). Purchase your preview ticket here.

Contemporary Artists’ Books Conference (CABC)
The third annual LA Contemporary Artists’ Books Conference presents two days of conversations on emerging practices and issues within art-book culture, organized by a national group of art library professionals. This year’s conference features a keynote address by Experimental Jetset, the small, independent, Amsterdam-based graphic design studio, founded in 1997 by (and still consisting of) Marieke Stolk, Erwin Brinkers and Danny van den Dungen. Focusing on printed matter and site-specific installations, EJS will discuss their practice of “turning language into objects,” moderated by Mark Owens.

Additional Conference sessions include panel discussions focusing on: artist recordings, esoteric imagery and its impact on printed materials, and the challenges and pleasures of publishing sexually explicit materials. This year also welcomes IMMATERIALS AND PROPOSALS: A collaborative reading of artworks that exist in description only. Presented by Project X and X-TRA, a group of artists and writers will select and present other artists’ written outlines, descriptions and proposals for art and exhibitions that are never intended to be or never will be realized in other forms. Followed by a panel discussion. The full Conference schedule is available here.

Admission is free for all sessions, but space is limited. General admission is first-come-first-seated.

Additional On-Site Programming brought to you by Frieze Magazine, For Your Art, and others.

The Classroom
Back for its third trip to the West Coast for LAABF16, the Classroom is a curated series of conversations, workshops, readings and other artist-led programs, and an informal venue for artists, writers and publishers to feature new releases and present their publications. This year’s Classroom, organized by David Senior of The Museum of Modern Art Library, includes events featuring Juli Susin, Ewa Wojciak, V. Vale, Brian and Nikki Tucker, Nicola Tyson, Jan Tumlir and Shannon Ebner. The full classroom schedule is available here.

(XE)ROX & PAPER + SCISSORS
A super-sized subsection of the LA Art Book Fair; (XE)ROX & PAPER + SCISSORS takes over the Geffen annex once again with more than 100 international artists, zinesters, and small presses, offering a survey of independent publishing at its most innovative and affordable. Select exhibitors include: WSSF (Los Angeles), Sean Maung (New York), LAND AND SEA (Oakland), Original Plumbing (New York), HEINZFELLER NEILISIST (New York), among many others.

Friendly Fire
A diverse group of politically-minded artists and collectives focused on the intersection of art and activism, this section includes: Women’s Center for Creative Work (Los Angeles), Justseeds (New York), Guerrilla Girls (New York), Visual AIDS (New York) and others.

Focus: Photography
A curated cross-section of photo-based books and magazines, this year’s Focus: Photography has expanded, and includes: Akio Nagasawa (Japan); Trolley Books (UK); RVB Books (France); Snöar (UK); and Aperture (New York): Edition Patrick Frey (Switzerland) and others.

ATLAS FOCUS: SPAIN
A project by Libros Mutantes and La Casa Encendida Curated by Libros Mutantes Supported by AC/E Acción Cultural Española

A curated selection of contemporary artist’s book publishers from Spain, exhibitors include: Bandiz Studio, Belleza Infinita, Dalpine, Kitchic, Libros Mutantes, Terranova, and Tunica. See Spain Focus related programs here. Exhibitor Project Spaces 303inprint releases Richard Prince's record Loud Song, a signed limited vinyl edition with folded poster and cover art by Kim Gordon. Sleeve Paintings by Richard Prince and original record cover art by Kim Gordon. "Loud Song was self-recorded in 1985 in Venice California. My band at the time, “Him,” played once in 1980 at Jenny Holzer’s loft at one of her “band parties.” By the time I had recorded “Loud Song” in 1985 I had reduced the members of Him to one. By 1986 I reduced the only remaining member to no one." - Richard Prince