Kate Bernstein
Ahead of this weekend’s Liverpool Book Art Fair at Liverpool Central Library we’re bringing you a series of to-the-point interviews with some of the most exciting artists.
Book Art can be an ambiguous term at the best of times, so put simply, we wanted to find out what it means to the artists who make it. Our second interview in this short series is with Kate Bernstein, whose practice outside of Book Art is inseparable from her practice within it. For her, Book Art is a way to express herself in a way people can touch.
Read her interview here, but more importantly, buy his work here, on Saturday & Sunday, 8th & 9th of July 2017 :
What is book art for you?
Books are full of promise, artists’ books are no different. I design, print and bind my own books. As a book artist I can express myself through the form of the book, the text and the images, and the audience can touch, read and engage with the result.
Why did you decide to exhibit at Liverpool’s fair?
Liverpool has a reputation as an exciting city with a rich culture, both contemporary and historical. Taking part in the Liverpool Book Art Fair will enable me to share my work with a new audience and have conversations with the public and with other book artists.
What are you bringing to Liverpool Book Art Fair?
I will be bringing a range of work, from hand cut books in wooden covers that tell the story of the Great Fire of London to Uccello, a small edition which references text and images related to the 15 th century Italian artist Paolo Uccello who inspires much of my work. Some of this edition bound in unique bindings, with screenprinted embossed covers and leather spines. A new edition, The Sphere, plays with the relationship between the mathematical definition of a sphere and the words found within it, is bound in Somerset paper and each book has a bookcloth and printed Glassine slip case. I will also be bringing prints from a new series Perspectives, these will be housed in a box handmade for them.
Do you ever work outside of the form of books, and if so, how?
I am a printmaker and book artist, frequently in my practice the two are inseparable. I specialize in screen print, loving the subtleties and flexibility of the technique. I have just completed an MA in Multidisciplinary printmaking at the University of the West of England and am very pleased to have been awarded a distinction and the Clifford Moss Prize which is for skill.