About the Serendipity: Williams House book series
Serendipity: Williams House (S:WH) is the studio and experimental exhibition space of artists Lucy Kirkman Allen and Justin Hunter Allen. From 2014-2016, the Allens invited artists from across the USA and abroad to install artwork in a single room of a farmhouse in Onemo, VA. Because of its isolated location, these exhibitions were conceived and documented to exist solely in book form. The book series was released in April, 2017.
Fourteen collaborators in eight books bring together critical and creative writing with paintings, sculptures, and prints. The project is about artistic relationships, the studio ecosystem, and extended conversations with friends. Contributor Michael Corris writes of the project, "Maybe it’s the idea that there is still some life in the concept of the catalogue at all. The catalogue-as-work, rather than simply document, is the oldest Conceptual Art trick in the book. It is the book."
You can find out more about S:WH and other Serendipity projects here.
"Since Justin and I started working together on curatorial projects, we've found that making books/catalogues is an asset because they are mobile, carry the breath of the curatorial vision, and let someone in the future to 'know' the show. We will produce a small print run of the Fox catalogue, with copies for contributors and the DMA library. The catalogue will also be released online, with the encouragement to print and reproduce physical copies. We want to present the opportunity for anyone to pick it up and familiarize themselves with, or participate in, the conversation." Lucy Kirkman Allen, 2014
Thanks to Worth Kirkman for his generous support of this project.
Airprint Press, part of the Airplant Project, is an artist-run press dedicated to free access to its published books.
S:WH 2014-2016 is:
Correspondence Texts by Michael Corris Richard Bailey Michael Dorsch Fox Works by Justin Hunter Allen Lucy Kirkman Allen Eagle or Hawk Text and works by Travis Iurato Twilight Time Text and works by Joe Allen Fullmoon Mysticism Text and works by Philip Hinge 4 Winds Text by V. B. Bandjunis Works by Cynthia Bandjunis Royal Waves Works by Kelly Kroener Eli Walker Stranger States, No Longer Real Works by Makiko Nagaya Peter Lewis