May 28, 2015 – Sean Kelly is delighted to announce By the Book, a group exhibition that explores the influence of literature in contemporary art and features works that utilize this idea as their source of inspiration. An opening reception will take place on Thursday, June 25, from 6 – 8pm.

From the literal to the conceptual, the exhibition will embrace a range of work in diverse media and forms. Many of the works on view in By the Book employ metaphor, allusion, and allegory as structures to evoke a powerfully symbolic visual language, while others are inspired more directly by literary texts and fictional narratives. Featured artists include: Caroline Bergvall, Los Carpinteros, James Casebere, Marcel Duchamp, Iran do Espírito Santo, Diana Fonseca Quiñones, Fernanda Fragateiro, Chitra Ganesh, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Candida Höfer, Rebecca Horn, Roni Horn, William Kentridge, Idris Khan, Anselm Kiefer, Joseph Kosuth, Glenn Ligon, Peter Liversidge, Jorge Méndez Blake, Shirin Neshat, Claudio Parmiggiani, Mary Reid Kelley,
Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Ed Ruscha, Charles Sandison, Julião Sarmento, Kiki Smith, Valeska Soares, Sun Xun, and Javier Tellez.

During the opening reception, Peter Liversidge will present his “Gin Performance”. From the artist’s bespoke gin stand, we will be serving gin & tonics in limited edition ‘GIN’ glasses, hand etched by the artist. This per- formance event, supported by Brooklyn Gin, will last the duration of the gin supply; once the bottles and glasses are empty, the performance will be over!

For the duration of the exhibition, acclaimed German publishing house Hatje Cantz will present a “pop-up” bookshop in the front gallery space. Known for creating exceptional publications produced in close collaboration with artists and curators, the Hatje Cantz pop-up shop will feature art, photography, design, and architecture books, as well as selected collector’s editions.

Concurrently, in the lower gallery, Sean Kelly will present the exhibition Anthony McCall: Notebooks and Duration Drawings, 1972 – 2013. The artist will be present at the opening reception and will be signing copies of his most recent publications, Anthony McCall: Notebooks & Conversations and Anthony McCall: 1970s Works on Paper.

The gallery would like to extend its gratitude to the Zabludowicz Collection and additional supporters who wish to remain anonymous for donating and shipping some of the books included in Peter Liversidge’s work, Ex Libris.

Special thanks to Brooklyn Gin for sponsoring Peter Liversidge’s Gin Performance.

For media inquiries, please contact: Christine McMonagle at 212.239.1181 or christine@skny.com. For other inquiries, please contact: Lauren Kelly at 212.239.1181 or lauren@skny.com.

Gallery hours through July 2 are Tuesday through Friday from 11am until 6pm and Saturday 10am until 6pm. After the July 4th weekend, the gallery’s summer hours will be Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm.