“Triptych Liver and Lights Scriptorium 16, 17 & 18” will be on display at Gallery 210.

“The Art of the Book: Journals Then and Now,” an international traveling exhibition of artist book journals, diaries and letters, will open Feb. 11 in Gallery 210 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The exhibit will run through May 8.

The third in the “Art of the Book” series, “Journals Then and Now” features 500 years worth of priceless records and journals kept by a mix of established and emerging artists. Works by John Bently, Sarah Bodman, Helen Douglas, John Dilnot, Salt & Shaw, and Katsumi Komata will be on display. The exhibit also will feature wall panel digital displays of items that cannot be moved due to their fragile conditions. These include a handwritten document by Michelangelo and ledger drawings by Little Shield, chief of the Arapahos.

“The Art of the Book: Journals Then and Now” is a collaborative effort among the Department of Art and Art History at UMSL and special collections at the University of the West of England Bristol, the Winchester School of Art Library at the University of Southampton in England, St. Louis Mercantile Library at UMSL, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri-Columbia and St. Louis Public Library.

A reception for the exhibit will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 and feature talks by co-curator Marian Amies, associate professor of art at UMSL, and contributing editor Yael Evens, professor of art history at UMSL.

The exhibition will feature an 84-page full color catalogue that will be available at the opening reception for $20. Proceeds will go toward The Art of the Book Scholarship fund, which supports UMSL art students. Travel journals by students who received support from the scholarship to study book arts in Senegal in 2005 and London in 2008 are included in the exhibit.

The gallery is in the Telecommunity Center at UMSL, One University Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63121. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

“The Art of the Book: Journals Then and Now” is sponsored by the College of Fine Arts and Communication at UMSL, the Center for Humanities at UMSL, the Center for International Studies at UMSL, the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council. Call 314-516-5976 or visit http://gallery210.umsl.edu for more information.

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Ryan Heinz

Ryan Heinz