INTERVIEW
einBuch.haus: Book as a Form of Exhibition And Work of Art
Go to the einBuch.haus’ website
A gallery specialising in artists' books in Berlin
If you're a fan of independent publications, it's worth planning a trip to Berlin just for the bookshops. From Motto Berlin, which has been around since 2007, to A to Z, which focuses on designer publications, to do you read me and Pro qm, which sell fashion, architecture and art books, it's hard to name just a few of the city's established bookstores. But einBuch.haus is the only gallery in Berlin that specialises in exhibiting and selling artists' books. As a lover of artist books, whenever I hear about an exhibition at einBuch.haus, I always make it a point to visit first, no matter what is on display. I took the opportunity to talk to einBuch.haus curator Jae-kyung Kim about artist books as an exhibition medium and her unique exhibition methodology.
Homage to the Square(HS): How did you come to run einBuch.haus, a gallery specialising in artist books?
Jae Kyung Kim(Kim): I studied visual design at university and graduate school, where I learned various tasks related to book editing, and I studied information experience design at the Royal College of Art (RCA), where I learned about the way we experience information, or in other words, exhibition methodology. Perhaps it was the combination of these two experiences that led me to run einbuch.haus.
HS: 'A book in the form of an exhibition' is the motto of the einBuch.haus on its website. I'm curious to know what drew your attention to the possibility of transforming the medium of the book into a spatial exhibition.
Kim: I think that when I make a book, there is a process where there is a grid at the beginning, where I put together the fonts and the text. After that, I think about the binding, the paper, the cover, and so on. When you design a building, you think about the structure first, and then you think about the materials and the details. I am interested in the materiality of the book and what kind of experience can be created when the content inside is extended to the outside space. That's why I started einBuch.haus in 2018 with the motto 'A book in the form of an exhibition', and in 2019 the gallery moved to its current location, where I have been exhibiting artists' books ever since.
If you're a fan of independent publications, it's worth planning a trip to Berlin just for the bookshops. From Motto Berlin, which has been around since 2007, to A to Z, which focuses on designer publications, to do you read me and Pro qm, which sell fashion, architecture and art books, it's hard to name just a few of the city's established bookstores. But einBuch.haus is the only gallery in Berlin that specialises in exhibiting and selling artists' books. As a lover of artist books, whenever I hear about an exhibition at einBuch.haus, I always make it a point to visit first, no matter what is on display. I took the opportunity to talk to einBuch.haus curator Jae-kyung Kim about artist books as an exhibition medium and her unique exhibition methodology.
Homage to the Square(HS): How did you come to run einBuch.haus, a gallery specialising in artist books?
Jae Kyung Kim(Kim): I studied visual design at university and graduate school, where I learned various tasks related to book editing, and I studied information experience design at the Royal College of Art (RCA), where I learned about the way we experience information, or in other words, exhibition methodology. Perhaps it was the combination of these two experiences that led me to run einbuch.haus.
HS: 'A book in the form of an exhibition' is the motto of the einBuch.haus on its website. I'm curious to know what drew your attention to the possibility of transforming the medium of the book into a spatial exhibition.
Kim: I think that when I make a book, there is a process where there is a grid at the beginning, where I put together the fonts and the text. After that, I think about the binding, the paper, the cover, and so on. When you design a building, you think about the structure first, and then you think about the materials and the details. I am interested in the materiality of the book and what kind of experience can be created when the content inside is extended to the outside space. That's why I started einBuch.haus in 2018 with the motto 'A book in the form of an exhibition', and in 2019 the gallery moved to its current location, where I have been exhibiting artists' books ever since.
Exhibitions that move between two-dimensional ground and three-dimensional space
HS:I think you have developed your own methodology for finding themes, meeting artists, and implementing the actual exhibition, either alone or with collaborators over the years.
Kim: In my work at einBuch.haus, I'm not only curating exhibitions but also documenting them, so when I'm curating an exhibition, I'm thinking about how to extend the content of the book outward. When I turn the exhibition into a book, I have to reorganise it to fit the structure of the book again. I feel like it's a circular process.
HS: It's in this circular structure that your curatorial skills and the character of einBuch.haus come to the fore. It's interesting how a single work can be interpreted in many ways, both on the two-dimensional floor and in the three-dimensional exhibition space, and then in the process of translating it back into the structure of the book.
in different ways.
Kim: I think it's because I was trained in visual design, and during my two years at the RCA, where I curated a number of solo and research exhibitions, I naturally learned how to make exhibitions and books, especially as there was a lot of discussion at the time about 'intermediate space' and a lot of touch-based work being made. So I often encountered situations where the viewer was encouraged to touch the work, but the safety of the work and the viewer had to be considered at the same time. Of course, einBuch.haus is not a publisher of artists' books, but since 2022 we have been collaborating with artists to produce books, or if there is an exhibition that we think would be interesting to translate into book form, we will produce a publication. A typical project that illustrates the 'book-exhibition-book' cycle is the exhibition Architecture is Frozen Music by Laure Catugier and the artist's book of the same name that we co-published after the exhibition. Since last year, einBuch.haus has been publishing artists’ books as traveling exhibitions.
HS: The exhibition Architecture is Frozen Music (2022) is one of the exhibitions I didn't get to see in person. I'm curious about the process of exhibiting and publishing an artist's book, as Catugier has worked primarily with photography, sound, and e-books. Her exhibition at einBuch.haus seems to have inspired her to create an artist's book.
Kim: Most of my exhibitions at einBuch.haus start with an artist's book, which is published early in the process and which I can see and curate myself. In the case of Laure Catugier, I only had the concept for the book, but I prepared the exhibition based on my trust in the artist, which came from knowing her work for a long time.
HS:I think you have developed your own methodology for finding themes, meeting artists, and implementing the actual exhibition, either alone or with collaborators over the years.
Kim: In my work at einBuch.haus, I'm not only curating exhibitions but also documenting them, so when I'm curating an exhibition, I'm thinking about how to extend the content of the book outward. When I turn the exhibition into a book, I have to reorganise it to fit the structure of the book again. I feel like it's a circular process.
HS: It's in this circular structure that your curatorial skills and the character of einBuch.haus come to the fore. It's interesting how a single work can be interpreted in many ways, both on the two-dimensional floor and in the three-dimensional exhibition space, and then in the process of translating it back into the structure of the book.
in different ways.
Kim: I think it's because I was trained in visual design, and during my two years at the RCA, where I curated a number of solo and research exhibitions, I naturally learned how to make exhibitions and books, especially as there was a lot of discussion at the time about 'intermediate space' and a lot of touch-based work being made. So I often encountered situations where the viewer was encouraged to touch the work, but the safety of the work and the viewer had to be considered at the same time. Of course, einBuch.haus is not a publisher of artists' books, but since 2022 we have been collaborating with artists to produce books, or if there is an exhibition that we think would be interesting to translate into book form, we will produce a publication. A typical project that illustrates the 'book-exhibition-book' cycle is the exhibition Architecture is Frozen Music by Laure Catugier and the artist's book of the same name that we co-published after the exhibition. Since last year, einBuch.haus has been publishing artists’ books as traveling exhibitions.
HS: The exhibition Architecture is Frozen Music (2022) is one of the exhibitions I didn't get to see in person. I'm curious about the process of exhibiting and publishing an artist's book, as Catugier has worked primarily with photography, sound, and e-books. Her exhibition at einBuch.haus seems to have inspired her to create an artist's book.
Kim: Most of my exhibitions at einBuch.haus start with an artist's book, which is published early in the process and which I can see and curate myself. In the case of Laure Catugier, I only had the concept for the book, but I prepared the exhibition based on my trust in the artist, which came from knowing her work for a long time.
Exhibition View: Laure Catugier, Architecture is Frozen Music, einBuch.haus, 2022 (Photo: Laure Catugier © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn)
Larue Catugier, Architecture is Frozen Music, einBuch.haus & Naima Editions, 2022 (Photo: Laure Catugier © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn)
As if to reward my faith, the first limited edition published by Naima Editions sold out during the exhibition. So Catugier and I produced additional limited edition postcards for sale at the Miss Read and at the art markets scheduled at the time. After the exhibition, I proposed to the artist that we co-publish a second edition with Naima Editions and we distributed it for the first time at Multiple Art Days in Paris. The first edition differs from the second in that we recycled an installation from the exhibition for the cover, and the box that holds the book is made of basic paper and staples to capture the physicality of a paper box.
HS: Every time I come to the einBuch.haus, I find that the exhibition design works very well with the work. Personally, I was impressed by Kyungtae Kim's exhibition Serial Composition (2019), where the architectural beauty of the regular alignment of books and book pages in his photographs was reflected in the exhibition space.
Kim: Johannes Rößler is fully involved in the production of exhibitions at einBuch.haus, from the idea to the actual installation. For Kyungtae Kim's exhibition, Johannes installed 12 sculptures at different angles, as if the bookshelves were actually turning, and displayed 12 A4 photographs from the book The Serial Composition, published by Pirate Press, on top of them.
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HS: Given the nature of the book as a medium, where the formal features don't vary much from one work to the next, do you find it difficult to design a space that suits the physicality and nature of the work for each exhibition?
Kim: The difficulty of designing the exhibition space also varies according to the nature of the exhibition. For example, since the motto of einBuch.haus is to exhibit one artist's book, when we exhibit a single work by one artist, it is not much more difficult than a group exhibition, from deciding on the concept to organizing the design of the space. On the other hand, if we have to exhibit different works by several artists in one place, we have to think harder.
HS: Every time I come to the einBuch.haus, I find that the exhibition design works very well with the work. Personally, I was impressed by Kyungtae Kim's exhibition Serial Composition (2019), where the architectural beauty of the regular alignment of books and book pages in his photographs was reflected in the exhibition space.
Kim: Johannes Rößler is fully involved in the production of exhibitions at einBuch.haus, from the idea to the actual installation. For Kyungtae Kim's exhibition, Johannes installed 12 sculptures at different angles, as if the bookshelves were actually turning, and displayed 12 A4 photographs from the book The Serial Composition, published by Pirate Press, on top of them.
Exhibition View: Kyoungtae Kim, Serial Compositions, einBuch.haus, 2021 (Photo: Maxim Schulz)
HS: Given the nature of the book as a medium, where the formal features don't vary much from one work to the next, do you find it difficult to design a space that suits the physicality and nature of the work for each exhibition?
Kim: The difficulty of designing the exhibition space also varies according to the nature of the exhibition. For example, since the motto of einBuch.haus is to exhibit one artist's book, when we exhibit a single work by one artist, it is not much more difficult than a group exhibition, from deciding on the concept to organizing the design of the space. On the other hand, if we have to exhibit different works by several artists in one place, we have to think harder.
Artists' books, encountering them in different ways in everyday life
HS: Another interesting exhibition at the einBuch.haus was the Micro Books Gumball Universe, where visitors put two euros into a dispenser, turn a lever and a box comes out with the artwork. They have to look closely at the tiny artworks inside, which of course makes the viewer curious.
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Exhibition View: Micro Books - Gumball Universe, einBuch.haus, 2022 (Photo: Olivia Kwok)
Kim: This was also one of the exhibitions I really enjoyed working on. Nina Prader and Malte Spindler, both artists and publishers, curated the project Gum Ball Universe, and after seeing their micro-books I was inspired to propose an exhibition that focused on how these little books could be appreciated and circulated. If you look closely at the work, these little cylindrical cases contain B-cut images that the artist never finished, images by illustrators, photobooks, etc. The photobooks are a compilation of photographs that Malte took during his own visits to cities in Ukraine, and some of them contain multiple editions of the same work, while others contain different works by the same artist.
HS: I'm curious to see how the public reacted during the actual exhibition.
Kim: I wanted einBuch.haus to be a gallery accessible to everyone, because the book is a medium that people are familiar with. So, I wanted it to be a space where people could drop in and look at the work without having to understand anything about artists' books. I think this exhibition was probably the one that met that desire. I was running a workshop on zines at a school near the gallery during the exhibition, so the teacher brought her students to visit. I also made kits of the works in editions of 40 for the exhibition, so that people who didn't see the exhibition could see and collect them. The kits were my idea because my role at einBuch.haus is not only to curate the exhibition, but also to ensure that the book works are actively circulated, collected and presented after the exhibition.
HS: Another interesting exhibition at the einBuch.haus was the Micro Books Gumball Universe, where visitors put two euros into a dispenser, turn a lever and a box comes out with the artwork. They have to look closely at the tiny artworks inside, which of course makes the viewer curious.
Exhibition View: Micro Books - Gumball Universe, einBuch.haus, 2022 (Photo: Olivia Kwok) Kim: This was also one of the exhibitions I really enjoyed working on. Nina Prader and Malte Spindler, both artists and publishers, curated the project Gum Ball Universe, and after seeing their micro-books I was inspired to propose an exhibition that focused on how these little books could be appreciated and circulated. If you look closely at the work, these little cylindrical cases contain B-cut images that the artist never finished, images by illustrators, photobooks, etc. The photobooks are a compilation of photographs that Malte took during his own visits to cities in Ukraine, and some of them contain multiple editions of the same work, while others contain different works by the same artist.
HS: I'm curious to see how the public reacted during the actual exhibition.
Kim: I wanted einBuch.haus to be a gallery accessible to everyone, because the book is a medium that people are familiar with. So, I wanted it to be a space where people could drop in and look at the work without having to understand anything about artists' books. I think this exhibition was probably the one that met that desire. I was running a workshop on zines at a school near the gallery during the exhibition, so the teacher brought her students to visit. I also made kits of the works in editions of 40 for the exhibition, so that people who didn't see the exhibition could see and collect them. The kits were my idea because my role at einBuch.haus is not only to curate the exhibition, but also to ensure that the book works are actively circulated, collected and presented after the exhibition.
Book: Micro Books - Gumball Universe kit, einBuch.haus, 2022 (Photo: Olivia Kwok)
HS: I firmly believe that the curator's role is crucial in artist books, more so than in other art media. If a curator or seller does not actively engage in the complete process of organizing exhibitions, introducing, selling, and distributing an artist's book, visitors may easily perceive the book as merely an incomprehensible object.
Kim: I put a lot of thought into different ways to present artists’ books. For instance, during exhibitions, some pieces are not only displayed in the exhibition space but also on bookshelves. I also organise bookbinding workshops irregularly. Renowned book designer and illustrator Julia Fabricius participates as an instructor. I decided on this workshops because there's no other place in the Pankow area, where the gallery is located, offering similar workshops. There's demand from artists interested in learning bookbinding as well. By hosting exhibitions and workshops simultaneously like this, I believe that the community at einBuch.haus, where visitors, artists, and designers converge, is growing stronger.
HS: You also currently run the publishing company ENKR. Is there a specific reason that you decided to operate a publisher in Korea?
Kim: In my view, while there is a significant production and distribution of independent publications in Korea, there appears to be a scarcity of theoretical literature concerning them. Although public interest in independent publications has surged due to events like the art book fair, there remains a shortage of theoretical works that delve into the essence of independent publications and artists’ books. Therefore, Da-hye Noh and I established Enker to translate noteworthy theoretical publications from abroad and introduce them to Korean readers. It was within this framework that we published "On NO-ISBN Independent Publishing" (2021), a translation of Bernhard Cella's work on self-publishing.
- Publish date: 28. 4. 2023.
- Publication: Design Press, Seoul
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