Orphan Papers
An exhibition by Izet Sheshivari with the Sitterwerk Art Library
November 12, 2017, to January 28, 2018
«I found a multitude of notes, newspaper cutouts and ephemera within the pages of these books.»
Many of the books in the Art Library have a strong personal background. They come from the collection of the passionate book collector Daniel Rohner, the founder of the Kunstgiesserei St.Gallen, Felix Lehner, and other donors. It is therefore not surprising that leafing through the books again and again reveals personal notes, invitation cards, letters, drawings, and much more. One also finds various things that readers have left behind, knowingly or unknowingly. The Geneva-based artist and publisher Izet Sheshivari, who has been a regular visitor in the Sitterwerk for many years, has now developed an exhibition with these so-called «truffled»books. His research took place sporadically, with pauses for reflection at important intervals and the time required to leaf through many books.
With the exhibition, we would like to give Izet Sheshivari’s respectful handling of these personal documents a platform. Sheshivari shows us a selection of his own discoveries in the cosmos of anecdotes and notes. Central to them is again and again the collector Daniel Rohner and his «rabid note-taking» and passion for collecting, which went hand-in-hand with his writing many, many lists and comments. The numerous newspaper clippings also inserted in the books are important as well. They anchor the book in its time in a particularly direct way and tell of where it comes from, who read it, and how it was ingested.
The exhibition strives to document and record everything inserted in the books—once again, indeed, much more than is apparent at first sight—it opens up a «parallel library». At the same time, the exhibition would, above all, also like to arouse curiosity, so that visitors set off on a journey of discovery themselves and are able to put together a «truffled» book.
Wednesday, January 24, 7pm
An Evening at the Exhibition with the Guests Miriam Sturzenegger, Margit Bauer, and Georg Rutishauser
With the friendly support of:
Arnold Billwiller Stiftung
Fonds cantonale d’art contemporain Genève
Georg und Josi Guggenheim Stiftung
Georges und Jenny Bloch Stiftung
Straubenzeller Fonds