Printed Matter is pleased to present a display of publications by and about artist Dan Graham, alongside assorted ephemera from Graham’s library. Underscoring Graham’s absorption in all aspects of cultural production both “high” and “low”, the special presentation includes artists’ books, exhibition catalogs, and monographs, alongside ephemera, underground comics, tabloids, toys, artists’ editions, awards, certificates, and other memorabilia dear to Graham and pulled directly from his bookshelves. Organized by artist Mieko Meguro, Graham’s partner, and artist Ryan Foerster, publisher of a recent book of writings by Graham.
The display is presented in conjunction with concurrent tributes to the artist staged at Lisson Gallery, Marian Goodman Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, 303 Gallery, and 3A Gallery through March and April.
To mark the display’s opening, on Friday, March 24, 6-8PM, join us at Printed Matter Chelsea for a commemorative launch of Graham’s collection of essays and think pieces, MORE NUGGETS or Evolution of the Museum and other new writings. The event is presented in celebration of Dan’s life and work, and is accompanied by a listening party of Graham’s own mixtapes.
“I began working with Dan on this book in the summer of 2021. I had only known Dan a short time in person before the conversation led to books and I offered to publish something with him.
He was very excited to work on it and had me over to his studio to talk about ideas for it. I brought along books I made to introduce him to what I had published before. The kitchen table was stacked high with these books and Dan would go over to his bookshelves and pull out different titles, magazines and music to show me. This happened a number of times. There was always something to show me. Martin Short’s biography. A must-read, he said, so he lent me his copy. Bravo, a German teen culture magazine. He thought it was the best layout. We went through old copies of it. Then there was an album I must hear…some vinyl, some CDs. He made mixtapes and gave me copies as he put them out. The Feelies…You don’t have a CD of theirs? He’d ask. So he would send a copy in the mail.
Dan was an extremely generous person and would share his knowledge, excitedly talking about comedy, music, art and of course astrology. He had a previous book called Nuggets, which was a collection of his writing. I suggested calling this one "McNuggets.” We decided on More Nuggets. We talked about where to host the launch of the book. At a McDonalds? A NJ Devils game?
In the end Dan said let’s just do it at Printed Matter, where he could play his most recent mixtape, we would hang out, and if people wanted to talk with him and ask questions about it they could. This was delayed because of Covid. And now we are here. Mieko and I went through some of the magazines and books that Dan had on his shelves along with some objects he collected and had displayed around the studio. We have installed them here to show a mix of the stuff that was on Dan’s shelves and celebrate his involvement with books, magazines and music.“
— Ryan Foerster, publisher of MORE NUGGETS
