Singular Multiples: The Peter Blum Edition Archive, 1980-1994 (Houston Museum of Fine Arts S)

Peter Blum was the first print publisher in the United States to introduce and promote a new generation of European, Asian, and American artists to a larger public. Singular Multiples presents all of the extraordinary works from the Blum Edition Archive, which contains completed portfolios, single editions, books, preparatory drawings, maquettes, working and trial proofs, and printing blocks and plates, totaling more than 1,200 works. This major archive was acquired in 1996 by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and is published here for the first time.
Generously illustrated and handsomely produced, this book includes thematic essays that address the various collaborations between prominent artists and Peter Blum.  These essays are followed by detailed entries on the portfolios in the collection, including works by John Baldessari, Jonathan Borofsky, Louise Bourgeois, Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Eric Fischl, Alex Katz, Barbara Kruger, Brice Marden, James Turrell, Terry Winters, Yukiori Yanagi, and others. Singular Multiples also includes a listing of related proofs and drawings and discusses the collection within the art historical context of the 1980s, all of which reveals Blum’s “ability to persuade the best painters and sculptors of his day to produce prints” and his tremendous impact on the contemporary art world.

Library Journal

This book wears many hats: it is the catalogue raisonn of print publisher Peter Blum's seminal archive, purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in 1996; a catalog for a traveling exhibition of the same name; an anthology of brief essays on a period of art history just emerging; and a showcase for the 23 internationally renowned artists in its carefully selected collection. With a glossary, bibliography, and contributions by curator Barry Walker, freelance curator Jeremy Lewison, and distinguished art critics Fay Hirsch, Vincent Katz, Raphael Rubinstein, and Phyllis Tuchman, it is no lightweight entry in the field of contemporary art publications. The diverse portfolios make up some of the period's strongest voices, including Jonathan Borofsky, Louise Bourgeois, Eric Fischl, Barbara Kruger, Sherrie Levine, Brice Marden, David Rabinowitch, Rosemary Trockel, James Turrell, and Yukinori Yanagi, some more vocal about the 1980s overripe economy than others. A fine new edition for a print collector or specialized contemporary art library. Prudence Peiffer, Cambridge, MA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.