The second annual LA Art Book Fair runs from Friday through Sunday at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Organized by Printed Matter, the event will bring together close to 300 exhibitors from 18+ countries.

The LA Art Book Fair is the companion fair to the NY Art Book Fair , held every fall in New York. In 2013, 27,000 artists, book buyers, collectors, dealers, curators, independent publishers, DIY book-makers and other enthusiasts came to the fair—to browse, shop, schmooze, swap, and snack—and to attend the wall-to-wall panels, workshops, readings, book signings, and other artist-led programs.

The first LA Art Book Fair was a great success, in terms of attendance numbers and sales, so I contacted several of this year’s exhibitors to get their take:

View of the fair (2013), photo of Desilu Munoz, courtesy LA Art Book Fair

In advance of last year’s inaugural installment of Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair here in Los Angeles, no one quite knew what to expect. I think that all of the exhibitors were pleasantly surprised by the impressive attendance over its four days, but most of all I personally was overwhelmed by the incredible volume and quality of the rare and out of print books, catalogues and ephemera available.

There was so much exceptional, and exceptionally rare material on display that it required at least a full day to take in everything thoroughly, and this seemed to paralyze many clients and collectors who had to pick and choose wisely no matter how big their budget. Whatever you’re looking for in this field, it is an amazing opportunity to see items that just don’t come on the market often, if at all. And of course these mixed in amongst the thousands of tempting new and limited edition books and ‘zines makes for a wonderful sensory overload. Despite the long hours and occasional dubious social interactions, we’re very glad to have been, and to be a part of it!
—Lee Kaplan, Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA.

We are very happy to once again be part of the LA Art Book Fair. Last years show featured some really inspiring and beautiful works from a range of artists and I am sure this year’s show will do the same. For us, the event gives us the chance to share our latest creations with people face to face, a way to not only engage directly with interesting people but to also get a stronger sense of which pieces people most respond to. This information can help guide us to which books we are working on are worth developing further.
— Mark Todd and Esther Watson, Funchicken, Sierra Madre, CA

Funchicken tabletop, 2013, courtesy Mark Todd 

The Center for Books Arts is excited to participate for the first time in the LA iteration of this important artist book fair. Events like these are an important way to create community and excitement around the world of artist books and we think they are a fundamental part of spreading the word about this kind of work. In keeping with the Center's mission, to provide opportunities for artists working with books, we've invited our artist members to submit their work to be presented at the Center’s booth. Twenty works were selected by artists Rosaire Appel, Heidi Neilson, Thomas Parker Williams, to show alongside the Center’s program information on exhibitions, courses, and artist opportunities.

The Center’s booth will feature the full gamut of artist books, from small limited editions to digitally printed multiples. Artists being presented include Rosaire Appel, Frans Baake, Kunyoung Chang, Marianne Dages, Steven Daiber, Aurora De Armendi, Anne Gilman, Barbara Henry, Babette Katz, and many others.
—Sarah Nicholls, Programs & Marketing, The Center for Book Arts. 28 West 27^th Street, NY, NY.

Considering what a success the NY Art Book Fair was this past year, we are excited to be participating in the LA fair as well. We will have some new book titles by Bill Sullivan and Aaron McElroy as well as a small sculptural piece by Matthew Gamber and some large format color xerox prints by Ofer Wolberger.
—Horses Think Press, Brooklyn, NY.

New editions from Horses Think Press, courtesy Ofer Wolberger

We were very happy to participate in the The LA Art Book Fair in its inaugural year and are equally happy to be going back out there again. The Geffen is a great space for it, and the energy and the vibe of the fair was really excellent. Sales were also very good, and will no doubt only get better as the fair becomes more established in LA. It's just such a great opportunity for us to engage with our large West Coast audience, meet face to face with all the photobook collectors, long-time readers of Aperture magazine, the book buyers and other photography lovers who flock to the dedicated photography section of the fair.

We also get the chance to highlight our limited-edition books, many of which are only available directly from Aperture either in our New York bookstore or on our web site, so its a chance for West Coast collectors to have access to those in person. This year, our stand will feature lots of signed books by some incredible photographers like James Welling, J.H. Engstrom, Rinko Kawauchi, and Martin Parr, plus limited-editions like Richard Mosse's The Enclave box set. 
—Kellie McLaughlin, Sales and Marketing Director, Aperture Foundation

Printed Matter presents the second annual LA Art Book Fair, from January 31 through February 2, 2014, at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. An opening will be held on the evening of Thursday, January 30. 152 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. Information. 

Redfoxpress (2013), photo Desilu Munoz, courtesy LA Art Book Fair

Free and open to the public, the LA Art Book Fair is a unique event for artists’ books, art catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines presented by over 250 international presses, booksellers, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers.

Featured projects include a Queer Zines Exhibition curated by Philip Aarons and AA Bronson, The Classroom series of talks and lectures curated by David Senior, KCHUNG Radio with live coverage of—and broadcast from—the fair, and a number of special project rooms. In addition, MOCAtv and the LA Art Book Fair team up to bring you a series of curated screenings, panels, and performances by some of our favorite artists and performers, and the CABC comes, for the first time, to the west coast for a one-day conference.