Salon für Kunstbuch

Salon für Kunstbuch was established in 2007 as a long-term artist project by Vienna-based Bernhard Cella. It celebrates creative and analytical thinking, the joy of text and image, design, and print. From 2011 to 2019, it was operated as a living sculpture at Belvedere 21 in Vienna. Since 2019, it has run as a publishing house, an archive and a web platform for artists' books.

Bernhard Cella, body to book On Physical Interaction with Books, Salon für Kunstbuch, 2025 © Bernhard Cella

"body to book” is an upcycling project that explores the relationship between the human body and books. It comprises six sculptures assembled from coat fragments and books, each covering a naked body. This arrangement invites explorations of sensuality and intimacy and encourages direct interaction with the subject. Through calling us to examine the subtle interactions between the body and the books, it offers new perspectives for artistic, philosophical and personal reflection on matter, media and the human condition.

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This is a polyphonic book. On the one hand, it follows the movement of a tracking shot through Susan Philips' exhibition at fjk3 - Contemporary Art Space. On the other hand, views of the exhibited artworks are juxtaposed with historical documentary material that provides insights into the artist's thought processes and research work. Susan Philipsz is one of the internationally most renowned contemporary artists. Her art explores the boundaries between sculpture and sound, between materiality and immateriality. Her works frequently react to the places where her exhibitions are staged, connecting to past events and creating spaces of resonance for memories and emotions.

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