RadioPaper

London: Studio Leigh, 2016. First edition. 16-7/8 x 12 inches, 44 leaves, all but two with the fore edges uncut. Card covers, hand-painted by the artist, in a flourescent tinted Perspex box as issued. One of an edition of 30 numbered copies, plus two artist proofs, signed by the artist. Printed on the Indigo Digital Press by F.E. Burman, on 100 gsm Zerkall mouldmade paper. RadioPaper is a collection of abstract color lithographs by Mary Ramsden; the textured colors and her use of show-through give a sense of three-dimensionality. The title comes from one of the names used for electronic paper. There are five tiny stories by the two-time Granta award-winning novelist Adam Thirlwell, also partially hidden by the uncut pages. Mary Ramsden's first artist book. Mary Ramsden has created eight signed unique works for the publication RadioPaper which combine paper collage with bold brushstrokes of gouache. The unique works accompany Ramsden's paintings on display in The London Open 2015, the Whitechapel Gallery's triennial open submission exhibition, from 15 July-6 September 2015.
RadioPaper is the debut artist's book by British artist Mary Ramsden featuring five original short stories by novelist Adam Thirlwell. Each publication features a unique hand-painted cover by Ramsden. Inside across 150 pages, the artist's works on paper appear alongside a collection of short stories by Thirlwell: Autoportraits with Hidden Elements - a noirish reflection on the selfie. Featuring solid blocks of colour, which interrupt decisive painterly marks, RadioPaper presents a tension between the flat surface and the gesture of the artist redolent of smudges and swipes on digital touch-screens within the rectangular framework. Using concealment as a deliberate compositional device, Ramsden obscures parts of the image and also the ending of each story by Thirlwell within the uncut, french-folded pages of the book. RadioPaper marks the second phase of an ongoing collaboration between Ramsden and Thirlwell, which developed after the award-winning author asked the artist to create a painting in response to his latest novel Lurid & Cute published in January 2015. Subsequently, a painting with the same title appeared earlier this year in the artist's last solo exhibition Swipe at Pilar Corrias Gallery in London. New paintings by Ramsden including one work The Dirtiest Selfie at 50pt which borrows its title from a story in RadioPaper, also appear in an exhibition Vanilla & Concrete as part of the Art Now series at Tate Britain, London until 19 June 2016. RadioPaper is a limited edition of 30, plus 2 artist's proofs. Each artwork is produced by Book Works.