Ars Libri

Current Ars Libri Exhibition

Click here for a gallery of photos of the works of Lisa Vershbow

Lisa Vershbow: Paper Dresses Adorned - Paper Sculpture and Jewelry

Exhibition: 2 December 2011 - 31 January 2012

Opening Reception: 2 December 5:30-8pm (the artist will be present)

Washington D.C. metalsmith Lisa Vershbow has always been fascinated with combining industrial and precious materials to create contemporary pieces of jewelry. The unusual pairing of anodized aluminum and acrylics with silver, pearls, stones, felt and paper accentuates the clean lines and bright colors of her works.

Vershbow has accompanied her diplomat husband abroad for more than three decades. When home, she shares a studio in Alexandria, Virginia's Torpedo Factory Art Center and teaches in the Art League School. Her time abroad has greatly affected her art work. Living in Seoul from 2005 to 2008, she added Korean traditional paper, called Hanji, to her work. Vershbow's paper dresses began as vehicles to display her jewelry in a Seoul art gallery, but they quickly grew into sculptural forms adorned with her jewelry. The invitation to show in Ars Libri, where the display space is surrounded by books and bookshelves, has sparked new inspiration for Vershbow. She has collected printed papers for years and many of the new brooches and necklaces for this exhibition feature marbled bookbinding papers and silver-leafed edges. The dresses, although life-sized, are two dimensional and cannot be worn. But their companion brooches and necklaces are all wearable art.

Previous Ars Libri Exhibitions

Click here for a gallery of photos of the works of Alireza Darvish

Vision Bound Unbound: The Drawings of Alireza Darvish

Exhibition: 7 October - 29 November

Opening Reception: 7 October 5:30-8pm (the artist will be present)

Alireza Darvish is a contemporary Iranian artist currently living in Germany. Some twenty years ago, he began a series of finished watercolors and drawings exploring the metaphorical meanings of the book in the modern world, particularly in the context of totalitarian politics. Darkly surreal, whimsical, and provocative, the series is a testimony of gratitude to the freedom and hope that books offer the imagination, and a commentary on the refuge they provide. The series now numbers more than eighty works, nearly all of which are included in this exhibition.

A catalogue to accompany the exhibition will be published and available from Ars Libri for $25. For more information, please email us: orders@arslibri.com or telephone us: 617 357-5212.