Art Gallery highlights Monique Lallier's work

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Monique Lallier thanks the people who helped ready the retrospective. //Photo By Ezra Weiss/The Guilfordian

Art Curator Terry Hammond hosted an art gallery reception in the Hege Library Atrium for world-renowned bookbinder Monique Lallier on Friday, Nov. 2. Guilford'due south Fine art Gallery volition exist showcasing over 45 years of Lallier'south bookbinding designs, thank you to the efforts of Guilford benefactors Daniel and Beth Mosca, and 17 owners of Lallier'due south fine art who lent the pieces to Guilford's Art Gallery for exhibition.

Lallier started her bookbinding journey at the age of 17 and has been recognized for her innovative utilize of colors and techniques to stand for the stories of the texts she has read. From Shakespeare's sonnets to Jhumpa Lahiri'south "Interpreter of Maladies," Lallier has created a range of dynamic and distinctive bindings, several of which are now on showroom in Hege Library. The pieces displayed were drawn from both private and institutional collections.

"The exhibit illuminates how she is open up to new techniques and unusual materials in her bindings," said Lallier's married man, whose work has also been displayed at Guilford. "From eggshells to pewter, ane of the more than of import aspects of her work is her ability to construct her bindings to the highest standards of quality.

"I am somewhat biased, but this exhibition proves without a doubt that Monique's piece of work is ranked very high in the world of design binding."

At the reception, attendees were invited to take a look at the showroom and explore the broad range of styles and materials Lallier has incorporated over the years.

Merely as many attendees took note of the diverse colors and aesthetics of the bindings, one-time librarian Robin Cagle analyzed the various techniques Lallier incorporated into her work.

"The exhibit is pretty incredible," Cagle said. "I was trying to wait at how some of the pieces were put together from the little I know how to exercise. I used to be a librarian, just I did a footling repair of our collection, basic spine repairs and putting pages back in, but zero like this."

Jin Hu, a student of Lallier, echoed Cagle'due south remarks about the originality of Lallier'south bindings.

"What makes Monique very unique is that she doesn't have a particular mode with her bindings," Hu said. "While many bookbinders found their own style and fame and will repeat it, what impressed me most is that all these bindings were fabricated after she turned 17 years-onetime, which ways that she kept experimenting different techniques."

After attendees of the reception had a run a risk to view Lallier's pieces, Hammond, Etherington and Lallier spoke briefly about the backstory of the exhibit and the importance of bookbinding equally an art form.

"Bookbinding is not a bare sheet, you lot demand to convey the temper of the book," Lallier said. "This is why I similar the exhibitions so much because everyone is binding the aforementioned book and y'all tin see the inventiveness in the many interpretations of the same text. It's always fascinating."

Cagle expanded on Lallier's points near the uniqueness of bookbinding as an fine art form.

"Everybody needs art," Cagle said. "Everybody needs to be able to think. Fine art definitely gives you a new way of looking at the world. And this is non a traditional art, which I think is even more important.

"I think a lot of people don't even pick upwards books anymore, they just read online and on tablets. And this is an important art that I promise is never going to get lost."

While many of the collectors of bookbindings pay close attending to Lallier and her art, Hammond shared her experiences with some students she'southward encountered in Hege Library.

"While I have been installing it, I've had conversations with people looking at it, and many students are totally unaware of what design bookbinding is," Hammond said. "They don't understand that these are handmade, one-of-a-kind objects that are the bookbinder'due south interpretation of the author's text."

Lallier's retrospective bookbinding art exhibit volition exist on brandish in the Art Gallery from Oct. 29 to Jan. half dozen. Hammond welcomes all customs members to stop past.

"I want this showroom to not merely exist for these people who are collectors and who accept known Monique for and then long," Hammond said. "They appreciate it because this is the first time they have got to run across all these works together in one place, but I too desire to open people'due south optics to this underappreciated art.

"The exhibit might merely get someone realizing that bookbinding is a true art course."