Those who follow the Telegraph Gallery closely will not have missed the catalogue launch, accompanied by a guided tour, at the end of September. Curator Jan Kudrna together with Lucie Tallová guided us through the exhibition. The baptism itself was held by the then house manager Michal Blaško, in an unusual way - the baptism was done with charcoal from the exhibition itself.
About the graphic design the catalogue for the exhibition I Wish That I Was Made of Stone was this time taken care of by graphic designer Matěj Doležel, who collaborated on the overall concept with the Telegraph Gallery team and Lucie Tallová. His work spans across typography, photography and screen printing. He has designed book publications, visual identities, documented exhibitions and architecture, and founded the independent screen printing studio Test Print Platform.
You may know Matej well from the Telegraph environment, as he has documented installations for our exhibitions and contributed to several other catalogues. What few people know, however, is that he is often involved in the creation of our merch. This collaboration has resulted in the Garfield iron-on, the GOOD BOY t-shirt, the Jake Chapman t-shirt and more.
The book cover visually matches Lucie Tallová's own work. It is made up of marbled paper that was created in the Telegraph. It was produced by book and paper enthusiast Peter Lupták together with Telegraph Gallery producer Erika Kovačičová.
The technique of marbling paper involves applying paint to the surface of water in a container. Using toothpicks or skewers, various patterns resembling the texture of marble can be created, which are then transferred by placing the paper on the surface. Each sheet thus created is an original.
The catalogue was created in two versions. In addition to the standard edition, 50 limited edition copies were also published, which can be purchased along with a special edition serigraph. The cover of the publication is decorated with a reproduction of a selected piece of marbled paper, while each serigraph from the limited edition is unique. It depicts a bust of an ancient woman and the texture of the stone that is placed over her face. The melancholic motif combined with the marbled paper evokes a sense of nostalgia - remember this paper from old photo albums
In the nearly 100-page publication you will find not only photographs of the installation by Matej Dolezel, but also texts dedicated to the work of Lucie Tallová.
One of the authors is the curator Jan Kudrna, who served as chief curator at the Telegraph Gallery until 2021. His curatorial text is accompanied by an interview between Kudrna and Tallová, which presents their collaboration from the perspective of the curator and the artist.
The second author who contributed to the catalogue is Sam Bardaouil, director of Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof gallery, one of the most important public collections of contemporary art in the world. In his contribution, he discusses the work of Lucie Tallová in a broader international context.
At Telegraph Gallery, we strive to ensure that each catalogue is not simply a record of an exhibition, but also a material imprint of its atmosphere and the artist's work. However, just as Lucia Tallová works with the theme of memory, the catalogue and limited edition serigraphs become material artefacts that preserve it.
