Laura Owens
Ten Paintings

Gavin Brown’s enterprise
2018
8.875 × 12 in
(20.3 × 30.5 cm)

Catalog documenting Laura Owens’ 2016 exhibition, Ten Paintings, at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts. The first section of the book documents every inch of Owens’ immersive installation, which covered the walls in non-repeating ‘wallpaper,’ screen printed by hand in her studio. This section shows each wall at 1:12 scale, with the massive, composited images spanning across French-folded pages to allow uninterrupted viewing. There are detail shots of each wall shown at three scales: 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4. Along the edge of each page are numbers representing its x,y coordinates (in feet), allowing the viewer to locate the detail in the overall installation. Three ‘bookmarks’ show an overview of each wall on the front, and a ruler on the back to determine the magnification level of detail images (e.g., if the numbers along the edge of the page are 6 inches apart, the scale is 1:2.) A second section includes overviews of the main space and documents a second room featuring works by both Laura Owens, and her mother, Eileen. Hidden within the main installation were phone numbers of functioning line, which if sent a text message, would cause audio responses to play through speakers hidden in the space. The final section of the book compiles every text sent during the exhibition and the program’s ensuing response.