Serge Charchoune
Merlin James
Published by Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh and Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, 2013
Designed by James Brook
80 pages with hard cover | 210 x 148 mm | Edition of 1,000
Printed by Allander, Edinburgh on Hello Silk with Royal Blue endpapers
A book about the work of the Franco-Russian painter Serge Charchoune, published to coincide with an exhibition of Charchoune’s work that was shown in Edinburgh and Chicago. The exhibition was curated by the Glasgow-based artist Merlin James, who was keen that the book mark a new level of scholarship around this under-researched figure, providing an in-depth critical analysis of Charchoune’s career and documenting the exhibits in catalogue raisoneé detail. I developed a design based on the visual language of the catalogue raisoneé, that ordered Merlin James’ extensive research for each painting in the exhibition in a rationalised and accessible manner. Two illustrated essays by Merlin James and Annick Morard contextualise Charchoune’s work, and gave me the opportunity to develop a playful rhythm with the positioning of images within the text. The book was printed on a silk paper and was casebound with a matt grey cover complete with Royal Blue endpapers, giving an intentionally old fashioned feel to the book that made it feel slightly out of time.
