RECENT COMMISSIONS
Come With Me Into My Garden Come With Me Into My Garden
Sutter San Mateo Internal Medicine
San Mateo, CA
My horticultural series made of paperback book covers continues to be popular with consultants and private collectors. Come With Me Into My Garden is the latest addition to this series, many of which can be seen on my Commissions page →
Room 414 Room 414
The Gunter Hotel
San Antonio, TX
What a thrill to make an asemic piece based on a musical score! And to have it hanging in a historic hotel where the blues legend Robert Johnson once had a recording studio in room 414. This is the first time I had the opportunity to use asemic “notes” and I loved the opportunity to acknowledge the importance of Johnson in the evolution of a quintessentially American musical genre.
Dorian's Rose #2 The Dorian
Calgary, Canada
This commission, for a Victorian-themed hospitality venue,
stipulated three elements: that the piece be made from vintage
copies of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, that the
overall shape be the Alberta Rose, the provincial flower of
Alberta, and that, although a wall piece, it needed to be
sculptural. I love working within these types of limitations.
Using six different copies of the book, I made Dorian’s Rose
from both the pages and the covers of the classic novel.
More commissions examples →
East Meets West Raffles Boston
Boston, MA
Given the theme of East Meets West for a hospitality venue, I created fourteen patinated copper pieces which use asemic text, both horizontal and vertical, in the form of punctured holes made with a sewing machine. Manipulated safety pins are an additional element in some of the pieces.
More commissions examples →
PUBLICATIONS
Le Fil Dans L’art ContemporainCover and page spread
Le Fil Dans L’art Contemporain
Published by Pyramyd Editions
Paris, France
This book includes 125 artists working in a variety of textile techniques from around the world. The double page spread about my work includes pieces from my Lines and Tangles series of cord and thread on industrial felt.
VIDEO
Territory
A short video of Territory by Lia Roozendaal. Territory, part of the Raw Edge series, measures 49 x 80 inches, and is made of reclaimed fiber, scraps and failure fragments rescued from the studio floor.A commission I recently made.
Community Health Innovations (CHI)
Montage Health/Community Hospital of the
Monterey Peninsula, Monterey, CA
I received a large commission for the new Montage Health/Community Hospital in Monterey, CA. Nature Library will be viewed from both sides in a beautifully constructed Plexiglas box. The piece is the result of countless hunting and gathering forays to find discarded books at the local recycling center and is composed of dozens of book cloth covers from a wide variety of sources. It was a true pleasure to make the piece, knowing that it will contribute to a feeling of well-being and tranquility as people “read” the bits of text while waiting to see their doctor.
My photographer, Lia Roozendaal, made a video of the process from beginning to end titled Nature Library Enjoy!
RECENT ACQUISITIONS
Abridged Abridged, an altered dictionary about banned books, was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC
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Constellation Constellation, a major large-scale sewn found photo piece, was acquired by the Crocker Museum in Sacramento, CA
The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, a sewn found photo piece, was acquired by a private collector in Chapel Hill, NC
Territory Territory, from the Raw Edge series, was acquired by the prominent collector Mary Austin, installed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Left Unsaid Left Unsaid, from the Bookscrapping series, was acquired by the prominent collector Mary Austin, San Francisco, CA
MENTORING & CRITIQUE
I work one-on-one with many artists in my Coaching/Mentorship Program, an outgrowth of decades of mentoring graduate students in local colleges and universities. The program is tailored to the needs of each artist and includes six one-hour meetings or the equivalent to be completed within six months.
Artists use their coaching/mentorship sessions for critique and career development, as well as issues related to maintaining a consistent studio practice.
For artists who live outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, mentorships are available via Zoom.
Read more →
EXHIBITIONS
CODEX X
Oakland Marriott City Center,
February 7 - February 10, 2026
This is the first time that I will be exhibiting my most recent work from the Bookscrapping series, along with metal book sculptures from The Wordless Library series and other earlier books. This international book arts fair is unparalleled in its wide-ranging investigation of the art of the book and related crafts, with a carefully curated roster of international artists, symposia, and other book-related topics and materials on offer.
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Bookness
Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
November 22, 2025 - February 11, 2026
In collaboration with the CODEX Foundation, this exhibition is an impressively varied display of the myriad ways that contemporary artists interpret the artist’s book.
CONTEXT: Art, Books and Freedom
Columbia University
Butler Rare Book and Manuscript Library
New York, NY
September 11, 2025 - May 31, 2026
Curated by Meg Hitchcock, this exhibition of fifteen artists working with text, books and free speech is impressive in its variety and depth. I am happy to be a part of this outstanding and timely exhibition.
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Cultural Currency: Contemporary Art from the Riemer Collection
Amarillo Museum of Art
Amarillo, TX
Jan. 17 – March 22, 2026
Several of my stitched currency pieces are in this nationally traveling exhibition curated by Emilee Enders featuring the collection of money-themed art begun in 1995 by Louise Rothman-Riemer and Davis Riemer. The exhibition presents the innovative ways artists use money as a medium to explore preconceived notions of value and worth beyond declared denominations. The 38 artists in the exhibition investigate monetary value by meticulously repurposing bills and coins into exquisite, conceptually engaging artworks.
Crossing the Line: The Passport Re-Imagined
Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Minneapolis, MN
February 9 - May 16, 2026
Passport to Lesbianism, one of my artist’s books, is part of a show highlighting artists’ books that are inspired by the passport, travel documents, and stories of migration. It is an honor to be included in this traveling exhibition on a very timely contemporary topic.
INTERVIEW
Contemporary Jewish Museum
The Four Questions With Lisa Kokin
Lisakokin.jpg "Ayayay")
The Four Questions is a monthly series of short-form interviews in which artists who have shown at the CJM answer four Jewish culture-related questions. I was honored to have been chosen to be the first artist interviewed.
Read Interview →
MY TALK AT THE CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM
Below is a short video of my talk at the Contemporary Jewish Museum where I was interviewed by Gravity Goldberg.