Que sais-je? Artists’ Books and Editions (from the Collection series)

In 2014, the Serralves Museum began a series of books dedicated to the research and presentation of its collection. These publications are intended as guides to both singular artworks works and representative conceptual and thematic tendencies not only of the institution's collection, but also of Portuguese contemporary art after the 1960s. The collection is defined by a pocket book format, in which the cover shows an image partially hidden by a white strip where the title is placed – only when you open the volume, or unfold the flaps, it becomes possible to read the entire image and text.

The fourth volume of the series "from the Collection" focuses on a selection of artist's books and publications, which were part of the exhibition "Que sais-je?", curated by Ricardo Nicolau for the Contemporary Art Museum of Bordeaux, later also presented at Serralves. Not being an exhibition catalogue, the book includes images of the several works organized by thematic sections, which are interspersed with essays by Ricardo Nicolau, Chuz Martínez and Clive Phillpot. These texts are presented in a more stable layout, contrasting with the fluidity of the images’ sections, also printed in a different paper stock.