Brookfield Craft Center is excited to present Still Rivers: The Altered Book Art of Chris Perry. A resident of Ridgefield and a member of the Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Perry alters unwanted books to impart information without the use of words or images. The books themselves are the idea, the shape of the paper the information. The focus is always on water in its many forms and effects on other things. You can find out more about Chris Perry and his work here. The in-person exhibition will be open June 11 – July 17  in the Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery.

When an author writes a book, she frequently repeats her style, be it odd names, similar locales, catchy backstories, an odd style of phrasing, a familiar character. My thin triangles, threads, hanging books, little points within a tube of holes, are all my way of communicating an idea, a form of water specifically, or the effect water can have on other things, or structures that hold or curtail water. Fittingly, this show is in an old mill by a river, a structure that was a source of power because the water was directed through a race and caused a water wheel to turn. The pieces selected show a progression over several years from pedestal positioning, to wall-hanging, and finally ceiling mount-ing. They also show how simple ideas can blossom into far more complex ones by adding volumes and threads, thin triangles, and irregular placement, and in one case, the potential for much larger, room-encompassing pieces.” — Chris Perry

Brookfield Craft Center would like to thank Mitchell Energy Products & Services for their generous sponsorship of the show.

Contact gallery@brookfieldcraft.org or call 203-775-4526 to purchase a piece.

142 Ripples: steam
2014
Altered books
8”x 18”x 8”
$600

144 Ripples: mill
2014
Altered books
10”x 21”x 21”
$800

155 Ripples: font
2016
Altered books
9”x 26”x 26”
$900

173 Ripples: drizzle
2017
Altered books
60”x 27”x 8”
$800

181 Ripples: spigot
2018
Altered books
43”x 3”x 10”
$700

182 Ripples: wrack
2018
Altered books
11”x 37”x 9”
$450

193 Ripples: water(pox)
2020
Altered books
46”x 24”x 12”
$900

194 Ripples: water(sample)
2020
Altered book
9”x 7”x 5”
$250

195 Ripples: water(wheel)
2020
Altered book
84”x 13”x 13”
$600

196 Ripples: water(glass)
2020
Altered book
10”x 7”x 4”
$250

200 Ripples: chute
2020
Altered book
21”x 7”x 2”
$250

205 Ripples: black(water)
2020
Altered book
9”x 6”x 4”
$250

210 Ripples: red(tide)
2020
Altered book
13”x 10”x 3”
$450

216 Ripples: distillate
2020
Altered book
11”x 9”x 2”
$450

221 Ripples: gate(valve)
2021
Altered book
9”x 14”x 9”
$450

224 Ripples: fork(in the river)
2021
Altered book
42”x 8”x 4”
$250

226 Ripples: culvert
2021
Altered book
11”x 7”x 7”
$450

Brookfield Craft Center presents Still Rivers: The Altered Book Art of Chris Perry opening June 11, 2022 and running through July 17, 2022 in its Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery. Perry is a resident of Ridgefield and a member of the Ridgefield Guild of Artists. There will be a reception to meet the artist and view the work on June 25th from 5-8 PM.

Perry alters unwanted books to impart information without the use of words or images; the books themselves are the idea, the shape of the paper the information. The focus is always on water in its many forms and effects on other things.

“This focus on water and its power makes this a wonderful show to have during our 70th anniversary year as our gallery is located in an old mill building on the banks of the Still River,” says Howard Lasser, Brookfield Craft Center’s Executive Director.

The show is sponsored by Mitchell Energy Products & Services.

Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday noon -5:00pm, Saturday 11:00am – 5:00pm, and Sunday noon – 4:00pm.