Society and Culture: The III Biennale of Book Graphics and Illustrations “Book as Art” presented in St. Petersburg

On September 15, 2022 the III Biennale of Book Graphics and Illustrations Book as Art opened in the Rumyantsev Mansion (St. Petersburg).

The Biennale of Book Graphics and Illustrations Book as Art is a library-exhibition project created in 2018 and initiated by the Pushkin Central Children’s Library. Its goal is to present a book as a piece of artistic culture. In 2022, the biennale is being held for the third time. Its main platform is the Rumyantsev Mansion – Branch of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg. The exposition of book graphics is also displayed in the halls of the Pushkin Central Children’s Library.

The exhibition in the Rumyantsev Mansion unites 45 works of painters and illustrators that present three generations of Russian art. Participants include both recognized masters of book graphics, whose works are now treasures of art collections of domestic and foreign museums, as well as private collections, and young, aspiring artists-illustrators, whose talents have already been praised by the international professional community.

The biennale showcases original illustrations, created in 2020-2022 for the works of Russian and foreign authors using various techniques (lithography, watercolor, gouache, drawings by pencil, ink, quill, digital illustration, etc.).

For the first time, visitors will have an opportunity to see illustrations for the books that are only being prepared for publication in the near future. They include works by Boris Anikin for R. L. Stevenson ‘s Treasure Island, Igor Oleynikov for the Russian folk tale The Magic Swan Geese, Anya and Varya Kendel for I. S. Turgenev’s A Sportsman’s Sketches, Alexandra Kabakova for E. Yosefkovich’s The Key to Jack’s Riddles, Tatyana Tsaryova for J. London’s collection South Sea Tales, and many others.

The program of the biennale features creative meetings with painters-illustrators, book presentations by publishing houses, master-classes, lectures on history and modern trends of book illustrations and graphics.

The exhibition will run from September 16 until November 29, 2022.