Artists & Editions: A Publication in Memory of Steven Leiber (1957–2012)

About

Steven Leiber, a San Francisco native, made his reputation as a collector specializing in ephemera—brochures, flyers, posters, and exhibition announcements—designed by artists in the 1960s and 1970s. He maintained a gallery in the basement of his grandmother’s house in the city’s Marina district, calling it Steven Leiber’s Basement. As Leiber sorted and organized ephemera relating to Fluxus art, Beat and Concrete poetry movements, and the 1960s counterculture, he invited art scholars, curators, artists, and ephemera aficionados to explore his inventory.

As a tribute to Leiber, San Francisco arts patron Robin Wright invited 14 artists to contribute to Artists & Editions, a boxed edition, by creating works that memorialize Leiber’s collection. Drawing inspiration from the “landscape” of Leiber’s basement archive, all of the artists produced works that do not fully reveal themselves at first glance, which was one of Leiber’s criteria for the ephemera he collected. Artists & Editions features prints, three-dimensional paper works, archival materials, posters, a painting, a drawing, an artist’s book, a metal stencil, a weaving, a sewn canvas work, a coupon for redeeming a record, and an edition catalogue. The Logan Gallery display will feature artists’ statements and other extensive labeling that enhance understanding of the connections between the works and Leiber’s life and interests.