Judith Supine at Red Bull House of Art @ Redbull.com
When he began his residency at Red Bull House Of Art, interdisciplinary artist Judith Supine wasn’t sure what he would find in Detroit. What he quickly discovered was John K. King Books – one of the country’s largest used bookstores and a labyrinth of old, odd, and obscure print publications. In other words, a wonderland for a collage artist who primarily concerns himself with source material that can be found free, “or at least real cheap,” according to his artist statement.
“I’ve gone crazy there,” Supine says of the bookstore, which has five floors of loosely organised treasures of forgotten literature and pulp memorabilia. “It’s probably my favourite bookstore now.”
While Supine has a long history with collage art in many applications, often working with imagery lifted from found magazines, his chance encounter with John K. King has inspired a new body of work that makes use of cheap paperback book covers.