Artists’ Books: A Success Story

The Walther König Bookshop and the affiliated publishing house are institutions for the reception of contemporary art, which have a decisive influence on the international art scene. In the 54 years of their existence, numerous bookstores have opened beyond the original store in Cologne. Over 4,000 titles—including more than 1,000 artists’ books—have been published. The approach of the publisher and bookseller Walther König is characterized by the fact that many meanwhile famous artists were provided with a forum to present the book as art for the first time and later received ongoing support in their development.

The Museum Angewandte Kunst and its Department of Book Art and Graphics are now dedicating an exhibition to this special alliance of art, the book, and creative publishing for the first time. The focus lies on books that manifest themselves as an expressive form in the visual arts whilst retaining their autonomy. Thus the openness of the contemporary concept of art meets the question of a book’s potential as art. The pages of the book are turned into a self-determined art space by artists.

Two coordinates determine the exhibition: the alphabet and the chronology. The names of the 307 artists, frequently published in series, and their more than 1,000 artist’s books, including special editions, span the 54-year development of the publishing house since 1968. The exhibition thus illustrates how book design has evolved since 1968.

It is remarkable that the publishing house has always refrained from forming a logogram. W. König: “It was never something we thought about.” Instead, the company focused on the creative force of publishing. This is expressed in the different name variations under which the publishing house operated. Six names represent the phases of its development: “Gebr. König, Köln – New York” from 1968 headed by Walther and Kasper König, then a long period from 1972 to 2019 under the direction of Walther König together with Jutta Linthe as “Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König,” or as “Oktagon,” expanded by “Alberta Press” or “Koenig Books” since 2009, which were initiated in London as imprints by Franz König, to the personal union “Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König” from 2019.

Director: Matthias Wagner K
Curator: Eva Linhart
Press contact: Natali-Lina Pitzer / T +49 (0)69 212 75339