Exhibitions
Since 1996, San Francisco Center for the Book has mounted over one hundred exhibitions celebrating all aspects of artists' books.
SFCB's exhibition gallery is adjacent to the main print studio and Biblioshop. We typically produce four exhibitions per year, focusing on artist books, letterpress, papermaking, and works that showcase the book in its many forms. Our exhibition space is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from 10 AM until 5 PM and admission is free.
April 25–July 26, 2026
The Bay Area has long been fertile ground for technological innovation and artistic experimentation—a fitting origin for an exhibition that takes the artist book as its site of inquiry. Futurity Library: Disobedient Artists' Books in the Postbook Age frames the artist book as an evolutionary object: a form capacious enough to absorb new technologies, shed familiar structures, and persistently question its own conventions.
April 25–July 26, 2026
The Bay Area has long been fertile ground for technological innovation and artistic experimentation—a fitting origin for an exhibition that takes the artist book as its site of inquiry. Futurity Library: Disobedient Artists' Books in the Postbook Age frames the artist book as an evolutionary object: a form capacious enough to absorb new technologies, shed familiar structures, and persistently question its own conventions.
Shop Exhibition Catalogs at the Biblioshop
In tandem with SFCB exhibitions, we produce full color exhibition catalogs for each show in our gallery. Catalogs are available in our online store or in person at the Biblioshop.
Exhibitions Archive
April 25–July 26, 2026
The Bay Area has long been fertile ground for technological innovation and artistic experimentation—a fitting origin for an exhibition that takes the artist book as its site of inquiry. Futurity Library: Disobedient Artists' Books in the Postbook Age frames the artist book as an evolutionary object: a form capacious enough to absorb new technologies, shed familiar structures, and persistently question its own conventions.
January 17–March 8, 2026
Who is America at 250? Artists' Books on the State of Democracy explores the realities and perceptions of living in the United States today. Featuring artists' books and print work by artists from across the nation, the exhibition reflects on the current state of our American experiment.
November 8 - December 21, 2025
Minoosh Zomorodinia’s work reflects on the deep connections between people and the land — places shaped by history, memory, and power. Her practice invites us to consider how our bodies move through these spaces and how the past continues to leave its mark.
October 11 –October 26, 2025
Nun Sequitur is a lighthearted print project dreamed up by SFCB staff and designed to bring a bit of silliness to our letterpress studio. The project encourages printers to spend creative time at SFCB, playing with text and image. Participants will print a captioned edition of posters using a predetermined image.
July 5 –September 21, 2025
“Mourning and Melancholy: Artists’ Books From the Arab World and Its Diaspora” examines the use of book arts as both a site of collective mourning and a reflection of pervasive melancholy among artists from the Arab world and its diaspora.
April 19–June 15, 2025
Crossing the Line: The Passport Re-Imagined takes inspiration from passports and other travel-related ephemera, highlighting nearly 30 artists’ books that document both the promises and limitations of the passport, while considering key concepts of nationality, boundary, and place.
January 18–March 23, 2025
Sponsored by the American Academy of Bookbinding (Telluride, CO), OPEN•SET is a prestigious exhibition celebrating the art of finely crafted design bookbindings. The exhibition features an impressive range of works from both emerging bookbinders and seasoned professionals.
On View: October 25–December 22, 2024
David King (1948–2019) was an English artist, graphic designer, and musician best known for designing the Crass symbol. His many varied projects encompassed drawing, photography, sculpture, film, video, radio plays, and more. King was a core member of the New York no wave band Arsenal, and later the San Francisco post-punk bands Sleeping Dogs and Brain Rust. He generated hundreds of flyers for these bands and others during the period of 1977–1988, as well as creating logos, brand identities, and posters for nightclubs like Danceteria, Pravda, and the Peppermint Lounge in New York and the I-Beam in San Francisco.
SFCB is committed to access for all participants and visitors for events, facilities, and programs. All events are held in wheelchair accessible rooms. For individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, an ASL interpreter or assistive listening system (if available) can be provided by request with a two week notice prior to the event. Print materials can be made available in alternative formats if requested two weeks prior to the event. To arrange for these services, please let us know by filling out the Accommodation Request form.
Exhibition Proposals
Curators and individuals interested in proposing an exhibition at SFCB are encouraged to fill out our Exhibition Proposal Form.
Proposals are reviewed by SFCB staff approximately three times per year. A core goal of the SFCB exhibition program is to provide opportunities to emerging and mid-career curators; individuals from diverse backgrounds working in the field/mediums of artists' books, printmaking, letterpress, papermaking, and related arts are invited to submit proposals. Proposals for group exhibitions are given priority; we do not accept proposals for solo exhibitions.