The Standard

The NY Art Book Fair held last weekend was a huge success, and we were proud to be the official hotel sponsor. The Fair was filled with books and magazines galore of the highest caliber and it was a meeting spot for the finest in publishing.

One of the magazines that blew our minds was Toilet Paper, a creation birthed by artist Maurizio Cattelan. Conceived in collaboration with photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari and published by Deste, Toilet Paper Issue #3 was inspired by Robert Rauschenberg and Thomas Hirschhorn, and features a series of powerful visual tableaux deserving of any coffee table or gallery. The images are brought to you straight from the aberrant, animated mind of this Italian-born provocateur, mischief-maker and macabre witness to our times.

Maurizio Cattelan (born 1960) began his career as a furniture designer, transitioning to art through his realistic sculptures. He has had solo exhibitions at some of the most distinguished museums in the world, such as The Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. He has also founded and edited magazines such as Charley, Permanent Food as well as Toilet Paper.

At the Fair, we noticed some interesting people carrying the chic Toilet Paper tote bags (a hot commodity) so we followed the breadcrumbs back to its original booth. Maurizio flew into New York from Italy for the Fair, where he was gleeful to see his tote bags wandering amok. Did we mention all the issues sold out by the end of the weekend?

Vince Aletti, whom we interviewed for Paddle8 last month, was quoted in Photograph Magazine loving the issue and described TP as “a series of double-page spreads reminiscent of Permanent Food’s wildly unpredictable mash-up of styles.”

If you missed their splash at the Fair, you can purchase the periodical for $12.00 at ArtBook.com or ask your local bookstore or museum shop. The quality of images and printing style makes this an affordable collectable art piece for enthusiasts of surrealism. We highly recommend it.