NEW YORK.- Printed Matter, Inc. presents The NY Art Book Fair, New York City’s first annual fair devoted to contemporary art books and artists’ books. Over 70 international exhibitors, from major distributors and antiquarian dealers to independent publishers and artists occupy a dual-level 20,000 square foot space. The fair takes place 17 through 19 November, 2006, in the heart of Chelsea’s gallery district at 548 West 22nd Street. A ticketed Benefit Preview on Thursday, 16, 6-9 pm, November benefits Printed Matter, Inc. Admission to the fair and events is free. See www.nyartbookfair.com.

Exhibitors and participants from New York City to Reykjavik and Tokyo are convening to share their involvement and activities with contemporary art books. Friendly Fire, a curated zone of artists and independent publishers features artists and art collectives who self-publish in a free-spirited range of forms from books and ’zines to CDs and DVDs. Spreading the Friendly Fire esprit de corps, Mark Pawson, a London-based “image junkie and photocopier fetishist,” leads Books for Everyone!, a book-making workshop.

Fun and engaging events including book launches, signings, performances, and talks take place each day of the fair. Creative Time launches Who Cares, their new book exploring art and social action. This evening features Iraqi food presented by Michael Rakowitz and performances and presentations by Seth Tobocman, Dread Scott and Mark Tribe. Matthew Higgs moderates a panel on Printed Matter’s 30th anniversary—Can We Trust An Organization Over 30 Artists present for book signings include Jen DeNike, Silvia Kolbowski, John Lurie, Josephine Meckseper, Paper Rad,Walid Raad, and Tom Sachs, among others.

Brooklyn artist/designer j.morrison presents an interactive, performative silkscreening station. Danish artist Goodiepal gives an electronic music performance in collaboration with a Pork Salad Press signing. PERFORMA presents the fair’s finale with a performance by Clifford Owens, a recent resident at The Studio Museum in Harlem. Owen’s piece, Four Fluxus Scores by Benjamin Patterson (2006), is based on the work of Benjamin Patterson, the only U.S. black artist affiliated with Fluxus. Afterwards, RoseLee Goldberg will give comments on the relationship between performance art and documentation.

Specially commissioned for the Fair, artist installations by Joshua Smith and Jan De Cock are on view all weekend. Joshua Smith surrounds the Friendly Fire zone with hundreds of event posters featuring his expressionistic monikers. Belgian artist Jan De Cock debuts a conceptual sculptural installation that forms Thea Westreich and Ethan Wagner’s fair booth to launch his new 632-page book, Denkmal ISBN 908042427. De Cock has previously created large-scale public installations at Tate Modern (2005) and Manifesta 5 (2004) that have received widespread critical acclaim.

D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers exhibits a new poster series by Gerhard Richter. Lushly printed by venerated art publisher Walther Konig, these works reflect the importance of photomechanical reproduction in Richter’s practice.

Also on view will be REPLICATION: The Books of Sol LeWitt, an exhibition curated by Printed Matter Director AA Bronson. AA Bronson said, “Printed Matter is proud to honor Sol LeWitt with this exhibition of over 40 of his books, which have been at once the baseline of his own creative endeavor, and an example to several generations of artists as to how much is possible with modest means and methods.” The books are drawn from the remarkable collection of Philip Aarons, Chair of Printed Matter's Board.

In honor of Printed Matter’s 30th anniversary, artists Richard Prince, Matthew Brannon, and Chris Johanson have created new limited editions for the fair’s opening night Benefit Preview. Tickets are available at three price tiers and each level of admission is accompanied by a limited edition artwork. Richard Prince has produced a previously unprinted photographic edition that was originally conceived as part of his 1970s Untitled (couples) series for the $7,500 ticket.

Matthew Brannon has printed a three-color silkscreen incorporating visual themes from his recent solo exhibition at Petzel Gallery for the $150 ticket. Chris Johanson has created a silkscreened ticket edition available as the $20 friend ticket, this is also included for purchasers of the Prince and Brannon editions.