Jon Beacham

Jon Beacham and his publishing imprint The Brother in Elysium is one of the hardy few that are reinvigorating fine printing in twenty-first century America. The Brother in Elysium publishes meticulous and beautiful publications that seamlessly join poetry with the aesthetic of early American architecture and landscape, and thoughtfully chosen materials. The publications have a balanced and clear understanding of form, focusing on space, typographical choices and the placement of type on the page. Beacham acquired a printing press in January of 2008 while operating Hermitage, his bookstore and gallery in Beacon, NY. As he added letterpress printing to his methodology, his precise and melancholy collage work opened up into the ongoing creation of books, multiples and ephemera as components of a grand unfolding American narrative. The American landscape is at the core of Beacham's work, alongside the documentation of place and experience through the use of film. Found and selected materials are also integral to Beacham's process of collage. Spanning the years 2008-2013, this full-color catalogue explores the model of the artist/printer/publisher as an ongoing tradition in postwar American art and literature, and brings together collage work, letterpress-printed ephemera, 16mm film stills and mixed media pieces. Limited edition of 500 copies.