Hacienda Books Zürich, 2014. 4to in wraps as issued. [72] pages, illustrated throughout. Fine clean copy

First edition

The first publication by the Zurich art space Hacienda, which is run by three young curators, is characterized by an unusually close collaboration between the artist and designer. The works presented in the first part are not simply reproduced but are cut apart and combined into new two-page arrangements. This might be considered a grave infringement upon a work of art, but in fact it is a reference to Dobler’s working method of combining various pictorial elements with one another. The second part is also unconventional, with exhibition views that border on bad taste, integrating architectural details like wooden wall cupboards, staircase banisters and skirting boards that serve to jar the viewer accustomed to the white cube. Despite this, the design in no way creates a punk aesthetic and the radical approach remains socially acceptable. The high-gloss paperback cover with distorted typography toys evocatively with visual codes. Graphisme: Teo Schifferli, in collaboration with Thomas Petit, Zürich

Selected for The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2014