Big Pictures Los Angeles is pleased to present I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library, a group show of hand painted or hand bound books curated  by Doug Crocco for Blake and Vargas gallery in Berlin Germany. A preview opening will be held Saturday, June 1st at Big Pictures Los Angeles from 6:00pm. -10:00pm. An opening reception In Berlin will be held Saturday, June 7th, at 6:00pm.

The exhibition features works by Edgar Bryan, Kristin Calabrese, Brian Cooper, Matthew Craven, Anthony Cudahy, Tom Delaney, Phillip Estlund, Helen Rebekah Garber, Kady Grant, Shaun Johnson, Kara Joslyn, Megan Lindeman, Susan Logoreci, Brendan Lynch, Aaron Morse, Daniel Newman, Laurie Nye, Manny Prieres, Ben Sanders, Alex Sewell, and Nelly Zagury.

The idea of a library has always been a fabulous one, as libraries are places where stories both factual and imagined come to life, where knowledge is stored, where history is documented, and where creativity is championed. Libraries are also places free of distraction and protected from harm, its easy to imagine them as a kind of paradise. But the idea of a library of art is equally fantastic, as a collection of expressions where color, mark making, and paper collide and where the spirit of the artist can become part of a living catalog.

For these reasons we have invited artists involved in various artistic practices to create unique hand drawn and hand painted works on canvas and paper that could be bound or formatted like a book. These books function as experimental extensions of each artists practice. While the works freely borrow from several established visual languages used in book making such as pop up books, illuminated manuscripts, and graphic novels, these forms of book making function as starting points for each artist. These artists books are infused with a conceptual wit, rigor, and humor that makes the show a delight to both see, hold, and unfold in your hands.