The Joyful Body of the Word:
Betsy Davids and the Book

The Joyful Body of the Word: Betsy Davids and the Book presents the works of influential Bay Area artist Betsy Davids, spanning her career across letterpress, writing, and artists books.

With a focus on rereading and reperforming Davids’ contributions to the ever-evolving art of the Book, the exhibition includes works from the 1970s to today and a series of reading performances. Davids established letterpress education at CCA(C) and her creative pedagogies shaped the work of many artists and publishers. Her Rebis Press editions, in partnership with James Petrillo, are widely recognized as innovative in the early history of the artist book; Davids’ aspiration to make books ‘in real time’ alongside the experiences they document, and her radical commitment to the everyday continues across her one-of-a-kind works. Her deep engagement with dreaming, journey, and pilgrimage – in both personal and literary senses – endures through six decades of artistic production. 

A series of artist pairings highlight Davids’ influence, conversations, and collaborations from her early teaching practice to the present; these include works by Johanna Drucker, Mimi Pond, Michael Henninger, Casey Gardner, Alisa Golden, Nikki Thompson and the late artists Ed Moore and Nance O’Banion, recognizing Davids’ legacy and introducing her to a new generation of students and makers.

SFCB will produce a full color exhibition catalog, which will include new essays by Anthea Black and Johanna Drucker, additional materials related to Davids’ work, and a bibiliography.