WATER LINES BOOK

Water Lines — a handmade book combining calligraphic poems and images of water — is a dialogue between two artists: painter and writer Christine Arveil and photographer Salvatore Lopes.

In its essence, Water Lines expands the boundaries between an artist book and a photographic gallery. A collector’s gem, it opens and reads like an avant-garde book, but also prominently displays a collection of prints. Designed as a limited edition of 25, each one individually handmade at the artists’ studios, Water Lines pairs 35 prints from Salvatore Lopes’ Water Project with a series of poems by Christine Arveil.

A transparent hinged box, presented in a silk wraparound, encases the unbound pages. Each poem, printed and painted onto translucent Glama vellum, is laid over a semi-abstract water photograph printed on Hahnemühle photo rag paper. Playing with transparency and movement, each element in this work suggests water, by turns wild, peaceful and playful.

With a turn toward abstraction, Salvatore Lopes’ water portraits capture unexpected dimensions and perspectives. Arveil’s poems, composed in the minimalist spirit of haiku, match the energy of the photographs, as the words, brushed in black ink, flow into the full color prints.

Water Lines first was presented during the first exhibition of Salvatore Lopes’ Water Project at the Telfair Museum’s Jepson Center in Savannah, Georgia, in September 2011. Below is a selection of sample pages from the book. For purchases, please contact Salvatore Lopes or Christine Arveil.