About the Artist

Alice Austin is a printmaker, book artist and painter living and working in Philadelphia.

She has been on the faculty at the University of the Arts, teaching book structures, and has also taught workshops at the Center for Book Arts in New York, Ballinglen Foundation in Ireland, The Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice, and other institutions. She earned a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art and has been an active member of the Guild of Book Workers since 1998.

Alice was as a rare book and paper conservator for 22 years at the Library Company of Philadelphia, an independent research library founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin. She previously worked at the Winterthur Museum and Library for five years, and also at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia.

She is the co-author of the essay “Book Theater: The History of the Tunnel Book” for Suave Mechanicals, Volume 4 published by the Legacy Press in 2017.

Alice has been awarded several artist residencies in Europe, and her work is widely held in private, public and special collections worldwide.

Alice is represented by Vamp and Tramp

Artist Statement:

My approach to the book is often sculptural: the form presents the idea. Words, when used, reinforce the visual. My knowledge of different book forms has evolved over the years spent as a book conservator and teacher. I see myself as a keeper of craft, using this respect for a beautifully realized book, and combining it with a modern approach, to create a sensual object. In my work I am interested in the textures of different mark making - drawn or printed - the feel of the paper - the sound of the page - as it relates to the entire book.
  • Book Arts
    Book Arts
    My primary focus is Book Arts, which utilizes the forms of printmaking, sculpture, poetry, oragami and other disciplines required to make book-objects as art.
  • Studio
    Studio
    My Philadelphia studio is in the 1241 Carpenter St. Studios building, which houses a variety of artists, craft makers and start-up companies.