Printed Matter, the nonprofit artists' bookstore and publisher, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala at the High Line Hotel in New York. The event featured speeches honoring co-founder Pat Steir and artist Ed Ruscha, performances from the opera *Einstein on the Beach*, and a crowd of notable artists, museum directors, and gallerists including Joan Jonas, Glenn Ligon, MoMA Director Christophe Cherix, and Larry Gagosian. Founded in 1976 by Sol LeWitt, Pat Steir, and Lucy Lippard, Printed Matter has become a vital platform for artist books, operating a bookstore, exhibition space, and one of the world's largest book fairs.
This anniversary matters because Printed Matter has fundamentally reshaped how artists produce and distribute work outside traditional museum and gallery systems, elevating the artist book as a legitimate artistic medium. Its five-decade legacy—marked by collaborations with figures like Jenny Holzer, Richard Prince, and Barbara Kruger—underscores the enduring importance of independent, artist-driven publishing in the contemporary art world. The gala not only celebrated past achievements but also signaled the organization's continued relevance, honoring new collaborators like Yusuf Hassan of BlackMass Publishing alongside its founding generation.