Show Explores Artist’s Use of Narratives and Remnants

Works by an artist who uses cast-off materials to explore the daily aspects of her life are featured in “The Book Remembers Everything: The Work of Erica Van Horn,” now on view at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Van Horn is an American artist and writer whose career has spanned 30 years. Her creations include prints and works on paper, elaborately illustrated books, and printed and editioned works in a variety of formats. She has said of her work, “I use the portability of the printed sheet, mostly in book form, to construct a narrative around the incidental parts of my life.”

“The Book Remembers Everything” highlights the Beinecke Library’s collection of Van Horn’s work, which represents all aspects of her development. The exhibit explores several themes: the artist’s frequent exploration of the details of her life; her fascination with the ways language both describes and creates community, even as it determines individual identity; her interest in the essential elements of narrative forms and structures, in both word and image; and her frequent use and re-use of saved or ­salvaged materials as the raw materials of her work.

The artist herself, who now resides in Ireland, will visit the Beinecke Library for a public conversation with curator Nancy Kuhl, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 4 p.m. Van Horn will discuss her development as an artist and writer, as well as her artistic processes, influences and inspirations. The event is free and open to the public.

“The Book Remembers Everything: The Work of Erica Van Horn” will be on view through March 27. An exhibition website can be found at http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/exhibitions/vanhorn.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, located at 121 Wall St., is open for exhibition viewing Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-7 p.m, Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday noon-5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 203-432-2977 or visit the website at www.library.yale.edu/beinecke.