Studio Arts Professor Melissa Catanese is prominently featured in the exhibition “A Book Is a Conversation with a Stranger in the Future” at Cornell University’s Art & Architecture Program’s Bibliowicz Family Gallery, on view February 20 to March 5, 2026.
What is a book, exactly? Bookmaker and artist, Dayanita Singh, writes that “a book is a conversation with a stranger in the future.” In other words, a book is not simply a medium to convey information, but rather a conduit for human connection, an enduring form that brings people together in ways both real and imaginary. Like Singh, we contend that a book is a relational tool, extending far beyond the boundaries of the material object itself. A book is a meeting place, containing multiple spaces in time, images, words, and whole pages waiting to be activated.
Curated by Carla Liesching, Faye Pamintuan, and Melaina Thompson
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