The Kohler Art Library is thrilled to welcome distinguished visual artist and poet Jen Bervin to campus for the ninth annual Bernstein Book Arts Lecture. Bervin’s talk, titled “*You can almost feel the date,” will be held on Thursday, October 8 at 5:00pm in room L150 of the Elvehjem Building (located downstairs from the Kohler Art Library).
Bervin’s multidisciplinary practice weaves together situated poetics and entangled relationships between text and textiles. Her research-driven work explores the embodied, visual, and tactile dimensions of language, often through collaborations with artists, scholars, and scientists. Her artists’ books are carefully considered encapsulations of this research, which often stretches years. For these books, Bervin creates artifacts reflecting or translating the original object she encounters in libraries, archives, or laboratories. She spends considerable time investigating archives, meditating on their meaning before re-creating specific elements–often through handmade paper or facsimiles–and assembling them into portable archival collections for the reader to explore. Careful looking rewards the reader, revealing layers of poetic significance and offering a glimpse into the immersive process that Bervin undertakes.
In conjunction with the lecture, the Kohler Art Library is hosting an exhibition, Reading Material: The Book Art of Jen Bervin, on view from September 2–December 20, 2025. The exhibition highlights Bervin’s extensive work with both text and textiles, as well as her sustained inquiry into other artists—such as Emily Dickenson and Anni Albers—and her careful attention to the natural world—from silk worms to honeycomb.
Established in 2015, the Bernstein Book Arts Lecture Series invites master book artists to share insights into their creative practice and engage with students in the UW Book Arts program. The series, underwritten by the generous support of Tracy Honn and Mark Bernstein, offers a unique opportunity to highlight the Kohler Art Library’s nationally recognized Artists’ Book Collection. Previous speakers include Cliff Meador, Sarah Bryant, Gaylord Schanilec, and Maureen Cummins. This year’s lecture is sponsored by the Kohler Art Library, the Department of English and Program in Creative Writing, and the Nancy M. Bruce Center for Design and Material Culture
Event Details:
Jen Bervin
Ninth Annual Bernstein Book Arts Lecture
Thursday, October 8, 2026 | 5:00 PM
Room L150, Elvehjem Building
A reception will follow in the library.
This event is free and open to the public.
