Each month, we invite visionaries, designers, and artists to share their ex libris, providing a diverse array of perspectives and inspirations from the creative community.
Guestlibris
Frederique Gagnon
For Guestlibris, I’m so excited to introduce Frédérique.
I’ve admired her work for a long time, she’s not only a designer but also a book maker, with such a thoughtful and unique practice.
She studied typography at Werkplaats Typografie and now lives in Amsterdam. I’ve always been curious about the books that inspire people who make books themselves so I can’t wait to share her curation.
She notably worked on the book for Solange Knowles’ A Seat at the Table, developing both the concept and design. Her approach blends influences from concrete poetry, minimalism, and visual references like Donald Judd and Matisse, translating a personal universe into a beautifully constructed object.
JTM Magazine
How would you describe yourself in your creative practice?
I would describe myself as someone who deeply values collaboration in my practice, and I aim to create work that doesn't feel overly "authored." I get excited when the output feels like the best possible option but also carries the sense that chance or accident prompted it.
I'm thinking about and considering books daily :) as an end-user, but I am also fortunate that most of my practice consists of collaborating with artists, writers, curators, and musicians to translate their ideas into publications. I also think a lot about our physical relationship to books; I love how they can become a manifestation of a process and how they offer the possibility to dictate a reader’s physical engagement with information. I also love the idea of how a book moves through the world and also becomes a tool to make something “public.”
What is your relationship with books?
How would you describe the place books/magazine hold in your life?
I am lucky that most of my work is associated with publishing ideas—through designing books and magazines, but also through exhibition design and organizing events and workshops. I am interested in how people tell stories and how, more often than not, information unfolds in a non-linear way. This makes for an interesting challenge when considering how books can handle that kind of complexity.
"Need a House, Call Mrs. Mouse" (I had the French version, Les Maisons de dame Souris :) ). The illustrated story of a mouse architect who designs houses for all her friends... It’s by George Mendoza and by an important illustrator, Doris Susan Smith. I was obsessed with it as a kid. I saw much later that the original print run is actually a bit of a collector’s item—at least if the book is in mint condition, which mine definitely isn't from carrying it around everywhere.
1. A book that got you into books.
Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2016, designed by Hubertus Design, 2017.
I really like a book I got a few weeks ago: the monograph that accompanied Ed Atkins’ exhibition at the Kunsthaus Bregenz. I guess it’s "new" for me, even though it was published five years ago! It was nice to find a copy when I recently went to see an exhibition there. I really like Atkins’ work, and some of his books are among my favorites. There’s also a great text in this particular one by Helen Marten—who is also an artist I really like. I was happy to see she contributed...
2. A book that you’re currently obsessed with (new)
A Meaningful order, designed by OKRM, 2025.
I keep picking up and re-reading parts of Second Thoughts by Angie Keefer. I had the chance to have had Angie as a tutor, and I’m always inspired by the way she tells stories, or her thought process — the way she connects seemingly random subjects so they end up making perfect sense, while also making you question everything you thought you knew! haha I think this book should be in the category of old books I’m obsessed with, but it was actually published in 2019, so it's not that old... The copy I have is one from the advance print run, not the exact final design. I have been picking it up, reading excerpts regularly for seven years now, which feels like a long time/old book :)
3. A book that you’re obsessed with (old).
Le design du 20iem siècle, this is the French version Look of the century, by Michael Tambini, 1996.
4. A book that has the most unexpected design in your library.
Mmm good question… There’s probably another one that I’m not thinking of right now… but I have this Louise Lawler, Frederik Vaesley on the table now that has an unusual construction… It’s a catalogue made for the two artists’ exhibition at Indipendenza in Rome. The works shown in this show were exploring the tension between an artwork and its surrounding architectural context; the design of the book also emphasise the structures and places the different section in a very literal way against each others.
Tumultes #1, collaboration with Pierre Pierre and Katinka Bock, 2020.
5. A book that you wish you had?
Mmmm there’s this Roe Ethridge catalogue, American Polychronic, with an essay by Jamieson Webster that I should get! I love Roe Ethridge’s work and I find it really interesting that he asked Jamieson Webster to write for it… She works mainly as a psychoanalyst but has also wrote contributions to a few art magazines (Spike, Artforum, etc…) and she is the author of a few books, two of which are among my favourites “On Breathing” and “Disorganisation & Sex”. The last one is published by Divided Publishing which is also another favourite publisher!
Title of the show, designed by Julia Born, 2009
Angie Keefer’s book would definitely be in this category but another one could be A Seer Reader, which is another Ed Atkins book… I really like the essay in it by Mike Sperlinger “close without saving”. I’ve read this essay a lot of times when starting new projects… Oh but also Half Man, Half Orange is another book I like to pick up to read from before starting projects, it was published by Werkplaats Typografie a few years before I was one of their participants. It’s a reader, a collection of republished essays and a few commissioned texts for this publication by the WT participants of that year.
6. A book that you constantly draw inspiration from.
Braulio Amado, journal, 2015
That’s really too hard to pick... All the books I wrote about in the previous questions could all be part of this favourite list…. Maybe I can write about one of my favourite publishers… I really enjoy Fitzcarraldo Editions, they are a really small team and have a very intimate approach to selecting titles. A friend of mine, Ray O’Meara designed them, blue covers for fiction and plain white for essays. I am starting to have a good collection of these books and they make for great gifts, I can always find one with a subject that perfectly relates to the person who's birthday it is :)
7. Your favorite book.
Le sentier / The path, avec Sammy Stein, Spector Books, 2025
8. Enough with the books, what's your favorite magazine?
That would probably have to be Mousse Magazine... It’s not only really nicely designed, but the essays and interviews are always super relevant and written in a way that feels very honest and relatable. And again the design is great; it feels like a perfect balance of testing things out graphically while always supporting the content.
(90)antiope, design by Bureau Fritiau 90Antipoe is a french independent magazine.
For great typography, I have always liked all of the publications that Jungle Books produces. "If Every Day Were a Holiday, Towns Would Be More Mysterious" is a really nice one from this publisher! All of their titles are designed by Larissa Kasper, Rosario Florio, or Samuel Bänziger.
9. The book with the most beautiful typography.
Blind mind blue dots, designed by Joost Grootens, 2021
For illustration... I love the work of my friend Josse Pyl. The book “I THINK AND I THINK I’VE THOUGHT A THOUGHT”, designed by Jungmyung Lee, is great and showcases his practice and illustrations really well. For photography, Talia Chetrit's work has influenced me a lot, and her book Showcaller is really amazing :)
10. The book with the most beautiful illustration.
Pluie Lagon numéro 7, 2024
Eloïse’s Curation
Special project at the moment?
I just finished two publications for the artist Sandra Mujinga. She’s a video and installation artist, and the books were published to accompany her exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and Belvedere 21 in Vienna. She draws on Afrofuturism, post-humanism, and science fiction to create these very large sculptures that make the audience aware of their own body and presence. There are also elements of gradual transformation in her work, and it was nice to think of this while designing. We made a slightly tall, narrow publication where the coated paper stock gradually becomes thicker as you flip the pages—starting at 90gsm and increasing to 200gsm by the end. It makes the reader feel like their hand is a little exhausted by the end; turning pages actually becomes harder. It’s still quite subtle, and a lot of people probably didn't notice, but I quite like that—when there’s a possibility to not notice everything right away, or at all.
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I like when there are elements or decisions the designer made that are subtly there—things that help you imagine what went through their mind or how they resolved something.
What make a book good?
What special details do you always look for in books?
I get especially excited by a book when I come across its content in a seemingly random way, only to realise it’s directly related to a subject I’m researching or a project I’m busy with. There’s something about a "chance encounter" with a book that feels particularly special—no algorithm trying to make me pick it haha. I also think of books as especially good when you pick up the same book years later and read it completely differently because your mind is onto other things then.
What is your favorite format?
That’s also a difficult question… I appreciate when the format really suits or contrasts with the content…
What is your favorite bookstore?
San Serriffe in Amsterdam but I also really like visiting independent bookstores when I travel… Going to grocery stores and bookstores are my favourite activities when I'm in a different city! :)
San Serriffe in Amsterdam but I also really like visiting independent bookstores when I travel… Going to grocery stores and bookstores are my favourite activities when I'm in a different city! :)