An artist book by Jay Chung and Q Takeki Maeda that offers summaries of several hundred documents from the archive of gallerist Alfred Schmela, now housed in the Getty Research Institute collection. Through his gallery, Schmela introduced and promoted innovative European and American artists such as Joseph Beuys, Arman, Gerhard Richter, ZERO (Otto Piene, Günther Uecker and Heinz Mack), Hans Haacke, Christo, Lucio Fontana, Robert Indiana and Yves Klein. For Letters, Chung and Maeda concentrate on the final years of the gallery’s operations, beginning from 1980 when, upon his death, the gallery was taken over by Schmela’s daughter Ulrike. With active support from his wife Monika, the gallery operated under Ulrike’s directorship until its closure in 1992.

Edition of 300. Introduction by Helen DeWitt. Designed by Ronnie Fueglister.