Unbidden Tongues publishes previously produced yet relatively uncirculated work by cultural practitioners busy with questions surrounding civility and civic life—particularly so in relation to language. The first title of the series, Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt: Introverse Arrangements, is centred on the work of German artist Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt who, despite only recently garnering attention for her work, is most known for a period of geometric and poetic typewriter drawings produced between the 1970s and 1990 while employed as an administrator for the German Democratic Republic.

Three new limited edition prints of Ruth’s work will also be available on the night, thanks to her gallery ChertLüdde, Berlin, as well as a small exhibition of ephemera surrounding her practice.

The launch will also coincide with an event next door: Shimmer’s next sundowner opening, with the introduction of a sculpture by Ian Kiaer and work-on-paper by Marcel Duchamp to their the current exhibition Higher! Higher! Lower, Lower. Louder! Louder! Softer, Softer.

Introverse Arrangements is centred on the work of German artist Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt who, despite only recently garnering attention for her work, is most known for a period of geometric and poetic typewriter drawings produced between the 1970s and 1990 while employed as an administrator for the German Democratic Republic.

Unbidden Tongues is a series edited by Isabelle Sully that focuses on previously produced yet relatively uncirculated work by cultural practitioners busy with questions of civility and civic life—particularly so in relation to language.

Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt is a German artist associated with visual poetry and mail art. She is most known for a period of geometric and poetic typewriter works produced between the 1970s and 1990 while employed as an administrator for the German Democratic Republic.

This book aims to collect and present a comprehensive overview of the work of Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt. It is the result of a long and intense immersion into her archive, and intends to establish the importance of this unique artist – who did not have much recognition in the past—not only to the present day, but also to the precise political context and time to which she and her work belong.

The book presents her typewritings series, all produced between the early 1970s (some of the earliest works are dated 1972) and 1989. Mail Art was her way to be in contact with the world outside the GDR, otherwise impossible to reach. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Reunification, the artist stopped producing any art: She felt her involvement was no longer “needed”.

With a text by Zanna Gilbert, edited by Jennifer Chert, designed by Till Gathmann.

A–The Mail Art Archive of Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt and Robert Rehfeld, was published by ChertLüdde on September 2017, on the occasion of the exhibition which has the same title. The publication project presents the archive of mail art works received by the two German artists from beginning of the 1970s until the early 1990s. The exhibition presented all correspondence with artists whose surname (or name of an artistic group) began with the letter A.

Ruth Wolf and Robert Rehfeld met in Berlin in 1954 and married one year later. They played a central role in the dissemination and development of the Mail Art Movement in Germany. Their activity, spanning for more than two decades, created an impressive web of connections between artists and artistic groups from all over the world.

More information on the project and archive can be found here.

B–The Mail Art Archive of Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt and Robert Rehfeld, is the second publication of the series presenting the archive of mail art works received by the two German artists from beginning of the 1970s until the early 1990s. This second edition deals with correspondence with artists whose surname (or name of an artistic group) began with the letter B.

Ruth Wolf and Robert Rehfeld met in Berlin in 1954 and married one year later. They played a central role in the dissemination and development of the Mail Art Movement in Germany. Their activity, spanning for more than two decades, created an impressive web of connections between artists and artistic groups from all over the world.

More information on the project and archive can be found here.