Victor Van becomes first Interact artist to have work acquired by the Walker Art Center

Interact is pleased to announce that the Walker Art Center has acquired two artist books by Victor Van – a significant milestone for Van and Interact, which is now in its thirtieth year of representing contemporary artists with disabilities. This is the first museum acquisition of work by an Interact artist. 

Exploring translations of found audio, imagery, and animations, Van’s books are part of a larger body of work that he has continued for over a decade. In KS95 Best Variety Songs 2013-2014, a small hand bound book, Van transcribes the lyrics of songs he heard on a Twin Cities pop radio station. Filling hundreds of pages with infinitesimally small handwriting, Van adds drawings of cars, liquor, and snacks in the margins. In Maria Valentina and the Mr. Piper Collection, Van adapts a Canadian children’s TV show from the 1960s into a set of four books, using found paper for the covers. Both works express Van’s larger interest in labor-intensive acts of observation and the gathering of cultural material.  

Van's books will be added to the Walker Art Center Library’s Rosemary Furtak Collection, which houses about 2,000 artist books and is named after the former Walker librarian, who was an early champion in the field of artist books. 

Van (b. 1993) has practiced at Interact since 2016. His debut solo exhibition, Great Expectations, opens at Open Studio Gallery in New York on March 19. His work will also be featured in Interact’s booth at the Outsider Art Fair in New York from March 19-22. 

Image descriptions:

[top of page]: A black and white photo of Victor Van shows the artist gazing forward. He rests his head on his right hand. His left arm rests gently over his chest. Many of his paintings are hung on the wall behind him.

[slider image 1]: Victor Van's artist book is open to a spread where the lyrics of songs are transcribed in tiny black handwriting. Surrounding the handwriting are drawings of cars and bags of Doritos. 

[slider image 2]: The cover of Van's small artist book reads, "KS95 Best Variety Songs 2013-2014 Victor Van 1-1-15."

[slider image 3]: A photo of Van's box set of four books, the "Maria Valentina and Mr. Piper Collection."