An exhibition that re-examines memory and materiality, centred on an artist’s book by Lea Calum

「Books as Objects, Books as Memory」 will be held at Common Things in Manhattan’s East Village from May 14 to 20, 2026. Organized within the intimate storefront founded by architect and designer Komal Kehar, the exhibition reconsiders the artist book not as a passive container of text, but as a physical site where memory, materiality, and touch intersect. A panel discussion focused on design and memory will also take place on the final day of the exhibition.

Photo credit: Rhea Karam

At the center of the exhibition are two artist books by New York-based artist Rhea Karam, published by Brooklyn-based Small Editions. Developed from her family’s experience of displacement during the 1982 Lebanon War, the works transform material into testimony. In “1982,” a concrete slipcase embodies the physical and emotional weight of history, positioning the book itself as an archive of upheaval, resilience, and remembrance. Surrounding Karam’s work is a curated selection of artist books connected through recurring themes including home, longing, loss, retrieval, belonging, and exile. Typography, binding, paper, and structure function not merely as design elements, but as forms of witnessing rupture and migration. Through these works, the exhibition proposes design as a practice capable of carrying historical memory forward.

Photo credit: Rhea Karam

Common Things, the exhibition venue, operates as both a design-forward boutique and a curatorial platform in Manhattan’s East Village. Founded by architect and designer Komal Kehar through Mira Projects, the space has consistently explored contemporary design culture through objects, publications, and exhibitions foregrounding narrative and material practice. The exhibition takes place during NYCxDesign, New York City’s annual design festival. In an era dominated by digital reproduction, “Books as Objects, Books as Memory” quietly asserts the irreplaceable presence of printed matter, hand-bound books, and the tactile weight of paper as acts of resistance against forgetting. A panel discussion featuring Rhea Karam, Hannah Yukiko Pierce of Small Editions, and Komal Kehar of Common Things will be held on May 20 from 6 pm to 8 pm, focusing on how design can preserve and communicate memory.

Photo credit: Rhea Karam

About Rhea Karam

Rhea Karam (b. 1982) is a New York-based artist whose practice examines urban landscapes and public walls as sites of collective and personal narratives. Working across photography, printmaking, and artist books, she explores themes of history, displacement, identity, and communication.

About Common Things

Common Things is a design-forward boutique and curatorial platform based in Manhattan’s East Village. Through exhibitions, publications, and public programs, it engages material practice and contemporary design culture.

About Small Editions

Small Editions is a Brooklyn-based design studio and publishing house collaborating closely with artists to produce artist books in editions ranging from 2 to 500 copies. Combining traditional bookbinding techniques with experimental materials and multimedia construction methods, the studio explores the evolving role of the book within contemporary art.