Dent-de-Leone is a small independent publisher located in London, distinctive for its collaboration directly with artists and designers to produce its books. It was founded by Martino Gamper, Kajsa Ståhl and Maki Suzuki (both from design collective Åbäke) in 2004 with the publication of the book What Martino Gamper did between two-thousand and two-thousand&four. It produces an irregular number of books per year, as well as limited editions and multiples. Dent-De-Leone has participated in numerous art book fairs including the Whitechapel Art Book Fair, Publish And Be Damned and the Motto art book fair. All of its publications are designed by Åbäke.
Contents
Politics
Dent-de-Leone were inspired by Factory Records early contracts, so that each artist retains the ownership of their back catalogue. They sell direct to individuals and bookshops bypassing the usual model of selling in bulk to book distributors who often take a large percentage of the cover price. Doing this allows Dent-de-Leone to offer a low retail price for their work, and pay a large proportion to the published artist. All profits are directed into making new books. Dent-de-Leone began as a vanity publishing project, but quickly expanded as other artists and designers contacted the publishers attracted by the avant-garde design and the distribution model. The books are intended to disseminate the ideas and aesthetics of the published artists, designers and writers. The free Typeface WAR is available on the website of Dent-de-Leone. WAR is a typeface which deconstructs all the "official" countries' flags (2006) to allow a random redesign of your own country.
Origin of the name
The name Dent-De-Leone is derived from the dandelion, a common plant often cooked during the Social Pasta events created by Martino Gamper and Åbäke. Some of these projects are detailed in the book Social Pasta.
Publications
Publications include 100 Chairs in 100 Days and its 100 ways by Martino Gamper in 2007, which after selling out has been republished as a pocket book. The book and exhibition 100 Chairs in 100 Days and its 100 ways has traveled to, 5 Cromwell Place; London, UFO; Germany, Triennale Design Museum; Milano in Italy, YBCA, San Francisco, USA. In 2009 Piccolo Volume —II— was co-published with the Milan (Italy) based furniture gallery Nilufar. This book acted as the continuation of 100 Chairs in 100 Days and its 100 ways (the cover was numbered 101) and also fitted into Nilufar's revered catalogue collection.
Aurélien Froment conducted an extended interview with the legendary German film director Werner Herzog which is detailed in the book Like the Cow Jumped Over the Moon. Aurélien Froment's "Pulmo Marina" is a film and a book about a jellyfish resident at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in San Francisco, USA.
Another project of Åbäke is a version of Thomas Moore's 1516 novel Utopia, set in the typeface developed by Moore for the island and thus virtually impossible to read.
Francis Upritchard's has had 2 books published with Dent-de-Leone. The first was Every Colour By Itself, which looks like a ladybird book but the size of a National Geographic magazine book and features pictures of both the front and rear of her sculptures in vibrant colors, which is now out of print. The 2nd book In die Höhle was produced for her exhibition at the Vienna Secession in Austria. and included an original short story by David Mitchell (author). It was a riso printed limited edition of 80 which has also sold out. A second augmented edition of this book was produced and co published by Vienna Secession and König Books.
Peter Jensen & Mary Miles Minter & Mildred & Emma & Olga & Nancy & Gertrude & Cindy & Tonya & Fanny & Sissy & Helena & Tina & Christina & Mink & Candice-Marie & Jodie & Jytte & Laurie & Muriel & Shelley & Anna Karina is a survey of 20 seasons of Peter Jensen (Fashion designer)'s work through the muses who inspired him for each collection.
Co-publishing
There have been some occasions of co-publishing with Vienna Secession, Nilufar Gallery (Milan), Gasworks Gallery (London), Hollybushgardens Gallery (London) & with Motive Gallery (Amsterdam).
Awards
Dent-de-Leone recently won a Grafik Magazine award for the publication Every Colour by Itself by Francis Upritchard.