FREE CHARGER

FREE CHARGER
Selected writings from 2007–2018
By Morgan Ritter

271 pages, partial color, split spiral bound,
many inserts. Artist Edition of 150 books.
SOLD OUT...PDF NOW AVAILABLE

Published by


This object contains 9 works written over the past decade, poetry and text written in the entirety of Morgan’s twenties. While most works were small editions that are absent even from her own bookshelves, some are new works. She felt it necessary to formally crystallize that period of her existence and practice, by putting the selected material together into one solid object that can be opened and closed. Is it a body? A sea? A dream? A sensation? A cerebral account of the goings on of the mind?	In 2018, artist Jade Novarino’s Penny Press was commissioned to design FREE CHARGER in collaboration with Morgan. Over the span of a year, Jade and Morgan collaged and back and forthed big visions, and in the tail end of winter through spring, they worked intensely hands-on, recognizing the constraints and the expansiveness of the book form. Dealing with an archive of work and envisioning the best ways for each text to exist was not a simple task; but within this difficulty, came an imaginative unity between them. As is evident from the many editions, formats, and mediums that Morgan implements in her practice, her bodies of work are living and impossible to contain. Though bound, within the confines of this is not a complete history, rather a chaptoral marker of existence. Open. Closed. Spiraled. And split spiraled!

This object contains 9 works written over the past decade, poetry and text written in the entirety of Morgan’s twenties. While most works were small editions that are absent even from her own bookshelves, some are new works. She felt it necessary to formally crystallize that period of her existence and practice, by putting the selected material together into one solid object that can be opened and closed. Is it a body? A sea? A dream? A sensation? A cerebral account of the goings on of the mind?

In 2018, artist Jade Novarino’s Penny Press was commissioned to design FREE CHARGER in collaboration with Morgan. Over the span of a year, Jade and Morgan collaged and back and forthed big visions, and in the tail end of winter through spring, they worked intensely hands-on, recognizing the constraints and the expansiveness of the book form. Dealing with an archive of work and envisioning the best ways for each text to exist was not a simple task; but within this difficulty, came an imaginative unity between them. As is evident from the many editions, formats, and mediums that Morgan implements in her practice, her bodies of work are living and impossible to contain. Though bound, within the confines of this is not a complete history, rather a chaptoral marker of existence. Open. Closed. Spiraled. And split spiraled!

And though hard copies and artist editions are SOLD OUT, some books may still be available at the following locations:

→ Portland
     Oregon Contemporary
     Conduit via Jade Novarino's many whereabouts
     Mo Ritter Studio --> SOLD OUT email to ask questions about future editions or other poetry available

→ Los Angeles
Email me to arrange a pickup of books.

→ New York
     Commend
     172 Forsyth St, New York, NY 10002
     McNally Jackson Bookstore
     52 Prince St, New York, NY 10012
     Museum of Modern Art Bookstore & Library
     11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019

→ Paris
     After 8 Books
     7 Rue Jarry, 75010 Paris

→ San Francisco
     Et al. etc.
     2831 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
      SF Art Book Fair, Minnesota Street Project July 19–21
     1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

→ Washington D.C.
     DC Art Book Fair, National Museum of Women in the Arts
     1250 New York Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20005

This edition is funded in part by The Oregon Arts Commission “Career Opportunity Grant” and The State of Oregon Employment Department “Unemployment Insurance Program”.

Please email if you are interested in distributing a few at some kind of bookstore, art center or friendship enterprise.