"Not on Your Teacher’s Reading List" is the title of Chris Perry's show in the Sue and Eugene Mercy Jr. Gallery from Thursday, September 17, through October 25. 

And, as Mr. Perry posits in his artist's statement, "How could they be?" 

Mr. Perry is an artist and curator in Ridgefield, Conn. This exhibition of about 80 works on book art is from about 25 artists. The opening reception is Thursday from 6-7 p.m. The show is in conjunction with the Community Art Exhibition and the Emerging Artists Show in the Barnes and Wilde galleries.

Mr. Perry's description of the show says the work "ranges from the traditional hand-bound book to books made with natural elements, from existing books that have been altered to works that may not even look like books, and from books that work like traditional books to books that stack, hang, unfold, or are fixed in place." 

He will not be displaying any of his own art because he never shows his work in exhibits he curates.  

"Years ago I was invited to be in a 'curated' show only to find out at the opening that of the 10 artists in the show, the curator had put in 14 of her own works while everyone else only had one or two pieces each," Mr. Perry said in an interview. "When I co-curated a large traveling show of book art in 2019, we both decided right off that our work was far less important than any work we would select by all the other artists."   

Mr. Perry said he has been a serious reader since the early 1960s, when he was about 10 and a neighbor brought him a box of pulp science fiction. "I am never without a book, preferring to read a book than endlessly scrolling," Mr. Perry said. "Books aren’t sacred. Some find my using old books to be shocking, but it amazes me how many books are thrown away. I repurpose them and give them new life, new meaning." 

A meaning that resonates with Mr. Perry. 

"The art world is 85 percent painting with the remaining 15 percent taken up in lessening amounts by the other forms of creative work," Mr. Perry said. "Book art is probably less than 0.1 percent of the art world, but to my mind has produced some of the most interesting, intriguing, and thought-provoking works of all." 

Think of it as a non-conventional use of a book, where that book still has a story to tell. 

"Since everyone has contact with books, they are accustomed to the ways that books traditionally impart information, either by text or images, and book artists challenge this notion that it is the only way to tell a story or show an image," Mr. Perry said. "Book art encompasses every type of creative venture, from painting to collage, carving to printing, drawing to cutting.  It uses new media and old." 

This art form is familiar to some Loomis Chaffee students. Melanie Carr, a visual arts teacher and the director of the Mercy Gallery, regularly has a Sculpture I altered book project in which students turn a book into a sculptural form. 

Mercy Gallery Exhibitions 2026-27 

Mercy Gallery hours when school is in session: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.; closed on Saturday. The director of the Mercy Gallery is visual arts teacher Melanie Carr. 

September 17-October 25: Not on Your Teacher's Reading List, Chris Perry (curator). 

November 1-January 17: Erick Maldonado, Connecticut-based multidisciplinary artist. 

February 11-March 21: Contemporary Ceramics 2027. Alvaro Villa, Seowoo Choi, Eva Tellier, and Anna Wagner. Other artists might be included. Curator, Sophie Gibson, Loomis Chaffee ceramics teacher. 

April 15-May 30: Alumni Exhibition. Artists to be announced.