Arcana:

(AY-O). Ay-O. Tokyo: Minami Gallery, 1973. First Edition 1/500. 4to. Stapled Printed Wrappers. Catalogue Raisonné. Good +.. np (16pp), 99 b&w and 36 color illustrations. Text in English and Japanese. With a chronology and exhibition history. This is the slender sixteen page catalogue issued in conjunction with a 1973 exhibition of new prints by the Japanese-born, New York-based Fluxus artist Ay-O at his longtime Tokyo gallery. It features a full catalogue raisonné of his graphic work created between 1965 and 1973 along with a tipped-in 9 x 7 ¾" silver-gelatin photographic print of the artist smoking a pipe that has been SIGNED "Ay-O" in English below on the catalogue page. A most presentable example of this uncommon item limited to five hundred unnumbered copies showing some light overall wear and soiling, browning to the rear cover, and a tiny diagonal soft crease through the upper foredge corner that bears the discreet previous ownership stamp of Ay-O's friend and noted artist Sam Francis - who also was represented by Minami Gallery - on the inside rear cover. Inventory Number: 018649