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The Lapis Press is an editions house, artist residence program, and publisher based in Culver City, CA. They have worked with contemporary artists such as Gabriel Orozco, Stephen Shore, Vija Celmins, Elger Esser, Ed Moses, Guillermo Kutica, Marina Abramovic, Martin Puryear, Georg Herold, Didier Vermeiren, Doktor Lakra, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Ed Ruscha.

The Early Years

The Lapis Press was founded in 1984 by the artist Sam Francis. They published small editions of books on topics varying from poetry to psychology, essays on philosophy, contemporary art, and works of short fiction. These livres d'artiste took many forms and included printmaking techniques (lithographs, etchings, and letterpress) and traditional bindery techniques.

After Sam Francis

After the death of founder Sam Francis in 1994, The Lapis Press honored his memory with a series of etchings by contemporary artists Ed Moses, Niki de Saint Phalle, Rebecca Horn, Martin Puryear, Vija Celmins, Anish Kapoor, Marina Abramovic, David Reed, Guillermo Kuitca, Christopher Wool, Gabriel Orozco, Robert Therrien, and Ed Ruscha.

2004-current

In 2004, under the direction of Tony Nicholas, The Lapis Press embarked on a new chapter bringing together local and international artists. The artist in residence program started in 2005, with German painter and sculptor Georg Herold, followed by Elger Esser, Didier Vermeiren, and Doktor Lakra. The Lapis Press collaborated with Schaden on the La Brea Matrix, a four year project which culminated in a portfolio of the work of six German photographers in Los Angeles and the Stephen Shore image that inspired the work. The Lapis Press is currently collaborating on projects with Graciela Iturbide, Rinko Kawauchi, and Ruben Ochoa.