Minsky, Richard

Richard Minsky, pioneering contemporary book artist and founder of the Center for Book Arts in New York City, is known for his conceptual approach to hand bookbinding and commitment to changing the perception of the book arts from craft to fine art. Based in New York, Minsky is noted for his interest in the economics of art and his innovative use of an age-old tradition and new materials to create sculptural, often political bookworks. His blending of an eclectic mix of interests, from musical and theatre performance to social issues and virtual worlds, remain a hallmark of Minsky’s career.

Richard Philip Minsky was born January 7, 1947, in New York, NY. From the age of 13, he operated a letterpress printshop out of his home in Queens. As a teenager his diverse interests also included photography, vocal and violin music performance, and astronomy. He attended Brooklyn College from 1964-68 and earned a MA in Economics from Brown University in 1969. At Brown he met Daniel Gibson Knowlton, the University Bookbinder, who mentored Minsky in an independent study program of hand bookbinding and repair. He subsequently attended the New School for Social Research, and during this time he became a binder and photographer at the Hirshhorn Museum. It was while working with art at the Hirshhorn, says Minsky, that he was inspired to create his first binding intended to be an art object in 1971. He decided to pursue that career path and shortly afterward opened a hand bookbindery, printshop, and art gallery in Forest Hills, Queens. Minsky devoted himself to creating books that function as sculptural metaphors for the contents within – an approach he has described as “material as metaphor.”

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