AP Gorny: Different from the Rest
The exhibit AP Gorny: Different from the Rest showcases recent artist book acquisitions for the Library's Rare Book department by AP Gorny, as well as never-before-seen archival documentation and video footage made available through the digitization efforts of the Grosvenor Room.
Printmaker, photographer, sculptor, bookmaker, performer — none of these definitions truly capture AP as an artist. A graduate of SUNY Buffalo State University and Yale University’s School of Art, AP’s artwork is in over 50 institutional collections, including the Vatican Library, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Library of Congress.
Though many of AP’s professional accomplishments extend far beyond Buffalo, he is a product of this city. AP was born into the insular Polish communities of Buffalo in the mid-twentieth century. When he finally ventured beyond his neighborhood, the expansive cultural experiences available to him in Buffalo helped shape the artist he was to become. Using oral histories, digitized materials from Buffalo's cultural institutions, and the artist's own work, the Library's Special Collections department has woven the disparate pieces of this artist's career to show an artist formed in a specific place and moment, working outside established channels to create a world for himself.
In partnership with Western New York Book Arts Center – a community-based arts organization dedicated to preserving and advancing printmaking and the book arts through education, collaboration, and public access – the exhibit expands to their space in late February with works unable to be displayed at Central Library.
This joint exhibition will open with a special, evening celebration connecting both spaces Friday, February 27. The exhibit at Western New York Book Arts Center will run through Saturday, March 21, 2026; the Rare Book Room exhibit at Central Library will be up through the Fall of 2026.
Online Resources
AP Gorny Digital Collection of archival materials
