Ryosuke Cohen: Brain Cell, Mail Art portfolio

Ashiya, Ryosuke Cohen, 1994. Contains 24 loose sheets, each 31 x 43 cm, kept between two boards, comprising 20 original mixed media collages on paper (rubber stamps, stickers, paper elements), an introduction text by the artist and three sheets listing the contributors for the separate Brain Cell issues. Each sheet has the Brain Cell number handwritten in pencil on verso. Cardboard sheet features the title 'Brain Cell No.281- No.300', date 'Feb 94', edition number 33/70 and signature.

Brain Cell is a collaborative mail art project that started in 1985 by the Japanese artist Ryosuke Cohen (b. 1948), and is still ongoing. No.1220 was released in August 2024. Cohen creates large collages composed of images and objects submitted by artists from all over the world. He prints 150 copies of the collage with a small silkscreen system called Cyclostyle or Gocco print. Each participant is mailed a Brain Cell sheet along with a list of contributors. Some of the remaining copies are assembled into sets of consecutive editions and sent to artists and Mail Art shows around the world. Contributors in this lot are Vittore Baroni, Ruggero Maggi, Leonhard Frank Duch, John Held Jr., Klaus Groh, John M. Bennett, Cracker Jack Kid, Chuck Stake, Rod Summers, Robin Crozier and many more.