Typography relearns its ABC with a retro 1970s throwback

In 2017, designers John Morgan and Adrien Vasquez launched Abyme – a digital foundry, that creates visionary typographic stuff – from fonts to Ouija boards. Now, they’ve screenprinted a punchy, Seventies throwback sweatshirt with American artist Carolee Schneemann, and basically, we want it now.
Collaborations come naturally to Morgan, whose eponymous studio (established in 2000) revolves with cultural and creative figures (he has designed projects for the likes of Edmund de Waal, Helen Marten, the Barbican, Valentino). ‘Many Abyme ideas have developed through working together on other projects,’ he explains. ‘A work often begins life within another work.’ The same is true for the Schneemann sweatshirt.
The collaboration began when John Morgan Studio designed the second issue of The Magazine (of the Artist’s Institute, New York) which was dedicated to Schneemann. It features previously unpublished images from her studio, documenting half a century of morphological connections between her work and other visual material, including art, advertising, and popular culture.
Carolee Schneemann wearing the ABC sweatshirt in the mid 1970s
‘While working on the publication, I saw a faded and tightly cropped photograph of Carolee with a hand holding her around her waist, from the mid 1970s wearing a sweatshirt with the slogan “ABC We Print Anything”,’ explains Morgan. ‘The typography, erratic colouring and care-free sentiment was irresistible, so we proposed – with the support of Carolee and The Artist’s Institute, New York – to remake the sweatshirt in a limited edition.’
The shirts are on sale from today (23 March), for a short period at Tenderbooks in Cecil Court, London, where they will ‘hang in the window as Carolee may have originally seen them.’ They’re also available at the Abyme website, which is a work of art in itself. The site is a masterclass in digital design, with a dancefloor of typographic wizardry to feed your browser, and imagination. Happy typing.
‘ABC We Print Anything’, by Carolee Schneemann and Abyme, 2017
‘ABC We Print Anything’, by Carolee Schneemann and Abyme, 2017.
INFORMATION
‘ABC We Print Anything’, by Carolee Schneemann and Abyme, 2017, £280. For more information, visit the Abyme website
ADDRESS
Tenderbooks
6 Cecil Ct, London
WC2N 4HE
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.
-
Dine within a rationalist design gem at the newly opened Cucina Triennale
Cucina Triennale is the latest space to open at Triennale Milano, a restaurant and a café by Luca Cipelletti and Unifor, inspired by the building's 1930s design
-
The collections you might have missed this S/S 2026 menswear season
Between the headliners in Paris, Milan and Florence, a few off-schedule displays are deserving of honourable mention – from Martine Rose’s sexually-charged portrait of Kensington Market to Sander Lak’s appointment-only namesake debut
-
Meet artist Michael McGregor, using hotel stationery as his canvas
Michael McGregor unveils an exclusive postcard set made with notepads from The Luxury Collection properties in Minneapolis, San Francisco and Savannah
-
A bespoke 40m mixed-media dragon is the centrepiece of Glastonbury’s new chill-out area
New for 2025 is Dragon's Tail – a space to offer some calm within Glastonbury’s late-night area with artwork by Edgar Phillips at its heart
-
Emerging artist Kasia Wozniak’s traditional photography techniques make for ethereal images
Wozniak’s photographs, taken with a 19th-century Gandolfi camera, are currently on show at Incubator, London
-
Vincent Van Gogh and Anselm Kiefer are in rich and intimate dialogue at the Royal Academy of Arts
German artist Anselm Kiefer has paid tribute to Van Gogh throughout his career. When their work is viewed together, a rich relationship is revealed
-
Alice Adams, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse delve into art’s ‘uckiness’ at The Courtauld
New exhibition ‘Abstract Erotic’ (until 14 September 2025) sees artists experiment with the grotesque
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintings
The artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
London calling! Artists celebrate the city at Saatchi Yates
London has long been an inspiration for both superstar artists and newer talent. Saatchi Yates gathers some of the best
-
Alexandra Metcalf creates an unsettling Victorian world in London
Alexandra Metcalf turns The Perimeter into a alternate world in exhibition, 'Gaaaaaaasp'