Individual artists, art monographs Books

Book SynopsisTurn the pages of this lavishly-produced book to discover a collection of monsters, creatures, and characters created by self-taught concept artist Francisco Garcés, AKA Dibujante Nocturno. The artist and illustrator shares his journey, revealing how his self-taught skills have evolved over the years, resulting in the demonic yet exquisite style that has earned him over 400,000 followers on Instagram. In addition to a specially curated gallery of his past work, there are new pieces created exclusively for this book, including step-by-step tutorials that break down not only the artist’s workflow and routine, but also his intricate pen linework techniques, cleverly chosen color palettes, and detailed rendering. Being self-taught, the artist has honed his skills in a completely unique way, allowing readers to glean not only unique tips and techniques, but also inspiration and insight into how they can practise, improve, and develop their own style. His experience of teaching art ensures he knows how to effectively communicate ideas, concepts and practical techniques. From his elegantly drawn linework to the darkest character creation, this is a unique opportunity for fans of fantasy art and creature design to see what goes into the epic art of Dibujante Nocturno.

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Book SynopsisA major career survey of Yayoi Kusama, one of the most widely admired and popular artists of our time, published in collaboration with M+, Hong Kong, to accompany M+'s first Special Exhibition, Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now, from 12 November 2022 to 14 May 2023. Yayoi Kusama is that rare thing: an artist who has achieved truly global acclaim. In a wide-ranging career spanning seven decades and multiple media, she has established profound connections with audiences around the world. Emerging at the forefront of artistic experimentation in Asia in the mid-20th century, Kusama soon became a central figure in the New York art scene of the 1960s. Today, Kusama continues to communicate her highly personal and spiritual world view through her art. Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now is the most comprehensive survey of her work to date. Structured around six thematic sections, Infinity', Accumulation', The Biocosmic', Radical Connectivity', Death' and Force of Life', the volume elucidates the ae

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Book SynopsisAs one of the people who defined punk’s protest art in the 1970s and 1980s, Gee Vaucher (b. 1945) deserves to be much better-known. She produced confrontational album covers for the legendary anarchist band Crass and later went on to do the same for Northern indie legends the Charlatans, among others. More recently, her work was recognised the day after Donald Trump's 2016 election victory, when the front page of the Daily Mirror ran her 1989 painting Oh America, which shows the Statue of Liberty, head in hands. This is the first book to critically assess an extensive range of Vaucher’s work. It examines her unique position connecting avant-garde art movements, counterculture, punk and even contemporary street art. While Vaucher rejects all ‘isms’, her work offers a unique take on the history of feminist art.Trade Review'Binns’s book is meticulously researched and well written, covering an area of punk history that deserves a full spotlight all of its own. Equal parts informing, accessible and compelling, this is the story of a woman whose talent and beliefs have made a huge contribution to conveying punk’s revolutionary message.'Molly Tie, Punktuation!‘A compelling documentation of an important figure in the postwar British counterculture: the stubbornly unpositionable Gee Vaucher. Binns traces the life and work of this uncompromising artist not only in the short high years of Crass and the anarcho-punk movement – dominated by Vaucher’s aesthetic – but also the decades before and after when she defined, refined and extended her powerful practice. Read this book for a brilliant and engaged creative life.’George McKay, Professor in Media Studies, University of East Anglia‘This is a long overdue contribution to an important history. Binns shines new light on Gee Vaucher's significance, showing how her method of photorealism-presented-as-montage can help us make sense of the “skewed reality” around us.’Lucy Robinson, Professor in Collaborative History, University of Sussex‘Gee Vaucher’s artwork was crucial to Crass: thought-provoking and confrontational always.’Adrian Sherwood, music producer'Gee’s indescribable artwork has been an inspiration for multiple generations of artists and art appreciators. Gee is proof that Art changes people's lives — and for the better!'Winston Smith, artist and illustrator (www.winstonsmith.com)‘Binns’s book is an expert feminist reading of the life and work of political graphic artist Gee Vaucher that adeptly writes this unsung heroine into a history of punk design. A must-read for these fractured times.’Teal Triggs, Professor of Graphic Design, Royal College of Art'An essential book, giving due attention to one of the most influential artists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Gee Vaucher's artwork has been much copied but never bettered. Her influence is here captured expertly by Rebecca Binns's well-researched critical analysis.'Matt Worley, Professor of Modern History, University of Reading‘Finally! What those in the know have been waiting for: a comprehensive, revealing and long overdue analysis of the creative importance of Gee Vaucher. Set against the backdrop of recent socio-economic, political and cultural events, via (but not limited to) punk, this book confirms Vaucher as the trailblazing innovator that she is, and charts her artistic influence to-date. Rebecca Binns thoughtfully surveys over fifty years of Vaucher’s collage, photo-montage, painting, drawing, sculpture, film and installation, rightfully positioning her as a key player within art history, while refusing to restrict this uncategorisable artist to any particular movement. If you are familiar with Vaucher’s work, you have been vindicated. And if you are not, prepare to be amazed.’Marie-France Kittler, co-curator Gee Vaucher: Introspective (Firstsite, 2016) -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 The changing face of British arts, politics and culture during Vaucher’s art school years2 Radical art collectives and the free festivals movement 3 New York, political photomontage and the underground press 4 Towards the definition of a punk aesthetic 5 Crass art and the birth of anarcho-punk 6 Post-punk, hardcore, and the dissolution of the dream 7 Post Crass introspection: postmodernism and the anti-rationalist avant-garde 8 Beyond the art world: political agitation and public intervention in the new millennium Index

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Book SynopsisThe first major monograph on a multifaceted self-taught artist whose work ranges from painting and sculpture to performance and sound. Lonnie Holley’s work has captivated viewers for decades, and his recent exhibitions have marked a career milestone and generated critical acclaim.“Lonnie Holley has held a cult status among the art cognoscenti for a long time as a visual artist and performer.” —New York Times Part of the Souls Grown Deep diaspora, Lonnie Holley’s widely admired practice spans painting, drawing, assemblage sculpture, and performance that combines experimental music and poetry. After decades of making art, he is now getting the recognition he richly deserves.The artist’s first sculptures were carved tombstones for his nieces who perished in a house fire in 1979. Over the following years, he devoted himself to making sculptures that populated his property near Birm

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Book SynopsisThe city Fred Herzog documented over more than half a century has vanished—an early kind of urban flaneur, Herzog wandered the streets of Vancouver, creating an archive that encapsulates the essence of a bygone era. Considered today as one of the most important street photographers of the 20th century, he changed the international conversation about early color photography. However, it was only in the late 1950s that he decided to primarily shoot with Kodachrome color slides. Fred Herzog: Black and White is the first acknowledgement of a lesser-known facet of the photographers’ work. Complementing the seminal Modern Color, it encompasses almost graphical urban scenes of shadow and light, alongside travel photographs and depictions of rural life. Evoking notions of melancholy, this book reveals that Herzog’s appeal lies in his ability to seize a condensation of a psychological state.

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Book SynopsisThe paintings, drawings, and mixed-media works of Joe Roberts are transportive in the cosmic sense. Through their intuitive blend of styles and subjects, they serve as portals into a welcomingly hallucinatory world: a place where gleeful mashups of childhood signifiers (comic book detritus, cartoon mascots) exist cozily alongside countercultural reference points (ouija boards, sci-fi paperbacks, UFOs) and earnest flashes of the personal (diaristic sketches, confessional trip reports). Reissued for the first time since 2015, LSD Worldpeace documents the extraordinary creativity and scrappy methods of Roberts’s early career, replete with collages, action figures, and dioramas, in addition to the paintings for which he’s become so celebrated. With introductory texts by Myla DalBesio and Matthew Ronay, LSD Worldpeace is the product of a wildly imaginative artist moving freely between modes, guided by a boundless vision.

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Book SynopsisA selection of incredible artists pay tribute to Frank Frazetta by creating new art inspired by his work, accompanied by in-depth interviews with members of the Frazetta family.Frank Frazetta is often referred to as the "Godfather of Fantasy Art" and one of the most renowned illustrators of the 20th century. His epic ink and pencil drawings, oil paintings, and watercolor illustrations have defined the aesthetics and look of fantasy and science-fiction for decades. In this high-quality book, you can discover more about the man behind the art through in-depth interviews with members of the Frazetta family.You'll also discover newly created pieces inspired by Frank Frazetta's work and style, as a selection of incredible artists from around the world pay tribute, providing in-depth tutorials on their process along the way. This is an invaluable tool for aspiring fantasy artists and an unmissable tome for Frazetta fans.

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Book SynopsisAn artist who worked across many media, the multi-skilled Gustave Doré remains unequalled as a supremely talented illustrator, whose detailed and imaginative engravings for major works of literature from Cervantes's Don Quixote to Dante's Divine Comedy, and even the Bible have hugely influenced the way we see many cultural and literary characters and still inspire today (David Beckham has a tattoo on his chest of Doré's The Agony in the Garden).This sumptuous new introduction to the artist focuses on these illustrations, first introducing you to his life, work and the rich seam of illustration history that he continued and ignited, from Blake and Fuseli to today's newspaper comics, before presenting a carefully curated thematic selection of his finest and most important engravings. From his vision of Jacob Wrestling with the Angel to Crossing the River Styx, the work of this most prodigious and much borrowed-from artist is represented in glorious full-page reproductions.

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Book Synopsis“Revelatory and sublime…Her work remains conceptually open enough for viewers to draw their own conclusions, insert their own meaning and feel transported to other glorious worlds.” —The New York Times One of the most inventive artists of the twentieth century, Hilma af Klint was a pioneer of abstraction. Her first forays into her imaginative non-objective painting long preceded the work of Kandinsky and Mondrian and radically mined the fields of science and religion. Deeply interested in spiritualism and philosophy, af Klint developed an iconography that explores esoteric concepts in metaphysics, as demonstrated in Tree of Knowledge. This rarely seen series of watercolors renders orbital, enigmatic forms, visual allegories of unification and separateness, darkness and light, beginning and end, life and death, and spirit and matter. Published on the occasion of the exhibition Hilma af Klint: Tree of Knowledge at David Zwirner New York in 2021 and David Zwirner London in 2022, this catalogue features a text by the art historian Susan Aberth examining af Klint’s spiritual and anthroposophical influences. With a conversation between the curator Helen Molesworth and the US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo discussing connections between Tree of Knowledge and native theories about plant knowledge, the publication broadens the scope of philosophical interpretations of af Klint's timeless work. Also included is a newly commissioned essay by the celebrated af Klint scholar Julia Voss, a contribution by the artist Suzan Frecon, and a text by art historian Max Rosenberg that further develops the conversation around why af Klint’s work was not recognized in its time.

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Book SynopsisIn this spellbinding and entertaining memoir, Regina and Ryan Cohn, founders of Oddities Flea Market, take us on a fascinating and specially curated tour of their most macabre and mysterious objects, art, and artifacts, sharing their incredible history and stories. Enter at your own risk A taxidermied monkey named Mr. Peepers. A rare collection of anatomical wax figures for sale in Munich.A Tibetan Kapala skull decorated with bits of coral. Two Charlie McCarthy dolls that may (or may not) be haunted. The incredible memento mori collection of Richard Harris.An actual witch's door.That's all just for starters. Welcome to a world of oddities curated by Regina and Ryan Cohn, trendsetters and tastemakers who have reinvented what the artifact collectors market looks like. Together, they are the founders of Oddities Flea Market, artfully curating a selection of the best artists and collectors at several events across the U.S. throughout the year, with an eye towards expanding globally. In

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Book SynopsisA veritable folk hero in Latin America and Mexico’s most important artist—along with his wife, painter Frida Kahlo—Diego Rivera (1886–1957) led a passionate life devoted to art and communism. After spending the 1910s in Europe, where he surrounded himself with other artists and embraced the Cubist movement, he returned to Mexico and began to paint the large-scale murals for which he is most famous. In his murals, he addressed social and political issues relating to the working class, earning him prophetic status among the peasants of Mexico. He was invited to create works abroad, most notably in the United States, where he stirred up controversy by depicting Lenin in his mural for the Rockefeller Center in New York City (the mural was destroyed before it was finished). Rivera’s most remarkable work is his 1932 Detroit Industry, a group of 27 frescos at the Detroit Institute of Art in Michigan. This volume features numerous large-scale details of the murals, allowing their various components and subtleties to be closely examined. In addition to the murals is a vast selection of paintings, vintage photos, documents, and drawings from public and private collections around the world, many of which the whereabouts were previously unknown to scholars and whose inclusion here is thanks to the most intense research performed on Rivera’s work since his death. Texts include an illustrated biography and essays by prominent art historians offering interpretations of each mural. One could not ask for a more comprehensive study of Rivera’s oeuvre; finally his work is the subject of the sweeping retrospective it deserves.Trade Review“This splendid edition from TASCHEN comes as a refreshing reminder of how sociologically, politically and artistically significant Diego Rivera’s work is.” * Force One *“Monumental in every way… The great pleasure of this book is that you can pore over every detail of the artist’s work, the details you inevitably miss if you see the works in situ.” * The Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisA vibrant account of both the sensuous cultural scene of postwar Paris and the life of an alluring icon of modern art. Isidore Isou was a young Jew in wartime Bucharest who barely survived the Romanian Holocaust. He made his way to Paris, where, in 1945, he founded the avant-garde movement Lettrism, described as the missing link between Dada, Surrealism, Situationism, and May '68. In Speaking East, Andrew Hussey presents a colorful picture of the postwar Left Bank, where Lettrist fists flew in avantgarde punch-ups in Jazz clubs and cafes, and where Isou-as sexy and as charismatic as the young Elvis-gathered around him a group of hooligan disciples who argued, drank, and had sex with the Parisian intellectual elite. This is a vibrant account of the life and times of a pivotal figure in the history of modern art.Trade Review"Isou's life is at once tragic and farcical: a whirling reprise of all of the twentieth century's artistic avantgardes played out against the backdrop of Paris's Left Bank in its heyday. Hussey is the ideal chronicler, and his biography, with its exuberant prose, both channels Isou's restless creativity and positions it within the main currents of postwar French thought. Essential reading." -- Will Self, author of "The Quantity Theory of Insanity" and "Umbrella" "A sympathetic account of an extraordinary life. Hussey has the depth of historical understanding necessary to do justice both to Isidore Isou's glamorous, sometimes absurd, life as a hero of the Left Bank and to the horrors of the Romanian Holocaust he had escaped. This is an expertly told story about Paris, Europe, and the interplay of private passion and public trauma." -- Sebastian Faulks, author of "Birdsong"

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Book SynopsisTraces the evolution of Matisse’s work on paper, from experimental beginnings to the artist’s instantly recognizable mature style An internationally recognized expert in the European tradition of draughtsmanship, Christopher Lloyd offers rare insights about the technical qualities of Matisse’s drawings. This book traces the evolution of Matisse’s large and varied body of drawings and works on paper—including graphic work, the celebrated cut-outs and the famous decoration of the Chapel of the Rosary at Vence, France. The artist’s drawings are contextualized within his own biography and times, from vibrant early twentieth-century Paris to later periods in luxurious Nice. Lively prose and a wealth of reproductions illustrate Matisse’s versatility in different media and his innovative, expansive concept of drawing. Despite the variety of his output, the work always reflects the artist’s constant desire to express pure emotion in visual terms. Since 2014, Christopher Lloyd has published four highly successful books on the drawings of modern artists. This book follows his most recent publication, Picasso and the Art of Drawing. With over 150 illustrations, including archival photographs of Matisse’s studio and the artist at work, this volume concisely covers Matisse’s entire graphic oeuvre.Distributed for Modern Art Press

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Book SynopsisAn insightful and provocative exploration of the relationship between motherhood and art through the lives of women artists and writersTrade Review"The Baby on the Fire Escape looks at the extreme ways some female artists have overcome the restraints of parenthood… The book’s strength lies in Phillips’s nimble talents as a portraitist." -- Lucy Scholes - The Sunday Telegraph"For Phillips, the lives she wants to depict are not accounts of maternal self-sacrifice and denial, but instead, narratives that portray the mother as a hero." -- Frieda Klotz - Sunday Irish Independent"Does motherhood prevent women from having an active creative life, or enhance it? Do babies need to be out of mind as well as out of sight for creative work to be done? […] Julie Phillips has written a spirited and thoughtful account of a handful of figures from mid-20th-century Britain and America who have grappled with these dilemmas." -- Lara Feigel - RA Magazine"[An] absorbing and often gripping study… There is some fascinating detail in this book about working schedules, childcare arrangements, even the cost of contraception or abortion." -- The Times Literary Supplement"The opening section on Alice Neel is a searing account of the complexities of balancing (or not) being a mother and an artist—and the often heavy price women pay… [The Baby on the Fire Escape] explores the difficult issues around the subject with no judgment and or neat conclusions—and is all the richer for it." -- José da Silva - The Art Newspaper"A brilliant, vital text" -- Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, author of The Year of the Cat

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Book SynopsisI carry my landscapes around with me focuses on American abstract artist Joan Mitchell’s large-scale multipanel works from the 1960s through the 1990s. Mitchell’s exploration of the possibilities afforded by combining two to five large canvases allowed her to simultaneously create continuity and rupture, while opening up a panoramic expanse referencing landscapes or the memory of landscapes. Mitchell established a singular approach to abstraction over the course of her career. Her inventive reinterpretation of the traditional figure-ground relationship and synesthetic use of color set her apart from her peers, resulting in intuitively constructed and emotionally charged compositions that alternately evoke individuals, observations, places, and points in time. Art critic John Yau lauded her paintings as “one of the towering achievements of the postwar period.” Published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at David Zwirner New York in 2019, this book offers a unique opportunity to explore the range of scale and formal experimentation of this innovative area of Mitchell’s extensive body of work. It not only features reproductions of each painting in this selection as a whole, but also numerous details that allow an intimate understanding of the surface texture and brushwork. In the complementing essays, Suzanne Hudson examines boundaries, borders, and edges in Mitchell’s multipanel paintings, beginning with her first work of this kind, The Bridge (1956), considering them as both physical and conceptual objects; Robert Slifkin discusses the dynamics of repetition and energy in the artist’s paintings, in relation to works by Monet and Willem de Kooning, among others.

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Book SynopsisA lavishly illustrated monograph that spans the entire career of Gerhard Richter, one of the most celebrated contemporary artists "Spans the contemporary German artist's six-decade career. . . . [A] stirring exhibition in [its] own right."—New York Times"[A] weighty catalogue... illuminat[es] some less-visited corners of Richter's oeuvre."—New York Review of Books Over the course of his acclaimed 60-year career, Gerhard Richter (b. 1932) has employed both representation and abstraction as a means of reckoning with the legacy, collective memory, and national sensibility of post–Second World War Germany, in both broad and very personal terms. This handsomely designed book features approximately 100 of his key canvases, from photo paintings created in the early 1960s to portraits and later large-scale abstract series, as well as select works in glass. New essays by eminent scholars address a variety of themes: Sheena Wagstaff evaluates the conceptual import of the artist’s technique; Benjamin H. D. Buchloh discusses the poignant Birkenau paintings (2014); Peter Geimer explores the artist’s enduring interest in photographic imagery; Briony Fer looks at Richter’s family pictures against traditional painting genres and conventions; Brinda Kumar investigates the artist’s engagement with landscape as a site of memory; André Rottmann considers the impact of randomization and chance on Richter’s abstract works; and Hal Foster examines the glass and mirror works. As this book demonstrates, Richter’s rich and varied oeuvre is a testament to the continued relevance of painting in contemporary art.Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Met Breuer, New York (March 4–July 5, 2020)Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (August 14, 2020–January 19, 2021)

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Book SynopsisAn exceptionally thoughtful and well-written biography of one of the most influential studio potters in Britain Widely recognized as the father of studio pottery, Bernard Leach (1887–1979) played a pioneering role in creating an identity for artist potters in Britain and around the world. Born in the East (Hong Kong) and educated in the West (England), throughout his life Leach perceived himself as a courier between the disparate cultures. His exquisite pots reflect the inspiration he drew from East and West as well as his response to the basic tenets of modernism—truth to materials, the importance of function to form, and simplicity of decoration. This outstanding biography provides for the first time a vivid and detailed account of Leach’s life and its relation to his art. Emmanuel Cooper, himself a potter of international reputation, explores Leach’s working methods, the seams of his pottery, his writings and philosophy, his recognition in Japan and Britain, and his continuing legacy, bringing into sharp focus a complex man who captured in his work as a potter the “still center” that always eluded him in his tumultuous personal life.Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British ArtTrade Review"Emmanuel Cooper is a distinguished potter and writer on the crafts, and his biography of the great potter Bernard Leach is an impressive piece of work, well-informed, thoughtful and clearly written."---Journal of William Morris Society Studies"[A] magisterial biography. . . . Fascinating."—Emma Crichton-Miller

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewOne of The Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year 2016, chosen by Andrew Motion "A gripping and revelatory study."--Andrew Motion, Times Literary Supplement "Jacobus ... assesses with great acumen what Twombly's aims were, and shows brilliantly how he combines the various poetic motifs in his painting."--Marjorie Perloff, Times Literary Supplement "Mary Jacobus ... carries us on a marvellous voyage through the artist's mind and beyond."--Marina Warner, Observer "Through unprecedented access to his notebooks and annotated sources--a vast pool encompassing everything from Homer to Pound--Jacobus elegantly illuminates the complex relationship between word and image in an oeuvre that teems with potentiality and impropriety."--Lucy Watson, Financial Times "Jacobus' careful reading and broad learning, her understanding of Twombly's art and the poetry he included in it, and her synthetic discussion of literature and art in various periods and genres--her chapter on pastoral is especially breathtaking--all make this a complex, stunningly memorable book."--Elizabeth Greene, Times Higher Education "A highly original study."--Apollo Magazine "A fine example of literary scholarship inspired by art."--Michael Bird, The Telegraph "[A] fresh and intricate study of Twombly's citations and overall engagement with verse... [Jacobus] profitably confronts Twombly's work as a literary critic ... enriching the work with themes of memory, time, concealment, sexuality, translation, and what she describes at one point as, 'the inexhaustible relation of image and text--distinct, yet propped on one another.'"--James Miller, Hyperallergic "[D]azzles both visually and intellectually... A fascinating exercise in elucidation."--Bill Marx, Arts Fuse "In this erudite book, Jacobus focuses on the poetic and literary allusions and the depth of thinking that went into Twombly's work... The book includes excellent color reproductions, though they are small so do not communicate the impact of Twombly's huge paintings. Jacobus's book will be valuable for those interested in the literary sources for Twombly's art."--Choice "In the book, erudite and descriptive passages show how poetry became central to Twombly. Jacobus illuminates the import of one medium on another, going beyond drawing an affinity between art and poetry to reveal Twombly as an artist engaged in deep study who sought not just correspondences between the mediums, but unity."--Michael Abatemarco, Santa Fe New MexicanTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements ix Introduction: Twombly's Books 1 1 Mediterranean Passages: Retrospect 24 2 Psychogram and Parnassus: How (Not) to Read a Twombly 51 3 Twombly's Vagueness: The Poetics of Abstraction 78 4 Achilles' Horses, Twombly's War 103 5 Romantic Twombly 133 6 The Pastoral Stain 160 7 Psyche: The Double Door 186 8 Twombly's Lapse 210 Postscript: Writing in Light 234 Notes 243 Bibliography 285 Index 299

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Book SynopsisIn 1792, when he was forty-seven, the Spanish painter Francisco de Goya contracted a serious illness which left him stone deaf. In this extraordinary book Julia Blackburn follows Goya through the remaining thirty-five years of his life. It was a time of political turmoil, of war, violence and confusion, and Goya transformed what he saw happening in the world around him into his visionary paintings, drawings and etchings. These were also years of tenderness for Goya, of intimate relationships with the Duchess of Alba and with Leocadia, his mistress, who was with him to the end. Julia Blackburn writes of the elderly painter with the intimacy of an old friend, seeing through his eyes and sharing the silence in his head, capturing perfectly his ferocious energy, his passion and his genius.Trade ReviewSensitive and intelligent... Julia Blackburn has steeped herself in her subject and in the period * Irish Times *A near-perfect work... combines lyrical style with such exceptional imaginative power and intelligence * Sunday Times *Reading Ms Blackburn's work, you have the uncanny sensation that you have met Goya, felt his honest horny hands, watched him work * Economist *Julia Blackburn has developed her own technique for marrying the 'granite' of fact with the rainbow of personality... Her prose is elegant and precise, illuminated by intelligence, curiosity and a refined visual sense... When the book is closed, her evocation of the life and times of "old man Goya" lives on, a succession of brilliantly lit images in the mind's eye * Literary Review *Julia Blackburn has an extraordinary talent for thinking herself into other worlds... So vivid are her conjurings of lives lived elsewhere or long ago, you begin to suspect she sees ghosts -- Marina Benjamin * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisAs the focal point of numerous high-profile exhibitions, the sculpture of Richard Serra (b. 1939) has drawn international acclaim. This title brings together the Serra's drawn work, considering the artist's investigation of medium as an activity both independent from and linked to his pioneering sculptural practice.

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Book SynopsisExploring the life and work of avant-garde film’s most influential and intriguing figure

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Book SynopsisA fresh portrait of the Polish-Jewish writer and artist, and a gripping account of the secret operation to rescue his last artworksTrade Review"Excellent...An absorbing, terrifying history of a special writer who deserves to be known for reasons entirely apart from the historical nightmare that engulfed him." -- Scott Bradfield - The Spectator"Engaging and provocative…This biography, which weaves well-chosen, colourful threads from Schulz’s writings into the threadbare fabric of his days, stands as the best brief introduction to the author currently available in English" -- Boris Dralyuk - The Times Literary Supplement"Balint does a fine job of capturing Schulz’s life and his world before the war, his deeply peculiar mind and the fascinating figures in whose orbit he moved" -- Joe Moshenska - The Observer"“The clearest, most evenhanded account to date of the tangled afterlife of the Master of Drohobych….An unflaggingly curious and fastidious critic, the Jerusalem-based Balint has forged a career out of examining cases like this one….Balint excels at distinguishing the possible ownership of artifacts from the impossible ownership of legacies, and demonstrates with sensitivity how in the clash between so-called intellectual property rights and so-called moral rights, the only sure loser is the artist himself, especially if he is no longer around to defend (or define) himself.”" -- Joshua Cohen - The New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisOne of 19th-century Berlin's premier artists, Menzel exhibited tremendous powers of observation and technical perfection. This volume contains approximately 115 plates of his work, with 16 pages of color.

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Book SynopsisThe first book to cover the entire career and range of work by Posy Simmonds, one of Britain's leading satirical cartoonists part of the new Illustrators series.Trade Review'Excellent' - SpectatorTable of ContentsIntroduction • The Art of Posy Simmonds • Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFact or fiction? An imaginative collection of statements about Vincent van Gogh that challenges what we think we know about the artist's much mythologized existence. Van Gogh is the most famous artist in the world, yet our understanding of his life is full of contradictions. Art historians, filmmakers, journalists, psychologists and conspiracy theorists have offered theories on his life and work, yet their views are often poles apart. Van Gogh has been described as a suffering genius, a madman, the embodiment of peace and compassion, a man of violence who was a danger to himself and others, a religious fanatic and a Marxist. Where does the truth lie and the myth begin? This book examines the continual rewriting of Van Gogh's story since the first publications on the artist appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. Presenting a collage of succinct facts and counterfacts', the text is drawn from a wide field of sources: fellow artists, friends and family, doctors and psychoanalysts, actors and writers, theorists, crackpots and scholars. Conflicting statements go hand in hand with an unconventional curation of images, which include postcards of locations associated with the artist, photographs of a fraudster's legal trial, a children's toy, a bottle label and a rusty revolver. Turnbull presents a kaleidoscope of fact and fiction about the world's most discussed artist sometimes funny, sometimes heartrending, always revealing giving readers new insights into the artist, his work and his legacy. Van Gogh himself would be amazed not only to see what people have said about him, but also to grasp the global phenomenon that he has become. A must-have for art lovers and museumgoers, this book invites all readers familiar with Van Gogh to challenge long-accepted ideas about the man and his work.Trade Review'An intriguing read' - Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper'Enjoyable and easy to dip in to' - Mature Times

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Book SynopsisAn authoritative new publication that revisits Munchâs work in its entirety. Edvard Munch occupies a pivotal place in artistic modernity. His work is permeated by a singular vision of the world, with a powerful symbolist dimension that goes beyond the masterpieces he created in the 1890s, and which gives his art a great coherence. For Munch, humanity and nature were united in the cycle of life, death and rebirth, which is reflected in the unending recurrence of certain motifs and colour combinations in his work. He wrote: âThese paintings, which are, admittedly, relatively difficult to understand, will be [â] easier to grasp if they are integrated into a whole.â Published to accompany the major exhibition at the MusÃe dâOrsay, Edvard Munch: A Poem of Life, Love and Death presents about a hundred works â paintings, drawings, prints and engraved blocks â reflecting the diversity of Munchâs practice. Seven essays explore the artist in his philosophical and scientific milieu and the

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Book SynopsisMarkus Bertsch is Head of the 19th-Century Collection at Hamburger Kunsthalle. Johannes Grave is Professor of Modern Art History with a focus on European Romanticism at the University of Jena. He was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Preis in 2020 for his research on art in the early 1800s, early Renaissance painting and picture theory.

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Book SynopsisA new study of Van Gogh's passion for books, taking the reader on an artistic-literary journey through Vincent's favourite authors and works of literature.Trade Review'A detailed (and beautifully written) account of what the artist read - and how it influenced his art' - The Art Newspaper'A fascinating study of Van Gogh’s creative inspiration' - Art Society Magazine'Find[s] a fresh side to Vincent van Gogh' - The New European'Fascinating' - Morning Star'Covers all aspects of Vincent as a reader, book owner and maker of art featuring books and readers. The author guides readers through these aspects with a deft touch and thorough knowledge. This will become an essential book for anyone seeking detailed understanding of Vincent Van Gogh’s art and thought' - AlexanderAdamsArt'A finely produced life of Van Gogh ... a fascinating introduction to a complex and wondrous creative life. Yes, it is the art that matters, but here, more than ever, we learn more to understand something of the man behind the art' - The Arts Desk'laser-focused on the man as a lifelong devourer of novels, poetry and art criticism in four languages, from Victorian tales such as 'A Christmas Carol', to French romans by the likes of Victor Hugo' - World of Interiors'Fascinating and well researched' - Artists & Illustrators'Guzzoni’s text is good at explaining what he read, and also why it appealed to him' - ArtlystTable of ContentsIntroduction • 1. From Preacher to Painter • 2. Art and Life • 3. Peasant Painter • 4. The City of Light • 5. In Provence • 6. Vincent and the Reader • 7. Vincent: A Reader for All Times

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Book SynopsisPaul Joannides is Emeritus Professor at the History of Art at the University of Cambridge. His publications include The Drawings of Raphael; Masaccio and Masolino; and Titian to 1518: The Assumption of Genius. Rick Scorza is a writer and lecturer on the Renaissance. In 2012 he was the inaugural Senior Thaw Research Fellow at the Drawing Institute of the Morgan Library & Museum, New York. He is also President of the British Museum's British Art Medal Society.Table of ContentsPreface: Vasari’s Life of Raphael and the present translation • Vasari's Raphael: Knowledge and Interpretation • The Life of Raphael of Urbino, Painter and Architect

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Book SynopsisAn updated edition of this classic survey, a thorough overview of Paul CÃzanneâs life and work. For Picasso he was âlike our fatherâ; for Matisse, âa god of paintingâ. Paul CÃzanne (1839â1906) is widely regarded as the father of modern art. In this authoritative and accessible study, Richard Verdi traces the evolution of CÃzanneâs landscape, still-life and figure compositions, from the turbulently romantic creations of his youth to the visionary masterpieces of his final years. The painterâs biography â his fluctuating reputation and strained relations with his parents, wife and close friend Emile Zola â is vividly evoked using excerpts from his own letters and from contemporary accounts of the artist. CÃzanne was torn between the desires to create art and to seek inspiration â to master the themes of the past, through his copying sessions in the Louvre, and to explore the eternal qualities of nature in the countryside of his native Provence. In this way the artist sought â

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Book SynopsisAn authoritative introduction to one of the most influential painters in the history of art, written by the pre-eminent authority on the subject and informed by the latest research. More versatile and less idiosyncratic than Michelangelo, more prolific and accessible than his mentor Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, though he died at only thirty-seven, is considered the single most influential artist of the Renaissance. Here, art historian Paul Joannides explores the different social and regional contexts of Raphael's work and discusses all aspects of his artistic output. He traces Raphael's career from his origins in Urbino, through his altarpieces made in Umbria in the shadow of Perugino, to the first flowering of his genius in Florence where he painted a series of iconic Madonnas that are among the most beloved images in Western art. Raphael's employment by the dynamic and demanding Pope Julius II gave him opportunities without parallel and encouraged the full expansion of his

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Book SynopsisGiorgio Vasari's Lives of the Most Famous Painters, Sculptors and Architects (1550 and 1569) is a classic of cultural history. A monumental assembly of artists' lives from Giotto to Michelangelo, it paints a vivid picture of the progress of art in the hands of individual masters. No Life is more vivid than that of Leonardo, a near-contemporary of Vasari not even Vasari's account of Michelangelo, whom he knew and idolized. This beautiful edition offers a literary translation that respects the 16th-century Italian, transposing Vasari's vocabulary into its modern equivalent. Martin Kemp is an eminent scholar, who has written on the vocabulary of Renaissance writings on art, and has co-translated Leonardo on Painting and Leonardo's Codex Leicester. Translated in partnership with Lucy Russell, the text will be the first to cover both the 1550 edition and the expanded version of 1568, and the first to integrate the texts of the two editions on the page. Discreet endnotes will provide succin

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Book SynopsisCatrin Jones is Chief Curator, The V&A Collection at the World of Wedgwood. Chris Stephens is Curator, Holburne Museum, Bath.

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Book SynopsisAn account of the life of Leonardo da Vinci, from his birth to his apprenticeship in Florence and work in Milan, Rome and Amboise. A self taught intellectual, he was endlessly curious about the physical world and his notebooks reveal a breadth of research, and anticipation of modern technology.

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Book SynopsisDante Gabriel Rossetti (1828?1882), best known and admired for his striking and seductive portraits of women, was one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of artists whose work is inspired by the art of the early Italian Renaissance. Rossetti?s powerful and unconventional portraits, with their sumptuous, jewel-like colors, are explored in this beautiful gift book.Rossetti defined his experiences through his passion for his subjects, and this book traces his deliberate intertwining of art and life. His models such as Jane Morris, Elizabeth Siddal and his sister Christina, were his inspiration, and in his rejection of conventional beauty, he redefined difference as desirable. Through his view of women, Rossetti confronted the staid nineteenth-century public with a new and powerful image of women, and the allure of that power is still felt today.

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Book SynopsisRonnie Wood is one of the foremost rock guitarists in the world, but his artistic talents extend beyond music. Throughout his stellar musical career from The Birds to the Faces and the Rolling Stones, Ronnie has never lost his passion for painting, drawing and sculpture. Exuding the same irrepressible energy as Ronnie himself, Ronnie Wood: Artist is the first ever comprehensive collection of his paintings and other artworks, created to mark the occasion of his seventieth birthday. The bright, bold volume brings together the fruits of a lifetime in the arts, brimming with six decades of memorable and diverse work, from his art college portfolio (he studied alongside Pete Townshend) to the intimate work of his personal life today. Inside, a generous selection of his Stones work, including rare watercolours of Mick, Keith and Charlie backstage, meets acrylics of contemporaries Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck and Keith Moon. Portraits of formative jazz innovators Count Basie, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday sit alongside blues heroes Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Big Bill Broonzy. Paintings of Hollywood's elite Paul Newman, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe juxtapose real-time fashion sketches of Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell and deft pastel compositions from his residency at the Royal Ballet. The artist himself provides the captions and insights into the thought and motivation behind each piece. With an introduction by Emmanuel Guigon (director of the Museu Picasso, Barcelona, where Ronnie will be beginning a residency in 2018) and an afterword by none other than Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood: Artist exists where fine art and rock 'n' roll collide. This extensive and eclectic collection offers unique insights into the entire world of Ronnie Wood, and, with close to 400 works, is a fitting testament to the artistic range and ambition of rock 'n' roll's most successful artistTable of ContentsIntro by Emmanuel Guigon • A Life in Art by Ronnie Wood 1. Early Work • 2. Faces • 3. The Rolling Stones • 4. Icons • 5. Portraits • 6. Ballet • 7. Nudes • 8. Views • 9. Animals • 10. Beyond the Canvas • Outro by Keith Richards

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Book SynopsisGene Baro was curator, critic, writer and organizer of special exhibitions of art. Michael Harrison was Director of Kettle's Yard in Cambridge from 1992 to 2011. Sir John Leighton is Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland. Jennifer Licht was Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Maurice de Sausmarez was a painter, teacher and art historian who introduced Bridget Riley to Futurism and Colour Divisionism, and was author of the first monograph on the artist, Bridget Riley, London, 1970.Trade Review'Over 150 drawings, colour analyses, notations, scale studies and cartoons reveal the processes and thinking behind her geometric, shimmering works' - Financial Times'This book is a joy for giving us a glimpse of Riley’s early work and helping us better understand her creative modus operandi. That it does so through her eyes makes it even more of a treat' - World of Interiors'A handsome addition to the literature on Riley' - The Spectator, Best Art Books of 2021

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Book SynopsisFirst comprehensive monograph on the Turner-Prize-winning artist.Trade ReviewOn the Contemporary Artists Series"The boldest, best executed, and most far-reaching publishing project devoted to contemporary art. These books will revolutionize the way contemporary art is presented and written about."—Artforum "The combination of intelligent analysis, personal insight, useful facts and plentiful pictures is a superb format invaluable for specialists but also interesting for casual readers, it makes these books a must for the library of anyone who cares about contemporary art."—Time Out "A unique series of informative monographs on individual artists."—The Sunday Times "Gives the reader the impression of a personal encounter with the artists. Apart from the writing which is lucid and illuminating, it is undoubtedly the wealth of lavish illustrations which makes looking at these books a satisfying entertainment."—The Art BookTable of ContentsInterview: Francesco Manacorda in conversation with Simon Starling Survey: 'The Metamorphologist' by Dieter Roelstraete Focus: 'Wilhelm Noack oHG' by Janet Harbord Artist's Choice: The Laughing Policeman (extract) by Flann O'Brien Artist's Writings: 'Kakteenhaus: A Brief History' (2002), 'The Meeting' (2004), Craft: Five Thousand Years (2007), 'Never the Same River' (2010)

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive monograph of Yin Xiuzhen, a leading sculptor and figure in Chinese contemporary artTrade ReviewOn the Contemporary Artists Series"The boldest, best executed, and most far-reaching publishing project devoted to contemporary art. These books will revolutionize the way contemporary art is presented and written about."—Artforum "The combination of intelligent analysis, personal insight, useful facts and plentiful pictures is a superb format invaluable for specialists but also interesting for casual readers, it makes these books a must for the library of anyone who cares about contemporary art."—Time Out "A unique series of informative monographs on individual artists."—The Sunday Times "Gives the reader the impression of a personal encounter with the artists. Apart from the writing which is lucid and illuminating, it is undoubtedly the wealth of lavish illustrations which makes looking at these books a satisfying entertainment."—The Art Book

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive study of one of the most versatile artists and acute observers of our time, who fuses art and fashionTrade Review"The first book to collect the multifaceted work of the LA-based artist... Reflects on the work of an iconic living artist and examines how the Raf Simons collaborator confronts contemporary society through ceramics, collages, videos and paintings." —Amuse-i-d.vice.com"Authoritative and extensively illustrated." —Artnet On the Contemporary Artists Series"The boldest, best executed, and most far-reaching publishing project devoted to contemporary art. These books will revolutionize the way contemporary art is presented and written about."—Artforum "The combination of intelligent analysis, personal insight, useful facts and plentiful pictures is a superb format invaluable for specialists but also interesting for casual readers, it makes these books a must for the library of anyone who cares about contemporary art."—Time Out "A unique series of informative monographs on individual artists."—The Sunday Times "Gives the reader the impression of a personal encounter with the artists. Apart from the writing which is lucid and illuminating, it is undoubtedly the wealth of lavish illustrations which makes looking at these books a satisfying entertainment."—The Art Book

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