Sculpture Books

Book SynopsisLast published in a nineteenth-century catalogue, the distinguished Torlonia Collection of more than 600 priceless Greek and Roman works marbles and bronzes, reliefs and sarcophagi, depictions of gods, and portraits of emperors is one of the most important assemblages of classical sculptures still in private hands anywhere in the world. This eagerly awaited volume presents a selection of nearly 100 sculptures, which have been chosen for their quality and historic significance and which will be featured in an unprecedented exhibition designed by David Chipperfield and held in the Villa Caffarelli, near the Musei Capitolini in Rome, before touring globally. The legendary aura surrounding this, Rome s last princely collection, is due not only to its extraordinary scope and the high quality of the works, but also to the fact that the collection has not been available to the public for decades. This revelatory book features multiple essays by leading experts on the history of the collection and scholarly entries for the works detailing important discoveries made through archaeological research as well as the cleaning and conservation of the sculptures.Trade Review"Inaccessibility fueled its mystique, and the Torlonia Collection became the stuff of legend. After decades of negotiations and false starts, the public will be able to decide whether reality lives up to the myth when 96 statues go on display at the Palazzo Caffarelli, part of the Capitoline Museums here, in March. The exhibition, “The Torlonia Marbles. Collecting Masterpieces,” will be open for a nine-month stint, a prelude to a grand tour." — NEW YORK TIMES "The Torlonia Collection is one of the most important collections of classical sculpture still in private hands. Only a few people have ever glimpsed the 620 works in storage." —ARTNET.COM

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Book SynopsisIn Richard Deacon's solo exhibition Some Time, a refabricated version of his sculpture Never Mind takes pride of place among more than twenty-five other works. Over time, the original sculpture, made in 1993, proved to be incompatible with the natural environment of an open-air museum. Now, after a period of critical reflection and discussion with the artist himself, what he calls a 'refabrication' has taken place. Follow the artist and the museum's quest for an innovative, sustainable solution to the renewal of (or variation on) a monumental sculpture that offers a potentially new line of approach for the future. This book not only represents the Some Time exhibition, but thanks to its diversity of material, ranging from original sketches and intimate correspondence to construction photos from the workshop and installation shots, it also gives a unique insight into Deacon's working process. At the same time, it provides a moment of critical reflection from the perspectives of the various authors who have contributed to it. Text in English and Dutch.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first time a Dutch museum has devoted an exhibition exclusively to the three-dimensional work of Joan Miró. Thanks to close cooperation with renowned museum partners and public collections, including the Fundació Joan Miró and the Fondation Maeght, 55 sculptures by the Catalan grandmaster of surrealism will be shown to the public. The selection includes some plaster models never before exhibited in a museum. The exhibition is accompanied by this richly illustrated publication, which, among other things, details the artist''s working methods and the symbolism of his sculpture.Text in English and Dutch.

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Book SynopsisLittle is known about Walter Leblanc (19321986), one of the key representatives of kinetic and optical art in the mid-20th century. This comprehensive monograph, the first on this artist for an international audience, includes unpublished materials, which provide insight not only into the art of LeBlanc, but also into the ZERO artist movement to which he was connected and with which he was in close dialogue beginning in the 1950s.Walter Leblanc is based on extensive studies of the artist's work: with about 150 images of his paintings and sculptures, comparative works, historical photos and documents, it includes a selection of Leblanc's writings, an iconographic mapping of selected works in museums around the world, and a bio-bibliographical appendix. Demonstrating the wealth of his creative output, the book reaffirms the enduring role Leblanc played in the development of modern and contemporary art on a global scale. Distributed for Mercatorfonds

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Book SynopsisExploring the complex interweaving of race, national identity, and the practice of sculpture, Amy Lyford takes us through a close examination of the early US career of the Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988). The years between 1930 and 1950 were perhaps some of the most fertile of Noguchi's career. Yet the work that he produced during this time has received little sustained attention. Weaving together new archival material, little-known or unrealized works, and those that are familiar, Lyford offers a fresh perspective on the significance of Noguchi's modernist sculpture to twentieth-century culture and art history. Through an examination of his work, this book tells a story about his relation to the most important cultural and political issues of his time. By focusing on Noguchi's reputation, and reception as an artist of Japanese American descent, Lyford analyzes the artist and his work within the context of a burgeoning desire at that time to define what modern AmerTrade Review“Written in animated and lucid prose, this book is that of a seasoned scholar whose intervention in Noguchi criticism performs the tremendous work of critiquing and making socially relevant inroads in the field of art history.” * Society for US Intellectual History *“Written in animated and lucid prose, this book is that of a seasoned scholar whose intervention in Noguchi criticism performs the tremendous work of critiquing and making socially relevant inroads in the field of art history.” * Society for U.S. Intellectual History *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part 1. Labor 1. Earthworks, the Depression Economy, and Monument to the Plow 2. Modernism, Public Art, and Sculpture as Social Practice in the 1930s 3. Reinventing Labor in New York Part 2. Race 4. Negotiating Japanese American Confinement 5. Reimagining Humanity in the 1940s 6. Noguchi, Asian America, and Artistic Identity in Postwar New York Postscript: Beginnings and Ends at the Venice Biennale Appendix A. Noguchi’s “A Plan for Government Sponsored Farm and Craft Settlement for People of Japanese Parentage” Appendix B. Noguchi’s “I Become a Nisei” Notes Selected Bibliography List of Illustrations Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"In an ambitious and compelling interpretation of sculpture between the end of WW II and the end of the Vietnam War, Slifkin (Institute of Fine Arts, NYU) examines the expansion of sculptural aesthetic properties, giving renewed attention to the property of monumentalism. Illuminating work ranging from abstract expressionism to land art, the author looks at this work as sharing a sculptural material presence that acknowledged the 'contemporary space and time of the viewer,' and in so doing offered images of a future Utopian or catastrophic in tone." * Choice *"A tour de force of social art history, following American sculpture’s mediation of Cold War anxieties until the end of the Nixon era."---David W. Norman, Art History

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Book SynopsisAs an American living in England, a conscious Jew who utilized Christian symbols, a skillful modeler who introduced direct carving into England, and a modernist who eventually came to dislike abstraction for its own sake, Epstein did not fit neatly into the artistic categories of his time. Apart from his still widely admired naturalistic bronze portraits, Epstein’s oeuvre remains poorly understood and his reputation is dominated by his famous Rock Drill from before World War I. As this book shows, Epstein remained an avant-garde artist throughout his life, even if he ignored modernist dogma as well as man-in-the-street prudery. Gilboa’s text reveals the man in all his genius, interpreting many works in the light of Epstein’s personal circumstances. In an atmosphere of polarized attitudes to art and polite anti-Semitism at the end of the 1920s growing rather less polite thereafter, the outsider Jew Epstein deliberately became estranged from London’s art world. He responded to society’s attitude towards him in a series of bold projects– the monumental Genesis (1930) and Primeval Gods (1931–32); the smaller carvings Chimera and Elemental (1932); Behold the Man (1934–35); Consummatum Est (1938–39); Adam (1938) and Jacob and the Angel (1940); the bronze Lucifer (1944–45) and again a carving, Lazarus (1947). One cannot ignore the symbolic names of these sculptures. The discussion in this book will reveal that in each case the name has a definite relation to the sculpture’s theme and essence, as well as to the personal concerns of the sculptor. Almost all of these sculptures that Epstein produced from the 1930s aroused a public outcry, causing one critic to state that“a new carving by Mr. Epstein – good, bad or indifferent – can still steal the headlines when criminal assault, private or political, is out of season”. It was only during the 1950s, following the trauma and emotional shock of World War II, that new requirements for the expression of ideas and emotions rather than for mere forms with which to play renewed the demand for ‘an Epstein’ and his kind of ‘content’ sculpture, mainly in public commissions. Epstein, by then in his seventies, was flooded with work, and his sculpture – which employed Christian imagery to convey universal ideas of consolation and hope to a war-weary England – became newly relevant, gaining him the status of grand old master of English sculpture.

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Book SynopsisFresh ideas and techniques for the rapidly evolving area of three-dimensional textiles. Leading textile artist Ann Goddard takes three-dimensional textiles to a new level in this practical book. Drawing inspiration from natural landscapes, organic material and a concern for the environment, Ann's work combines textile and non/textile elements with construction. Linen, loose fibres, paper and yarn are complemented by seemingly unlikely materials including concrete, wood, lead and bark. Fragile is juxtaposed with hard, natural with man-made, beauty with imperfection. The techniques range from stitching, wrapping, couching, and knotting to sawing, drilling, and casting. In this book, previously separate art media are combined to create eclectic works; boundaries are crossed, expectations challenged and categorisation rejected. Mixed Media Textile Art in Three Dimensions takes a linear look at the creative process from themes, research and experimentation through to preparing elements, conveying meaning and constructing three-dimensional forms, encouraging you to broaden your horizons in textile work. Brimming with beautiful artwork from the author and featuring the work of some inspiring and exciting artists creating three-dimensional constructions.Trade Review‘Ann Goddard takes three-dimensional textiles to a new level… there’s a wealth of interesting new ideas to try’ Stitch ‘A useful resource if you are looking for ideas on using or incorporating non-fabric elements in your work … an absorbing and inspiring read’ The Quilter ‘Practical yet stimulating… Embroiderers will find much to inspire them’ The Journal for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers ‘Goddard’s approach is fresh and the book challenges the maker to the open to new ideas and inventio in their textile art’ Embroidery Cas HolmesTable of Contents Introduction Exploring themes Conducting research Experimenting with materials Conveying meaning Preparing the elements Constructing a three-dimensional form Conclusion

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Book SynopsisTerracotta Warriors provides an intriguing, original and up-to-date account of one of the wonders of the ancient world. Illustrated with a wealth of original photographs, this is the first book available for the general reader. In one of the most astounding archaeological discoveries of all time, the Terracotta Warriors were discovered by chance by farmers in 1974. We now understand that the excavated pits containing nearly eight thousand warriors and hundreds of horses are only part of a much grander mausoleum complex. There is a great deal still to be discovered and understood about the entire area whichis now thought to cover around 100 square kilometres. And there is the tantalising possibility of the opening of the imperial tomb.Trade ReviewTell[s] us a great deal that is fascinating about the figures and the Emperor who ordered them to be built -- Nick Rennison * Daily Mail *Edward Burman examines the most up-to-date theories about these extraordinary artefacts -- Arminta Wallace * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisFrances Morris is a curator, writer, broadcaster, and currently Director Emerita at Tate Modern. Fiona Bradley has been the Director of the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, since 2003. Before then, Bradley was a curator at Tate Liverpool and the Hayward Gallery.

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