ART
New in paperback
A unique anthology that presents poignant reimaginings of the still life by over 180 international contemporary artists. Michael Petry is an artist, curator and Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), London. He is the author of Installation Art, Installation in the New Millennium and The Art of Not Making, all published by Thames & Hudson.
391 illustrations 27.5 x 23.0 cm 288pp paperback ISBN 978 0 500 292235 July £24.95
Nature Morte Contemporary Artists Reinvigorate the Still-Life Tradition Michael Petry 16
This important, timely book reveals in nearly 400 illustrations how leading artists of the 21st century have reinvigorated a genre previously synonymous with 16th- and 17th-century Old Masters. Whether in painting, photography, sculpture or video, they have drawn on a tradition ripe with metaphorical and moral significance to create works of conceptual vitality and striking beauty. Michael Petry’s careful curation of this exciting revival celebrates works by emerging and established artists alike, from all over the globe, including John Currin, Elmgreen & Dragset, Renata Hegyi, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Beatriz Milhazes, Gabriel Orozco, Elizabeth Peyton, Marc Quinn, Sam TaylorJohnson and Ai Weiwei. Petry has structured his book according to the classic categories of the still-life tradition – Flora, Food, House & Home, Fauna and Death. Each chapter explores how the timeless symbol of the memento mori – a reminder of death, change and the passing of time – has been rediscovered for a new millennium. These audacious new still lifes redefine what it means to be a work of nature morte, or ‘dead nature’.
‘Lively … a cabinet of curiosities, both beautiful and weird’ Peter Conrad, Observer ‘Scratch the surface of any major art show and the still life remains the ultimate way of looking at the world through modern eyes’ Wallpaper*