Hirmer

Courageous, free, humorous, touching and disturbing: these works by fifty international artists show how eccentric means more than neurotic or decadent. Eccentricity resists all kinds of ideology, and indeed it can be an engine of social freedom and tolerance. Through approximately one hundred pieces - including painting, sculpture, installation art, video and design - diversity is celebrated in ways that defy rigid norms and clichés. Inspiring, thoughtful and quick-witted, the short texts in this book introduce us to some of the most brilliant eccentrics of the art world. The overall impression is just as dazzling as it is multifaceted and shows the full scope of work that is "eccentric" (from ex centro, outside the middle) through experiments with materials or free-spirited approaches to themes such as identity, body, environment and humanity. Richly illustrated and beautifully designed, this magazine-like catalogue is a feast for the eyes and will awaken curiosity about the eccentric in all of us.

The female protagonists of the Portuguese-British artist Paula Rego either come from real life or derive from the world’s great legends, fairy tales, and myths. As complicated heroines of our time they have endured illegal abortions or fight against the limitations of traditional gender roles instead of dragons. “My favorite themes are power games and hierarchies”. Rego’s oeuvre is a tour de force of creativity. Endlessly versatile and inexhaustible, it is deeply rooted in pictorial worlds and stories from both past and present. This volume approaches the remarkable wealth of Rego’s multi-faceted universe through a range of different perspectives and tells of the power of history and emotions, women’s rights and invisible structures of domination.

Surrealism revolutionised art with fantastic, radically subjective motifs. As a political and international movement, the artists wanted to change society. The topicality of their ideas enables a fascinating comparison between important pioneers of Surrealism and the following generations of artists. In a world that is increasingly dominated by technology, the examination of one’s own consciousness that was characteristic of Surrealism is moving into focus once more. What effects are technologies having on our society? What is it that makes us human? Topics like the search for identity, irrationality and the game of perception can be found in the works of René Magritte and Claude Cahun as well as David Lynch and Cindy Sherman. Some 120 top-class paintings, photographs, film sequences, collages and sculptures provide an exciting tour through 100 years of surreal worlds. Artists include Hans Bellmer, Luis Bunuel, Marco Brambilla, Claude Cahun, George Condo, Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Alfred Hitchcock, Sarah Lucas, David Lynch, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Meret Oppenheim, Tony Oursler, Man Ray, Cindy Sherman, Penny Slinger, Dorothea Tanning, Erwin Wurm.

In a time like our own, where a young generation feels a great need to change our way of living, thinking and organizing ourselves, the publication on the artist group Brücke feels particularly relevant. These young artists also wanted to renew art and life in the German Imperial Empire and have ever since inspired younger generations of artists. In bright paintings with simplified forms and large fields of color they expressed rather their feelings than an external reality. They were interested in topics like man and nature, the naked body, portraits, self-portraits, the merging of life and art and life in the vibrant metropolis of Berlin. The catalogue discusses among others how we today perceive and can take on challenging themes like inspiration from African and Oceanian colonial cultural objects and of very young female models. Artists include Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Pechstein, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff.

Ylla (1911-55) devoted herself exclusively to animal portraiture at a time when no one had thought of only photographing animals. Driven by her symbiotic relationship with animals, she created a new genre in animal photography: the expression and personality in animals. Ylla: The Birth of Modern Animal Photography recounts the eventful odyssey of a "New Woman" par excellence, fearless and knowing no limits. She was part of artists' circles in Belgrade and Paris, however during WWII she fled to New York via Marseille where she started her career again from square one. Originally taking beguiling photos in her studio and zoos, Ylla finally traveled to Africa and India where she died in a tragic accident during a water buffalo race. Her Animals in Africa and Animals in India are some of the first books on the subject. Ylla also introduced photography to children's literature. Her books The Sleepy Little Lion and Two Little Bears are juvenile classics. This book details her remarkable life and work.

Are we designers or artists? Maybe it’s possible to be both For more than three decades, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have been exploring with breathtaking virtuosity the boundaries between the worlds of haute couture and art. The book reflects the duo’s passions, obsessions and singular vision of their unconventional approach to design. Viktor&Rolf’s creations have been embraced by artists such as Madonna, Tilda Swinton, Lady Gaga, Doja Cat and Cardi B as well as many dancers and opera singers. Along with introductory essays and an interview with Viktor&Rolf, 100 of their most daring couture pieces, their dolls dressed in the designers’ iconic creations as well as works by renowned visual artists like Ellen von Unwerth, Andreas Gursky, Inez&Vinoodh and Cindy Sherman provide an in-depth look at Viktor&Rolf's unique concept of wearable art.

New insight into German Expressionism through its permanent collection at the Saint Louis Art Museum. The Saint Louis Art Museum is home to one of North America’s largest and most comprehensive collections of German Expressionist paintings. Rediscover a defining movement of modern art through this original study of works by twenty-five artists who span its famously wide arc. German Expressionism: Paintings at the Saint Louis Art Museum is the first publication on the Saint Louis Art Museum’s internationally renowned collection of German Expressionist art, which includes major works by the movement’s leading artists and lesser-known figures rarely seen outside of Germany. Engaging entries delve into the paintings’ histories, from their production to their arrival in St. Louis. An introduction traces the collection’s origins to the flood of Expressionist art that entered the United States during World War II. What emerges is a new account of a pivotal era in modern art, exploring the stories behind exceptional German Expressionist paintings.

What the venerated artist’s letters reveal about his life and art. Wassily Kandinsky was not only the inventor of abstract painting but its gifted advocate. His letters reveal an artist who thought, communicated, and organized incessantly. He was also straightforward and warm-hearted, so it is especially surprising that a significant portion of his correspondence has remained unpublished until now. Through astute—and at times witty and polemical—letters that Kandinsky wrote to his colleagues and friends, readers gain an insight into the artist’s way of thinking and his everyday life. His correspondence also reflects the dramatic times in which he worked; Kandinsky lived through two revolutions, two world wars, the Nazi regime, four emigrations, and transformative events within the art world. Wassily Kandinsky: A Life in Letters provides rich context into the corpus, circumstances, and personality of a monumental artist.

The artistic gaze into the mirror – Egon Schiele personally and in close-up. Many artists share the desire for involvement with the self and their own appearance. In the oeuvre of Egon Schiele, self-portraits occupy a central role. Over a period of many years Schiele recorded himself in various poses and styles. This publication focuses in detail on this crucial and yet often only marginally mentioned aspect of his art. Egon Schiele’s contorted and eccentric figures are among the world’s iconic images. For many of these works he and his own body served as model. His interest often lay not in his own self, but more generally in the position of the individual in the changing modern world. As in experimental arrangements, Schiele poses in a variety of roles. In doing so he “uses” his face and wears it like a mask. The publication offers a comprehensive representation of this life theme of the artist genius.

Munch’s pictorial worlds – the initial impetus for modernism Edvard Munch’s radical modernity in painting was a challenge for his contemporaries. This applied in particular to the art scene in Berlin around 1900 which the Norwegian Symbolist artist influenced profoundly. In return, he received support there and was able to continue to develop his work. The publication is lavishly illustrated and describes knowledgeably the story of Munch and Berlin. In 1892 the Association of Berlin Artists invited the still-unknown Edvard Munch (1863–1944) to an exhibition. The public was shocked by the colourful, sketch-like pictures. The artist enjoyed the furore and moved to the city on the Spree, where he repeatedly sojourned until 1908. Here he learned the techniques for printed graphics and presented for the first time paintings in several continuous series which would become central to his oeuvre. In Berlin, before long, the concept of the “Magic of the North” (Stefan Zweig) was no longer associated with romantic or naturalistic fjord landscapes, but with Munch’s psychologically concentrated pictorial worlds.

The first book to connect the history of Funk Art to contemporary ceramic practice. Funk You Too! arrives at a moment when clay has unprecedented currency in the art world as a sculptural medium. It is the first book to connect the history of Funk Art to contemporary ceramic practice through an exploration of the enduring role of humor in clay image-making. The founding generation of Funk artists used forms of subversion to deflate the power of the aesthetic hierarchy that dismissed ceramics as hobby art. Today, in the hands of a younger, more diverse cohort, the irreverent approach is a powerful tool of critique and personal expression and the “spoonful of sugar” to help discuss sociopolitical concerns of our time. Showcasing over fifty works from a 2023 exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, this catalog addresses the historical context for the emergence of ceramic sculpture in 1960s Funk Art and applies a critical lens to work by its contemporary successors. The exhibition’s curator, Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, conceptually frames the exhibition’s emphasis on humor as a tool for tackling personal and political themes. Garth Johnson contributes an essay on the impulse for humor in American ceramics that lead to Funk ceramics. The catalog also features biographies of the artists, color images, and a select bibliography.

The monograph on Egon Schiele edited by Rudolf Leopold in 1972 forms the basis for Egon Schiele's world fame. This important document of art-historical literature has long been out of print, but it is now available once more in a revised edition with an updated catalogue raisonné. At the same time this magnificent volume provides an insight into the artist's life through letters, sketches and documents. Rudolf Leopold recognised back in the 1950s Schiele's outstanding significance for art. He was largely responsible for ensuring that the artist received the place he deserved in art history and public awareness. The monograph presented Schiele's paintings, watercolours and drawings chronologically in large-format colour plates. It is complemented by a profound examination of his motifs, studies, sketches and documents and provides a comprehensive overview. The current edition pays tribute to Leopold's achievement.

It is a widely held view that Picasso's creative work received a fresh impetus with each new muse in his life. This volume does not discuss his biography or his stylistic phases, however, but pays tribute to the individual fates of the women who left their mark on the artist's life. Personalities like Françoise Gilot and Dora Maar are among those whose entire life and creative work are acknowledged, not just the years they spent at Picasso's side. The book sketches the life of ten women in the life of the Spanish artist. Picasso was close to his mother throughout her life and chose her maiden name as his artist's name. When he wanted to marry the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova, she warned him that he would remain married to painting throughout his life. They separated in 1935; the reason was his young muse Marie-Thér?se Walter, who was also soon deposed by Dora Maar. Following various separations, women like the young artist Françoise Gilot also disappeared from Picasso's canvases, but did not vanish entirely. This book pays tribute to them all. Presented women: Doňa Maria Picasso y Lopez (Picasso's mother), Maria Dolores Ruiz Picasso (Picasso's sister), Gertrude Stein, Fernande Olivier, Eva Gouel (Marcelle Humbert), Olga Khokhlova, Marie-Thérese Walter , Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot, Jaqueline Roque

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) is renowned for his two-dimensional, ornamental works, which made him famous worldwide as the most important representative of Viennese Art Nouveau. This volume provides insight into the artistic influences of the great artists of Modernism who helped to firm his remarkable oeuvre. Vienna in 1900 - the Vienna Secession, galleries, private art collectors and art magazines - introduced the art of the European avant-garde into Gustav Klimt's surroundings. The Viennese artist was open to the pictorial language of his contemporaries including Alma-Tadema, Minne, Rodin, Toorop, Hodler, Van Gogh, Monet, Khnopff, Toulouse-Lautrec, Whistler, Matisse and many others, and adapted elements from a variety of styles. The publication presents in large-format illustrations the works of Klimt and artists who were close to him, revealing significant and often surprising parallels.

Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946-1962 delves into the various circles of artists who lived in France following World War II. Featuring new scholarship and illuminating essays, this groundbreaking volume illustrates many of the paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photos, and films produced during these fertile years. Americans in Paris introduces the story of the American creative community that inhabited the City of Light following World War II. Proposing Paris as decisive for the development of postwar American art, this volume investigates the academies where many of these artists studied, the spaces where their work was exhibited, the aesthetic discourses that animated their conversations, their interactions with European artists, and the overarching issue of what it meant to be an American abroad.

Flowers have been a popular motif in art for centuries. As the epitome of natural beauty and earthly mortality since the Baroque era, flowers have lost none of their fascination for artists in the 20th and 21st centuries. Why does modern and contemporary art turn so frequently to this multi-faceted subject?