Phaidon 2009

448 pages Colour reproductions. ISBN 9780714846316

25 x 29 cm English text. Hardcover

Not only is this book an overview of contemporary painting, it is also an enquiry into how we experience its images, what they mean and why the practice remains vital. The venerable art of painting still thrives as a leading force in the art market. Painting Today explores the development of the medium, especially through the last forty years, and the diversity of paintings now being made internationally.

Critics have suggested that painting lost its way in the second half of the twentieth century. Indeed, the innovations of photography, film, video, installation art and other developments certainly threatened painting's pre-eminence. Yet paintings still command huge prices on the market and artists are using the medium in flourishing numbers. In Painting Today we see how these other art forms have inspired the development of painting techniques and styles, and include hundreds of important works by well-known painters, paintings by artists better known in other media, and very new works by painters just establishing their careers.

The lively yet authoritive writing of Tony Godfrey presents the work of all significant painters working today organized by themes that have long been central in the genre – ranging from still life and landscape to abstraction and installation. Many quotations from artists – from interviews and their own writings – elucidate painters' views on painting and their work in the art form.

RRP £45.00

10% online price saving


Price:  £40.50

Phaidon 2009

352 pages Colour reproductions. ISBN 9780714849331

25 x 29 cm English text. Hardcover

In recent years, abstract painting has developed a rich complexity that, more than ever, rewards intensive viewing. Bob Nickas introduces the reader to the key issues in contemporary abstraction while profiling eighty artists who, in the last five years, have made it one of the most exciting areas in contemporary art. Each artist's paintings are illustrated in lavish full-colour images and accompanied by a text that leads the reader through the work in language both accessible and illuminating. The product of extensive new research and several dozen studio visits with artists around the world, Nickas's text brings out the key details and distinctions in their work, creating a vivid picture of a field awash in creative innovation. Painting Abstraction is an essential reference tool for curators, critics, artists and collectors, and a major statement on the future of painting from one of contemporary art's most respected voices.

Featuring Tomma Abts, Richard Aldrich, John Armleder, Monika Baer, Kristin Baker, Francis Baudevin, Lisa Beck, Alex Brown, Agnieszka Brzezanska, Varda Caivano, Mike Cloud, Karin Davie, Jules de Balincourt, Philippe Decrauzat, Tomory Dodge, Jacob Feige, Chris Finley, Kim Fisher, Bernard Frize, Wayne Gonzalez, Joanne Greenbaum, Katharina Grosse, Mark Grotjahn, Wade Guyton, Alex Hay, Mary Heilmann, Daniel Hesidence, Mamie Holst, Jacqueline Humphries, Nathan Hylden, Xylor Jane, Chris Johanson, Tony Just, Jutta Koether, Bill Komoski, Michael Krebber, Alex Kwartler, David Malek, Marta Marce, Chris Martin, Julie Mehretu, Alison Miller, Katy Moran, Olivier Mosset, Carrie Moyer, Elizabeth Neel, Odili Donald Odita, Steven Parrino, Peter Peri, Ann Pibal, Monique Prieto, R.H. Quaytman, David Ratcliff, Anselm Reyle, Bernd Ribbeck, Ruth Root, Alex Ross, Sterling Ruby, Wilhelm Sasnal, Thomas Scheibitz, Anja Schwoerer, James Siena, Amy Sillman, Josh Smith, Rudolf Stingel, Esther Stocker, Philip Taaffe, John Tremblay, Alan Uglow, Daan Van Golden, Chris Vassell, Charline von Heyl, Kelley Walker, Dan Walsh, Chuck Webster, Stanley Whitney, Jens Wolf, Clare Woods, Christopher Wool and Heimo Zobernig.

RRP £45.00

10% online price saving


Price:  £40.50