Contemporary Art

A particular quality of Heinz Mack’s art is its relevance regarding questions of our time. By means of works from all creative periods the book examines Mack’s relationship to technology, science and nature and offers exciting approaches, for example with regard to the present-day challenges of the transformation of technology or the climate catastrophe.

Hans Haacke is a legend of political conceptual art – and at the same time, his work is highly topical and of great relevance today. As a founding figure of artistic institutional critique, Haacke redefined the relationship between art and society and influenced following generations of artists. This lavishly illustrated volume presents a comprehensive introduction to the German-American artist with works from 1959 to the present day.

Geometric abstraction as a worldview: artists like Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Sonia Delaunay played an essential part in the development of non- representational art. The volume presents an overview of the evolution of geometric abstract art and in addition to the applied arts takes into account the female perspective of the Global South with promising new discoveries.

Haplomatics is an animated techno-fantasy that combines original text and music by the American composer James Sellars with home-made prints by the British artist David Hockney. Their collaboration has not previously been detailed, and the unique combination of text-music-image that culminated in Haplomatics deserves closer attention. Their experimentations coalesced into a collaborative work of extraordinary proportions.  

Zigi Ben-Haim is a painter and sculptor who works with aluminium, wire mesh, burlap, newsprint and unconventional materials. His constant reinvention gives his work a dynamic and powerful vibration that sparks curiosity in its viewers and never fails to surprise.

The artist Anne Duk Hee Jordan (*1978) was born in Korea and grew up in Germany. She argues in a sensuous and humorous manner that we as humans should see ourselves as a part of the ecosystem. Jordan’s multimedia, immersive installations create a mysterious and at the same time whimsical world inspired by marine life, geology, sexuality, procreation and symbiosis.

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.  

Santiago Calatrava is primarily known for his spectacular architectural feats that span the globe. Yet he has never limited himself to architecture alone; rather, he sees himself as an artist. With his painting, sketching, drawing, sculpture, intervention on ceramic, installations and architecture, art represents for Calatrava the purest path for conveying emotion. This comprehensive publication is completely devoted to Calatrava’s art, revealing his unmistakable style and profound creativity. ...

Robert Longo’s work captures moments of tension in nature, politics and history at their emotional climax. Presented at a monumental scale, the size and virtuoso technique of his photorealistic charcoal drawings enhance his powerful imagery.

Energy, optimism, the joy of life: Dietmar Brixy creates works that burst out into the world with luminous colour and dynamism. Paintings with titles such as Happy or Journey invite us to join Brixy on a visual adventure of glorious colour and spirited composition, which he sets off against dark and muted shades. Every picture offers an emotional and exciting discovery, each time in a new way.