San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Book order (chronological)

Eva Hesse was a crucial figure in postwar international art, known for her beautiful and playful paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. Despite extensive coverage of her dramatic life—including her escape from Nazi Germany, struggles as a female artist, battle with cancer, and untimely death at 34—her art has not received adequate critical attention. This richly illustrated catalogue addresses this gap by focusing on Hesse's innovative methods and material choices, as well as the broader aesthetic and philosophical questions her work raises. It documents over two hundred pieces across various media, with particular emphasis on the degradation and aging of her sculptures over the past thirty years. Essays by notable writers explore themes of mutability and decay in her art, her lesser-known early career in New York and Germany, her innovative use of translucent materials, and the significance of drawing and collage in her creative process. This catalogue accompanies an exhibition that will be displayed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from February to May 2002, Museum Wiesbaden, Germany, from July to September 2002, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, from September to December 2002.

This catalog features good quality full-page color reproductions of the works of the more well-known artists in the museum. An introduction by Madeleine Grynsztejn, a curator, gives the history of the museum, the collection, and its major donors. The works span modern through contemporary styles; a few have full-page essays, the rest are accompanied with a descriptive label. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)