Bice Curiger Books

Since 1979, Peter Fischli and David Weiss have been cheerfully celebrating the banality of everyday existence and, in the process, rising to the forefront of the contemporary international art world. Their work deliberately ignores the traditional distinction between high and low art, and employs a wide variety of media, including photography, film, video, artists books, installation, and sculpture. Featuring over 200 color illustrations arranged in spreads designed by the artists, "Flowers & Questions" is the most thorough survey to date of one of the most fascinating and varied careers in contemporary art. The book includes contributions from a wide range of writers, critics, artists, and filmmakers, including leading art critic Arthur C. Danto, cult filmmaker John Waters, curator and writer Hans Ulrich Obrist, and artist Tacita Dean.

Long recognised as a major figure in American art, Georgia O'Keefe has had a number of retrospective exhibitions at leading American museums, each one a major event. Yet no full colour collection of her work has been available until now. This comprehensive volume consists of 108 colour plates accompanied by text written by the artist.

To celebrate the fortieth issue of Parkett , the editors present a special thematic issue. When beauty reemerges from Postmodernism, what does it look like? And how, when contemporary life demands so many different things from contemporary art, do we strike a balance between history and presence, politics and humor? Taking the children's game of Snakes and Ladders as a guiding metaphor, this gala issue offers six Holland Cotter on Francesco Clemente; Boris Groys on Peter Fischli and David Weiss; David Rimanelli and Max Weechsler on Gunther Förg; Gordon Burn on Damien Hirst; Joan Simon on Jenny Holzer; and Gilbert Lascault on Rebecca Horn. Also in this Dave Hickey on magic, Vik Muniz on apparitions, Jeff Perrone on boards and borders, Roger Denson on nomadic critical theory, and much more.

Nicole Eisenman, born 1965 in France, lives in New York, her work is captivating because of its fascination with the human condition, questions about interpersonal interaction and the precise observation of processes of alienation in civilisation. In her drawings, paintings and sculptures, the artist combines elements from pop cultural contexts (political satire, comics) with traditional art historical references to form a new unity. "Köpfe, Küsse, Kämpfe" (Heads, Kisses, Struggles) brings together works from all of Eisenman's creative periods. Against the backdrop of her artistic practice, in which various stylistic and compositional elements of historical painting become visible alongside pop-cultural influences, the show and the book are combine this with works of classical modernism from the collections of the cooperating museums. Through these selectively introduced historical works, the exhibition and the book, together with Eisenman's oeuvre, opens up a resonance space spanning a century in which social upheavals are presented in their urgency, but also with hope and confidence.

Friedrich Kuhn (1926–1972) gilt als markantester Schweizer Vertreter jener Kunstszene, die sich in den 1960er Jahren als Gegenkraft zur damals dominanten abstrakten/konkreten Kunst formierte. Kuhn schuf eine feinnervige und anarchische Malerei zwischen Figuration und Abstraktion, die auch persönlich besetzte Zitate an die moderne Massenkultur und an Pop enthält. Verehrt und legendenumflort, ist sein malerisches Werk bisher im Hinblick auf die literarische Überhöhung seiner Person dargestellt worden. Der neue Katalog legt nun die künstlerische Aktualität dieses eigenwilligen Malers offen. Das Buch erzählt von der nonkonformistischen Szene, in der Kuhn bewegte, schildert seine eigenwilligen Happenings und wilden Performances und entwirft so ein lebendiges Bild der 1960er Jahre. Neben 100 Werken sind auch zahlreiche unveröffentlichte Privatfotos und Plakate abgebildet. Kuhns Kunst, der im internationalen Umfeld eine Vorreiterrolle zukommt, weist in ihrem Reichtum und ihrem unakademischen Geist bereits jene Charakteristiken auf, welche die spätere Schweizer Kunst bis heute bestimmen.

Parkett 85 celebrates the revered nonagenarian Austrian painter Maria Lassnig with new writing by Manuela Ammer, Robert Storr and Ludmila Vachtova; the Brazilian painter of carnival-inspired tropical plants and patterns, Beatriz Milhazes, with texts by Tanya Barson, Arto Lindsay and Barry Schwabsky; the strangely compelling French photographer of birds and bird habitats, Jean-Luc Mylayne, with writing by Josef Helfenstein and Fionn Meade; and the rising New York painter, Josh Smith, with texts by Christophe Cherix, Anne Pontegnie and Ira Wool. Also in this Gabriel Kuri and Damian Ortega in conversation; Mark Godfrey on Sharon Lockhart; texts by Mark Von Schlegell, Andrew Weiner, Rainer Michael Mason and Rachel Price. Insert is by Matthias Uhr and spine is by Josh Smith.

Exploring the innovative work of multimedia artist Doug Aitken, this comprehensive book highlights his diverse use of mediums, including architecture, film, and installations. Aitken’s creations foster audience interaction and communal experiences while delving into themes of displacement and temporality. His films and installations evoke emotional responses through a unique blend of motion, sound, and color, creating dreamlike landscapes. The beautifully designed monograph features visual essays and is thematically organized around four key concepts, prompting readers to reflect on their own world connections.