Elizabeth Peyton

More about the book

This beautiful volume highlights a five-year period in Elizabeth Peyton's evolving career, serving as a visual chronicle of an age and an individual's life. Since the early 1990s, Peyton has gained acclaim for her intimate portraits of artists, musicians, historical figures, and friends. This new work, created in collaboration with designer Brendan Dugan, offers a focused view of a period marked by two exhibitions in Brussels, one in 2009 and another in 2014. During this time, Peyton experienced introspection and developed a more personal painterly language, embracing a new realism that reflects her interests and passions within her artistic practice. Her range expanded to include lush still lifes of books, flowers, and interiors; expressive scenes inspired by Richard Wagner's operas; and striking portraits of peers and mentors, both historical and contemporary. Subjects include David Bowie, tenor Jonas Kaufmann, Delacroix, Giorgione, and fellow artists like Matthew Barney and Klara Liden, as well as actor Taylor Kitsch and tattoo artist Scott Campbell. Through numerous self-portraits, her work seeks to bridge the gap between self and object of fascination, capturing the essence of humanity and the feelings of her time.