Arturo Galansino – författare

A Jeff Koons overview thematizing “shine” as aesthetic substance and motif across his five-decade careerThis volume is published for Jeff Koons’ (born 1955) largest ever exhibition in Italy, developed in close dialogue with the artist, and presenting some of the most celebrated works of this master who, from the mid-1970s until the present day, has forged a reputation as one of the most important figures of the global contemporary art scene.Responsible for countless works that have entered the collective imagination, Koons regards "shine" as a key feature of his artwork—from the postmodern reinvention of the readymade to works in perfectly polished metal that resemble inflatable toys. Indeed, "shine" is far more than an ornament: it is the very substance of these works, as this reflective property brings together appearance and essence.Shine gathers paintings and sculptures on loan from international collections and museums in order to explore the concept of "shine,” calling into question our relationship with daily reality and with the very concept of a work of art.

Major works from the Walker Art Center’s collection, seen in the context of two watershed moments in American historyThis diverse survey of American art from the collection of the Walker Art Center uses two of the nation’s most significant events as its chronological boundaries: the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961 that escalated the Vietnam War and the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC. Within the timeframe of these two landmark calamities, the United States saw the emergence of some of its most noteworthy artists.The publication examines the many themes and techniques developed during those 40 years within the greater context of American history and culture, from modernist abstraction to mass production. These generations of artists probed the very notion of what art is and what it can do using paint, performance, installation, video and photography. This paperback volume features work by artists such as Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Barbara Kruger, Robert Mapplethorpe, Bruce Nauman, Cindy Sherman, Robert Rauschenberg, Kara Walker and Andy Warhol from the Walker Art Center’s acclaimed collection.

French “photograffeur” JR’s tribute to cultural institutions during COVID-19Throughout the pandemic, cultural institutions have been forced to shut their doors to the public. Palazzo Strozzi in Florence has commissioned street artist JR (born 1983) to address this unfortunate reality. He has done so by transforming the facade of the Palazzo into a towering photographic collage installation that functions like an anamorphosis: when viewed from a particular vantage point, the distorted image reveals a courtyard, exhibition hall and library.In this volume, JR offers the public a look inside that which, for now, is inaccessible. The Wound (La Ferita) is a poignant reflection on the wound endured by cultural institutions during the pandemic. The book includes a conversation between the artist and curator Arturo Galansino, in which they delve into the genesis and realization of this singular piece.

A career survey of acclaimed installations from the master orchestrator of sensory experienceIcelandic Danish artist Olafur Eliasson (born 1967) is guided by a keen interest in perception, movement and lived experience, as well as those of the communities in which he works. Best known for his large-scale installation, Weather Project, which occupied the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2003, Eliasson often makes use of elementary materials such as light, water and temperature-controlled mist to create an immersive or spiritual experience for his viewers. His practice is not limited to the confines of the museums and galleries where he shows, but also involves local communities through architectural projects, interventions in public spaces and artistic, social and environmental education programs. This volume presents an overview of Eliasson’s 30-year career, including a selection of site-specific works, and features a collection of texts chosen by the artist that have inspired his practice.

Highlights from an important and wide-ranging contemporary art collectionThis survey chronicles over 80 works from the contemporary art collection of Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. Spanning painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video and performance, the collection includes examples from Maurizio Cattelan, Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst, Cindy Sherman, William Kentridge and many more.

This volume is published for the largest exhibition to date on Chinese painter Yan Pei-Ming (born 1960), who is known for his history paintings and monumental gestural portraits of intimate subjects as well as public figures such as Mao, Putin and the Pope.

Representative sculptural works that probe the limits and potential of our relationship with the worldThis monograph features 30 fundamental works by acclaimed Indian artist Anish Kapoor (born 1954) from the 1980s to the present day, spanning practically the entirety of his long and distinguished career.One of the most notable features of Kapoor’s works is the way they transcend their materiality. Pigment, stone, steel, wax and silicone are manipulated—carved, polished, saturated and molded—to the point of a dissolution of boundaries between the plastic and the immaterial. Color in Kapoor’s hands becomes an immersive phenomenon, containing its own spatial and illusive volume. Kapoor seeks estrangement, the erasure of ordinary references, in order to undermine the way that we are accustomed to see things and set them in a completely different perspective, creating works that act as catalysts of energy. This volume reveals the genesis of his artistic practice and investigates its language, providing new keys to its interpretation.