Berlinde De Bruyckere - Böcker

This book highlights a rich blend of acclaimed Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere's (1960, Gent, Belgium) earlier and newer works, interwoven with artistic dialogues featuring figures like Lucas Cranach, Peter Buggenhout, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Patti Smith.

Discover how Belgian contemporary artist Berlinde De Bruyckere creates her captivating artworks in this indispensable guide to her practice. In the Studio: Berlinde De Bruyckere is an essential companion to the work of the celebrated contemporary artist. Simultaneously deeply personal and powerfully universal, De Bruyckere’s hybrid forms explore the vulnerability of man, the suffering body, and the overwhelming power of nature. This generously illustrated and accessible guide to her practice details the development of De Bruyckere’s work across sculpture, drawing, and installation. Drawing on a vast array of influences—from Christian iconography, the paintings of Lucas Cranach, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses to more contemporary references such as the cinema of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Nan Goldin’s photography—she transforms existing imagery into striking new compositions that bring established archetypes into the contemporary moment. With a wealth of illustrations capturing De Bruyckere’s almost alchemical metamorphosis of her materials into articulations of desire and fragility, sensuality and suffering, violence and care, In the Studio: Berlinde De Bruyckere is a comprehensive introduction to the artist’s work.

Produced in conjunction with the eponymous exhibition that inaugurated the Museu de Arte Contemporânea – MAC/CCB in Lisbon in October 2023, Crossing a Bridge on Fire is the editorial manifestation of Berlinde De Bruyckere’s vision for the museum space. Designed by Pedro Falcão and featuring photographic documentation by Mirjam Devriendt and António Jorge Silva, the two editions of this book (in Portuguese and English) also include previously unpublished essays by Delfim Sardo and Joaquim Oliveira Caetano and a short story by Turkish curator Selen Ansen. Together, these thematic contributions reflect the broad discursive range of De Bruyckere’s work, weaving in anthological overviews, pairings with her historical influences (such as Lucas Cranach), and poetic explorations of themes adjacent to sexuality.