Christopher Rothko – författare

A landmark monograph on an unprecedented scale that allows all aspects of Mark Rothko’s career to be heard in full voice, published in close collaboration with the artist’s family and featuring beloved works from major collections as well as never-before-seen canvases and paintings on paper.Deluxe and comprehensive, this revelatory volume examines the brilliance of Mark Rothko (1903–1970), a pioneer of the New York School and major figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement. Illustrated with more than 275 images that explore his paintings, prints, and works on paper, this book highlights the best-known and also lesser-known works by Rothko—from his early figurative and Surrealist works to his mesmerizing color-field paintings of immense scale to the more restricted palette of his luminous later works and his final series of black-and-gray paintings. Among Rothko’s artistic philosophies, he held that painting was a deeply psychological and spiritual experience through which basic human emotions could be communicated. This is the first book to include foldouts that highlight works from the Rothko Chapel in Houston and the Rothko Room at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko draw on intimate knowledge of the artworks and the artist’s life to give a fuller picture of their father and place him within the context of art history; they endeavor to give an impartial portrait—the man and his work—while introducing personal details where they can enlighten. Alexander Nemerov and Hiroshi Sugimoto provide reflections about the artist’s work.

“The journey to understand the painting is also the journey to understand Rothko, because the work is so thoroughly suffused with the man.”—Christopher RothkoMark Rothko (1903–1970), world-renowned icon of Abstract Expressionism, is rediscovered in this wholly original examination of his art and life written by his son. Synthesizing rigorous critique with personal anecdotes, Christopher, the younger of the artist’s two children, offers a unique perspective on this modern master.  Christopher Rothko draws on an intimate knowledge of the artworks to present eighteen essays that look closely at the paintings and explore the ways in which they foster a profound connection between viewer and artist through form, color, and scale. The prominent commissions for the Rothko Chapel in Houston and the Seagram Building murals in New York receive extended treatment, as do many of the lesser-known and underappreciated aspects of Rothko’s oeuvre, including reassessments of his late dark canvases and his formidable body of works on paper. The author also discusses the artist’s writings of the 1930s and 1940s, the significance of music to the artist, and our enduring struggles with visual abstraction in the contemporary era. Finally, Christopher Rothko writes movingly about his role as the artist’s son, his commonalities with his father, and the terms of the relationship they forged during the writer’s childhood.  Mark Rothko: From the Inside Out is a thoughtful reexamination of the legendary artist, serving as a passionate introduction for readers new to his work and offering a fresh perspective to those who know it well.

Mark Rothko’s classic book on artistic practice, ideals, and philosophy, now with an expanded introduction and an afterword by Makoto Fujimura  Stored in a New York City warehouse for many years after the artist’s death, this extraordinary manuscript by Mark Rothko (1903–1970) was published to great acclaim in 2004. Probably written in 1940 or 1941, it contains Rothko’s ideas on the modern art world, art history, myth, beauty, the challenges of being an artist in society, the true nature of “American art,” and much more.  In his introduction, illustrated with examples of Rothko’s work and pages from the manuscript, the artist’s son, Christopher Rothko, describes the discovery of the manuscript and the fascinating process of its initial publication. This edition includes discussion of Rothko’s “Scribble Book” (1932), his notes on teaching art to children, which has received renewed scholarly attention in recent years and provides clues to the genesis of Rothko’s thinking on pedagogy.  In an afterword written for this edition, artist and author Makoto Fujimura reflects on how Rothko’s writings offer a “lifeboat” for “art world refugees” and a model for upholding artistic ideals. He considers the transcendent capacity of Rothko’s paintings to express pure ideas and the significance of the decade-long gap between The Artist’s Reality and Rothko’s mature paintings, during which the horrors of the Holocaust and the atomic bomb were unleashed upon the world.

"An expansive retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, in Paris, shows why the visionary artist continues to turn heads." —  W MagazineThis illustrated catalogue is published to accompany the retrospective exhibition devoted to American artist Mark Rothko, curated by Suzanne Pagé and the artist’s son, Christopher Rothko. The show will feature over one hundred works. Born Markus Rothkowitz in Latvia in the early 20th century, the man who would soon become known as Mark Rothko began painting in the 1930s. While his early works were influenced by mythology and Surrealism, his first abstract paintings emerged in the 1940s with the Multiform series, followed by his Classic Years and the Black and Gray paintings. A key figure on the New York art scene, Rothko was an uncategorisable artist who deployed an extensive palette of colour and light with a talent that consistently triggers emotion. His great sensitivity shaped a poetic, enigmatic universe that leaves no one untouched.Text in English and French.