Gavin Delahunty – författare

How art has addressed and transmuted trauma over the past half-century, from Louise Bourgeois to Glenn LigonTrauma in all its forms—internal and external, individual and collective—has been an enduring theme in 20th- and 21st-century art. The proliferation of violent imagery, particularly since the expansion of mass media during and after World War II, has led to artworks that marshal consciousness of traumatic events and their cultural processing. These developments in art run parallel with the emergence of trauma studies, which confront the repercussions of traumatic events: the Holocaust, global conflict, sexual violence, systemic racism and gender discrimination. Psychic Wounds brings together artists from the mid-20th century to the present who have addressed trauma in their work. The book also contains an anthology of critical writings on trauma by curators, art historians and theorists, among them Robert Storr, Griselda Pollock, Huey Copeland and Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev.Artists include: Gerhard Richter, Kazuo Shiraga, Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith, Glenn Ligon, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Carrie Mae Weems, Cindy Sherman, Bruce Nauman and Anicka Yi.

The first comprehensive monograph on groundbreaking neo-conceptual artist Tavares Strachan, whose diverse practice speaks powerfully to today’s cultural climateTavares Strachan is arguably one of the most important artists working today. His open-ended practice offers distinctive points of view on a broad range of urgent social and political themes: archaeology, history, geography, music, science, and extreme climatology are only a few of the subjects he has explored to create allegorical exhibitions that tell of colonialism and cultural displacement, human aspiration, mortal limitation, and the space race.Strachan’s extensively researched projects are often monumental in scale and scope. Created in collaboration with thought leaders and organizations across a wide spectrum of fields, his projects are also expansive in reach – The First Supper, Strachan’s massive sculpture at London’s Royal Academy, was one of the most popular art pieces exhibited in 2024.In his birthplace Nassau, Strachan established the scientific research platform BASEC (Bahamas Aerospace and Sea Exploration Center). In 2018, in collaboration with LACMA, Strachan launched ENOCH, a 3-U satellite bringing to light the forgotten story of Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., the first Black astronaut to be selected for any national space program. ENOCH circled the earth for three years in a sun-synchronous orbit before re-entering on December 2021.This timely monograph, created in close collaboration with the artist, reveals the breadth and impact of Strachan’s work. Part of Phaidon’s acclaimed Contemporary Artists Series, the book includes a conversation with Strachan; text contributions from writers and experts including Emma Dabiri, Gavin Delahunty, and Michele Robecchi; a studio visit with specially commissioned photography; and a comprehensive chronology of Strachan’s career.

Amor Mundi: The Collection of Marguerite Steed Hoffman delves deep into this remarkable singular collection. Over two volumes, Amor Mundi presents an edited selection of over 400 works of modern and contemporary art from the Collection of Marguerite Steed Hoffman, from the pieces brought together by Marguerite Steed and her late husband Robert Hoffman (1947–2006) to more recent outstanding acquisitions. Over 30 authors – artists and art historians – explore this fascinating collection, addressing specific artworks as well as the motivations behind the collection’s creation and ongoing evolution. Created over the course of a two-year period, great care has been taken to reflect the collection's key artists, canonical works, and the issues and debates that have helped shape its direction for more than a quarter of a century. By highlighting the art and artists as well as the ideological principles underlying the collection, it is hoped that Amor Mundi will shed some light on how to interpret this extraordinary collection of modern and contemporary art as well as communicating something about the personality of the woman who assembled it.Texts by Martin Jay, Renée Green, Susan L. Aberth, Sarah Celeste Bancroft, Renate Bertlmann, Anna Katherine Brodbeck, Susan Davidson, Gavin Delahunty, TR Ericsson, Tamar Garb, Robert Gober, Rachel Haidu, Merlin James, Wyatt Kahn, Ragnar Kjartansson, Anna Lovatt, Leora Maltz-Leca, Nic Nicosia, Charles Ray, Mark Rosenthal, Dana Schutz, Barry Schwabsky, Richard Shiff, Raphaela Simon, Michelle Stuart, Kirsten Swenson, Mary Weatherford, Terry Winters. Interviews by Martin Jay and Marguerite Steed Hoffman, Gavin Delahunty and Isabelle Graw