Dana Schutz - (Phaidon Contemporary Artists) by Hamza Walker & Dan Nadel & Lynne Tillman (Paperback)

About the Book

"Dana Schutz emerged in the early 2000s at a time when painting was slowly beginning to reclaim its central role in contemporary practice, following a decade defined by conceptual and visual experimentation. As if to reflect that moment in history, Schutz's early canvasses deployed a cinematic narrative strategy to focus on a fictional character created by the artist, Frank - one of the last two survivors in a dystopian world - combined with the interaction of the painter, who documents his existence. This proposition, coupled with the artist's use of a varied visual language situated between abstraction and figuration, acts as an introduction to Schutz's universe - a place where allegorical and enigmatic scenarios, complex visual narratives and subjective experiences co-exist. Characterized by extraordinary composition and a bold and innovative use of color, Schutz's paintings tell us of emotions and psychological states of mind that, at closer examination, speak of the complexities, tensions and ambiguities of contemporary life."--book jacket.

Book Synopsis

The first comprehensive monograph on one of today's most innovative and successful painters - made in close collaboration with the artist

Defined by bold brushstrokes, a dynamic use of color and imaginative compositions, the paintings of Dana Schutz are panoramic expanses that offer visions of humanity in all its complex facets.

Her deeply subjective approach, untethered from realism, translates into images that seem to exist in a place that transcends time while celebrating the intrinsic qualities of her medium of choice with freedom and intelligence. As the artist herself stated, 'I'm interested in painting as an affective place where the hierarchies of the world can be rearranged within the space of a painting.'

This first comprehensive monograph on her work was created in close collaboration with the artist and features a number of never-before-seen paintings and drawings.

About the Author

Hamza Walker is the Executive Director of LAXART in Los Angeles.

Dan Nadel is a writer and curator based in Brooklyn.

Lynne Tillman is a novelist, short story writer, and cultural critic based in New York.