Tony Smith Sculpture - by James Voorhies & Sarah Auld (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The first catalogue raisonnâe on influential artist Tony Smith, to be released with a companion book of critical commentary: Against Reason, a new model expanding the conventional catalogue raisonnâe"--

Book Synopsis

Documenting the extraordinary breadth of sculptural production by American artist Tony Smith (1912-1980), this comprehensive book reveals the depth and complexity of Smith's oeuvre as well as the vast range of his intellectual pursuits.

Tony Smith Catalogue Raisonné Sculpture, with more than 500 full-color illustrations, is the first in a multi-publication project to reveal the depth and complexity of Smith's oeuvre while positioning its transdisciplinary nature in dialogue with contemporary voices. Often made of steel and painted black, Smith's large-scale sculptures demonstrate a committed experimentation in how geometric shapes can be modeled into holistic sculptural compositions. The ever-shifting qualities of his imposing works engage spectators in phenomenological experiences that continually change in relation to motion, position, sightline, and perspective, amid a panoply of shapes that generate and regenerate anew with each incremental shift in viewpoint.

Born in South Orange, New Jersey, Tony Smith (1912-1980) occupies an important place in the history of twentieth-century art and design. His intellectual and creative pursuits, encompassing sculpture, architecture, drawing, painting, and writing, were informed by his close study of biology, mathematics, philosophy, and literature, blending the improvisational with the analytical. His artistic process was both intellectual and instinctual relying upon rational structures inherent in polygonal forms, complemented by creative intuition, to shape his visions into what may be considered irrational objects--sculptures.

This volume serves as a comprehensive record of Smith's sculpture, providing an archival foundation for future study, interpretation, and analysis. A companion book, Against Reason: Tony Smith, Sculpture, and Other Modernisms, is published alongside to explore the ongoing vitality of Tony Smith, with newly commissioned essays and artist projects by practitioners working in a range of visual arts. These books will, for the first time, capture the depth, influence, and diversity of Smith's understudied oeuvre, establishing new ground for future interpretations and readings of his monumental work.

About the Author

James Voorhies is an American curator and historian of modern and contemporary art. He has authored several books including Postsensual Aesthetics: On the Logic of the Curatorial (MIT Press, 2023) and Beyond Objecthood: The Exhibition as a Critical Form since 1968 (MIT Press, 2017); he is coeditor of a two-volume catalogue raisonné of the work of American artist Tony Smith, and editor of two companion volumes of essays and projects related to Smith (all MIT Press, 2024-2025).Voorhies is based New York, has taught at Bennington College and Harvard University, and holds a PhD in modern and contemporary art history from the Ohio State University, USA.