This catalogue documents the first exhibition in the Middle East by KAWS (Brian Donnelly, born 1974, USA). The solo show explores his career and vast oeuvre and features paintings and sculptures made over the past 20 years. KAWS' imagery has long possessed a sophisticated, dark humour, revealing the interplay between art and consumerism, referencing both art history and pop culture. Donnelly began his career in street art in the 1990s, becoming synonymous with the name KAWS, a tag that became a staple in his 'sub-vertisments' (modifications of commercial works). In addition to more than 40 major pieces exhibited in the Garage Gallery, examples of commercial collaborations designed by KAWS, among them sneakers, skateboards, and toys are on view in a separate archive above Cafe 999. A massive 5-meter-tall sculpture, COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH) (2013), in the Fire Station courtyard and an inflatable 40-metre public artwork at the Dhow Harbour, HOLIDAY (2019), also serve to highlight the exhibition.

The contributors to Nervous Systems reassess contemporary artists' and critics' engagement with social, political, biological, and other systems as a set of complex and relational parts: an approach commonly known as systems thinking. Demonstrating the continuing relevance of systems aesthetics within contemporary art, the contributors highlight the ways that artists adopt systems thinking to address political, social, and ecological anxieties. They cover a wide range of artists and topics, from the performances of the Argentinian collective the Rosario Group and the grid drawings of Charles Gaines to the video art of Singaporean artist Charles Lim and the mapping of global logistics infrastructures by contemporary artists like Hito Steyerl and Christoph Buchel. Together, the essays offer an expanded understanding of systems aesthetics in ways that affirm its importance beyond technological applications detached from cultural contexts. Contributors. Cristina Albu, Amanda Boetzkes, Brianne Cohen, Kris Cohen, Jaimey Hamilton Faris, Christine Filippone, Johanna Gosse, Francis Halsall, Judith Rodenbeck, Dawna Schuld, Luke Skrebowski, Timothy Stott, John Tyson

In this in-depth analysis, Peter Muir argues that Gordon Matta-Clark's Conical Intersect (1975) is emblematic of Henri Lefebvre's understanding of art's function in relation to urban space. By engaging with Lefebvre's theory in conjunction with the perspectives of other writers, such as Michel de Certeau, Jacques Derrida, and George Bataille, the book elicits a story that presents the artwork's significance, origins and legacies. Conical Intersect is a multi-media artwork, which involves the intersections of architecture, sculpture, film, and photography, as well as being a three-dimensional model that reflects aspects of urban, art, and architectural theory, along with a number of cultural and historiographic discourses which are still present and active. This book navigates these many complex narratives by using the central 'hole' of Conical Intersect as its focal point: this apparently vacuous circle around which the events, documents, and other historical or theoretical references surrounding Matta-Clark's project, are perpetually in circulation. Thus, Conical Intersect is imagined as an insatiable absence around which discourses continually form, dissipate and resolve. Muir argues that Conical Intersect is much more than an 'artistic hole.' Due to its location at Plateau Beaubourg in Paris, it is simultaneously an object of art and an instrument of social critique.

This one-of-a-kind compendium features a selection of women artists and architects who have made groundbreaking contributions to contemporary art. Profiling an international cross section of artists, 50 Contemporary Women Artists presents fresh perspectives on feminism and notions of cultural power. Using a variety of mediums, the artists in this book address themes of social, cultural, political, environmental, and psychological issues. Included are works by five MacArthur Foundation Fellows that activate an ongoing dialogue about contemporary practices. Readers receive a unique glimpse of seminal works such as Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party, as well as brand-new pieces inspired by the Women's March on Washington in 2017. Complete with a foreword by Elizabeth Sackler, PhD, this compilation is ideal for educators, students, curators, collectors, and all those who support the arts.

Illustrator Djamila Knopf leads us through her world, where anime-influenced characters, exquisite settings, and the process of creating fantasies enchant her fans worldwide. Having settled on her own authentic, creative style, featuring line art and a palette of delicate, yet impactful, colors, Djamila has decided to write a book that charts her journey. Japanese art was a key influence from an early age, and the book illustrates how Djamila has fused her favorite aspects of anime with her own, the result being a unique style that has captured the attention of both art fans and the industry. Her approach to storytelling and ideation are covered in depth; although artists have different approaches, Djamila shares her own experiences and insights to help readers fine-tune their own early stages of creation. As a fantasy artist, symbolism and fantastical scenes have always been part of Djamila's world, and here she shares how she works with these, as well as finding very personal connections to even the most general of concepts. The final leg of the journey is visiting Djamila's own studio, where she discusses being an independent artist, her daily routine and workspace, and the practical aspect of time management and motivation.

"The written word is the most basic element of human culture. To touch the written word is to touch the essence of culture." - Xu Bing Book from the Sky certainly seemed to have fallen from the heavens: the text of this installation piece was written in a new language that resembled traditional Chinese. No matter who scours Xu Bing's book for 'meaning', they will only discover a semblance of it: mutated characters that resist interpretation. Carving out approximately four thousand wood blocks by hand, Xu Bing spent four years, from 1987 to 1991, making (in his own words) "something that said nothing". After creating a book no one could read, it only made sense for Xu Bing to develop his next project: a book that transcended barriers of language: Book from the Ground. Composed entirely of pictographs, Book from the Ground is a groundbreaking study into the concept of universal communication. Whether his goal is total comprehension or confusion, Xu Bing's masterful exploration of language challenges the way we think about the written word.

Popular culture in the 1990s often primarily reflected millennial catastrophic anxieties. The world was tightening, speeding up, and becoming more dangerous and dangerously connected. Surely it was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down. Pop Goes the Decade: The Nineties explains the American 1990s for all readers. The book strives to be widely representative of 1990s culture, including the more obvious nostalgic versions of the decade as well as focused discussions of representations of minority populations during the decade that are often overlooked. This book covers a wide variety of topics to show the decade in its richness: music, television, film, literature, sports, technology, and more. It includes an introductory timeline and background section, followed by a lengthy "Exploring Popular Culture" section, and concludes with a brief series of essays further contextualizing the controversial and influential aspects of the decade. This organization allows readers both a wide exposure to the variety of experiences from the decade as well as a more focused approach to aspects of the 1990s that are still resonant today.

Alfredo Boulton (1908–1995) is considered one of the most important champions of modern art in Venezuela and a key intellectual of twentieth-century modernism. He was a pioneer of modern photography, an art critic, a researcher and historian of Venezuelan art, a friend to many of the great artists and architects of the twentieth century, and an expert on the imagery of the heroes of his country’s independence. Yet, Boulton is shockingly underrecognized outside of his native land. The few exhibitions related to his work have been focused exclusively on his photographic production; never has there been a project that looks at the full range of Boulton’s efforts, foregrounding his influence on the shaping of Venezuelan art. This volume addresses these lacunae by analyzing Boulton’s groundbreaking photographic practice, his central role in the construction of a modern national artistic canon, and his influence in formalizing and developing art history and criticism in Venezuela. Based on the extensive materials held in Boulton’s archive at the Getty Research Institute, Alfredo Boulton brings together essays by leading scholars in the field to offer a commanding, original perspective on his contributions to the formation of a distinctive modernity at home and beyond.

Builders have never been so prolific as they are today. And never have there been so many technical and design-related options available to architects. Yet contemporary architecture often creates a sense of unease. In their book, Sergei Tchoban and Wladimir Sedow show how the balance between prominent buildings and the buildings around them in the background has been lost in the modern era. Every building strives to assert itself over others - to drown out its peers. At the same time, contemporary architects are capable of developing "a sense of harmony full of contrasts". They have a wealth of options at their disposal to this end. After prowling through 2,500 years of architectural history, the authors arrive at what makes modern buildings so particular. They show what contemporary architects must consider in order to create buildings with a satisfactory, harmonious appearance in a new way. "Sergei Tchoban and Wladimir Sedow do not write about beauty in this essay - certainly not in the sense of defining the term or putting forth a conceptual history. Rather, they write about the relationship between prominent buildings and the nameless buildings around them - the buildings in the background. Or to put it another way, they write about the relationship between architectural monuments and ordinary buildings." (from the preface by Bernhard Schulz)

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) was, with Calder, Noguchi and David Smith, one of the great American sculptors of the 20th century. She created extraordinary work, from room-size installations composed of boxes to gnarled and majestic steel structures. Her life story is no less interesting. She was born in czarist Russia, but her family emigrated to the States and she grew up in Maine. Nevelson endured a repressive marriage to a New York millionaire, whom she escaped to pursue the life of an artist. She gained recognition as an abstract sculptor at the age of 59, and spent the next 30 years taking the art world by storm, becoming a colourful New York personality and minor celebrity. Laurie Wilson, who knew Nevelson personally, draws extensively on her own research in this crisp new biography. She conducted interviews not just with Nevelson but with her siblings, son, and gallery owner Arne Glimcher. Wilson has also had complete access to Glimcher's archives, Nevelson's personal assistant, Diana Mackown, and Lippincott studios, where much of Nevelson's work was cast, among others

"Stocked" documents the work of contemporary artists who take the grocery store and consumption of its products as their subjects. Much of their work candidly cites 1960s pop, but these artists also use strategies culled from minimalism, performance, documentary photography, and scientific taxonomy. Keen observers and clever humorists, they prompt us to pay attention to the items we purchase, the spaces in which we buy them, the people we encounter there, the cultural norms that inform our eating and shopping, and the often overlooked effects of our habits.

DANIEL JOHNSTON, raised on a farm in Randolph County, returned from Thailand with a new way to make monumental pots. Back home in North Carolina, he built a log shop and a whale of a kiln for wood-firing. Then he set out to create beautiful pots, grand in scale, graceful in form, and burned bright in a blend of ash and salt. With mastery achieved and apprentices to teach, Daniel Johnston turned his brain to massive installations. First, he made a hundred large jars and lined them along the rough road that runs past his shop and kiln. Next, he arranged curving clusters of big pots inside pine frames, slatted like corn cribs, to separate them from the slick interiors of four fine galleries in succession. Then, in concluding the second phase of his professional career, Daniel Johnston built an open-air installation on the grounds around the North Carolina Museum of Art, where 178 handmade, wood-fired columns march across a slope in a straight line, 350 feet in length, that dips and lifts with the heave while the tops of the pots maintain a level horizon. In 2000, when he was still Mark Hewitt's apprentice, Daniel Johnston met Henry Glassie, who has done fieldwork on ceramic traditions in the United States, Brazil, Italy, Turkey, Bangladesh, China, and Japan. Over the years, during a steady stream of intimate interviews, Glassie gathered the understanding that enabled him to compose this portrait of Daniel Johnston, a young artist who makes great pots in the eastern Piedmont of North Carolina.

Make your Mark is divided into three: 'Draw', 'Paint', 'Make'. It celebrates and discusses the work of forty-five urban artists, extraordinarily diverse but united by one basic principle: their work is completely fresh, original and the epitome of creativity - the perfect antidote to the jaded imagery that fills our streets and our media. The names - 44 Flavours from Germany, Bault from France, Morcky from Italy, Ricardo Cavolo from Spain, Zio Ziegler from the USA, Fuco Ueda from Japan, Raymond Lemstra from the Netherlands, Joao Ruas from Brazil and many others - will be unfamiliar to most; the talent they display, indisputable, courageous, always distinctive, is a joy.

My Generation is a striking and appealing new volume that presents 75 artworks by 27 young Chinese artists, all born after 1976 after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Covering all media and types of production, their work opens a window onto a new China, a society that has undergone rapid industrialisation and globalisation in the past two decades. Artists and collectives featured include Birdhead, Chi Peng, Chen Ke, Chen Wei, Cui Jie, Double Fly, Guo Hongwei, Hu Xiaoyun, Huang Ran, Irrelevant Commission, Jin Shan, Li Qing, Liang Yuanwei, Liang Yue, Liu Di, Lu Fang, Lu Yang, Ma Qiusha, Made In, Qiu Xiaofei, Song Kun, Shi Zhiying, Sun Xun, Wang Yuyang, Yan Xing, Zhang Ding, Zhou Yilun. Contents of the book: Foreward by Todd Smith, Director, Tampa Museum of Art, Florida; Curator's Preface & Acknowledgements by Barbara Pollack; Young, Gifted and Chinese by Barbara Pollack; Essay 2 by Li Zhenhua; Main Catalogue/Plates section: 75 artworks; Brief captions for comparative images 1-para; Artist biographies; Selected Exhibitions and Publications; Notes on curator; Index; Photo credits.

There is surprisingly little, and certainly nothing comprehensive, written about the contemporary Russian scene now. What appear in the West are mostly reports about so-called 'dissidents', not about what is happening in this vast culture, taken as a whole. Too often, these reports seem to be primarily inspired by a desire to demonstrate Western cultural and political superiority. The aim of Russian Art in the New Millennium is not to support any one cause, but to look at the situation as it now exists objectively and to give as wide and truthful a view as possible. Russian art during the period under review - the last two decades - has been evolving rapidly and in many directions. Hence there are sections on digital art, landscape paintings, graffiti, religious art and others. Furthermore, in addition to the continuing influence of the traditional centres for art - Moscow and St Petersburg - a number of provincial Russian cities have developed distinctive art worlds of their own. Russian Art in the New Millennium attempts to discover this terra incognita and to encompass this extremely various, but also intensely national art scene in Russia in one volume.

A timely reassessment of some of the most daring projects of abstraction from South America Emphasizing the open-ended and self-critical nature of the projects of abstraction in South America from the 1930s through the mid-1960s, this important new volume focuses on the artistic practices of Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Tomas Maldonado, Alejandro Otero, and Lygia Clark. Megan A. Sullivan positions the adoption of modernist abstraction by South American artists as part of a larger critique of the economic and social transformations caused by Latin America's state-led programs of rapid industrialization. Sullivan thoughtfully explores the diverse ways this skepticism of modernization and social and political change was expressed. Ultimately, the book makes it clear that abstraction in South America was understood not as an artistic style to be followed but as a means to imagine a universalist mode of art, a catalyst for individual and collective agency, and a way to express a vision of a better future for South American society.

Since the mid-1970s, American painter Stanley Whitney has been exploring the formal possibilities of colour within grids of multi-coloured blocks. Matthew Jeffrey Abrams's thoughtful book, the first full monograph on the artist, highlights Whitney's unique and sophisticated understanding of line and colour and his commitment to abstract painting over four decades of consistent practice. Abrams brings together Whitney's personal and professional narratives to weave a chronological analysis of the work and the artist's wider cultural contribution. Born in Philadelphia in 1946, Whitney moved to New York in 1968, and under the guidance of Philip Guston he began to experiment with abstraction, drawn to the basic formal qualities of Abstract Expressionism, the pure chroma of the Color Field movement, and the minimalist approach of such artists as Donald Judd. Steadfastly pursuing abstraction at a time when critical interest was focussed on figurative art and photography, Whitney has not received the critical recognition due to him until late in his career. This book affirms his outstanding achievement.

An extensive retrospective dedicated to Roger Raveel (1921-2013), one of the most important Belgian painters of the second half of the 20th century Commemorating the centenary of the artist's birth in 2021, the Centre for Fine Arts - BOZAR will present an extensive retrospective dedicated to Roger Raveel (1921-2013), considered one of the most important Belgian painters of the second half of the twentieth century. While belonging to the generation of artists that emerged following the Second World War, flanked by Magritte and Panamarenko, Raveel radically defended his own independence from the values commonly associated with this generation, notably the supposed superiority of internationality over all forms of local anchorage. In today's context of globalized art and its associated stereotypes, Raveel's choice to draw inspiration from his immediate, intimate surroundings-while always being very well informed about trends in the international art scene-now seems revolutionary, even prophetic. Showcasing some 120 artworks from public and private collections, this catalogue seeks to demonstrate the singularity of Raveel's pictorial language as it took form over time. Distributed for Mercatorfonds Exhibition Schedule: BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels (February 10-July 04, 2021)