A comprehensive overview of renowned Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere's work since 2014, inspired by the figure of the angel Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere has long been a leading light in the international contemporary art world whose sculptures, installations and drawings endeavor to find the meaning of humanity, physicality, suffering and vitality. Conceived in the loneliness and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, this book explores De Bruyckere's recent, never-before-seen work inspired by the figure of the angel as portrayed in myths, stories, literature and art history. According to De Bruyckere, an angel-with its warm, dark wings-provides protection, a refuge from fear. The angel guards against a lonely existence and, even more importantly, against a lonely death. It symbolizes the fragile line De Bruyckere treads between artistic poeticism and engagement with current affairs. This volume will serve as an essential resource on an artist whose works constitute a provocative and influential addition to the contemporary art canon. Distributed for Mercatorfonds Exhibition Schedule: Bonnefantenmuseum Maastrich, The Netherlands (March 29-September 26, 2021)

This outstanding new translation brings a uniformity of voice to Zbigniew Herbert's entire poetic output, from his first book of poems, "String of Light," in 1956, to his final volume, previously unpublished in English, "Epilogue Of the Storm." "Collected Poems: 1956-1998," as Joseph Brodsky said of Herbert's "SSelected Poems," is "bound for a much longer haul than any of us can anticipate." He continues, "For Zbigniew Herbert's poetry adds to the biography of civilization the sensibility of a man not defeated by the century that has been most thorough, most effective in dehumanization of the species. Herbert's irony, his austere reserve and his compassion, the lucidity of his lyricism, the intensity of his sentiment toward classical antiquity, are not just trappings of a modern poet, but the necessary armor--in his case well-tempered and shining indeed--for man not to be crushed by the onslaught of reality. By offering to his readers neither aesthetic nor ethical discount, this poet, in fact, saves them frorn that poverty which every form of human evil finds so congenial. As long as the species exists, this book will be timely."

In "Still Life with a Bridle," poet and essayist Zbigniew Herbert takes an intriguing look at the cultural, artisitic, and aesthetic legacy of 17th-century Holland. These sixteen essays reveal Hervert's discriminating artistic eye and poetic sensibility, one that revels in irony, humor, and a satirist's appreciation of the absurd. An inveterate museum-goer, he focuses on the art of the Dutch masters, using it as a stepping-off point for a thoroughly individual and entertaining examination of the foibles, genius, and character of the Dutch people as a whole. The result is an unorthodox and revealing glimpse into the past that gives us a keener understanding not only of a distant people, but of ourselves as well.