NEW ART

Shows examples of recent paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs by artists from around the world

The more than 100 artists in this oversized survey of recent work are certainly worthy of serious study, but you won't find the effort made here. Each artist is represented by one or two bold reproductions of his or her work--and no text. Because so much of contemporary art relies upon an underlying concept to convey meaning, not to offer even a brief discussion of the artists' ideas severely limits the value of this book. There is a fair attempt to show a disparate group of styles and media, including work in video and installation modes, and the authors, who are editors at Abrams, have chosen artists from around the country to represent the art scene of the moment, but they rarely left New York to find them. Their selections essentially exhibit the art world as validated by the New York gallery system and focus for the most part on firmly established American artists, such as Peter Halley, Jeff Koons, Ross Bleckner and the Starn twins. This is the second New Art volume.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This effort to examine the trends and themes in the art of the past five years is an apparently random survey of artists who have "achieved some degree of prominence." They represent a diversity of styles, media, and imagery, from traditional landscape to geometric abstraction, from computer- and video-generated images to environmental installations. However, this is simply a book of illustrations with a brief introduction and minimal information (birth date and place) about the artists. It is more promotional than scholarly or even useful.
- Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum Lib., New York
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.