Chaim Soutine: Genius, Obsession and a Dramatic Life in Art, Celeste Marcus, PublicAffairs, 304pp, $34 (hb)
This biography of the expressionist painter born in Belarus in 1893 charts his life and legacy, from his life in Paris alongside other artists such as Chagall and Modigliani, to his death in France in 1943, aged 50. The author, Celeste Marcus, tells The Art Newspaper that “the book is overwhelmingly making the argument that the way Soutine is often discussed, as an Expressionist in the grips of a psychological pain expressed in his work, is not borne out by his life story, the way he felt about his work, or the paintings themselves.” The later paintings such as Windy Day, Auxerre (around 1939), which are often overlooked, are as essential to understanding his practice as his early works, she adds.
Lee Miller, Hilary Floe (editor), Tate Publishing, 252pp, £32 (hb)
A key figure in the Surrealist movement, Lee Miller’s work slipped between art, fashion and reportage. She was the original model-turned-photographer, working for the publisher Condé Nast on both sides of the lens, posing regularly for Edward Steichen and George Hoyningen-Huen. Drawing on new archival research, the catalogue for the Tate Britain exhibition features essays exploring aspects of Miller’s career, from her early years in Paris, New York and Cairo to her wartime journalism and late portraits. The UK novelist Deborah Levy writes: “A surrealist and a realist, Miller focused her lens on her own century, the 20th century, at its most euphorically creative and brutally destructive.”
Palestine is Everywhere, Skye Arundhati Thomas and Edwin Nasr (editors), TBA21, Silver Press and the87Press, 192pp, £13.99 (pb)
This anthology features texts and contributions from more than 20 artists and writers who “map the global resonance and amplify the actuality of the Palestinian struggle for liberation”, says a publisher’s statement. Black-and-white photographs by the Palestinian artist Ahmad Zaghmouri—whose work often explores themes of memory and displacement—focus on Palestine’s agricultural terraces. “The strongest networks of writers, artists, journalists, and photographers have been those mobilised by Gazans. They operate despite blockades, blackouts, and relentless threats to life,” say the editors in the introduction. Other artists featured include Amal Al Nakhala and Avian D’Souza.
Life in Progress: Hans Ulrich Obrist, Allen Lane, 154pp, £20 (hb)
The art world fixture Hans Ulrich Obrist, the artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London, looks back over the events that shaped his life and vision in this “coming-of-age memoir”, which was originally written in French. It begins with Obrist’s account of an “accident that undoubtedly triggered many things” in him—a car knocked him down in the street in Weinfelden, Switzerland, aged six—progressing to other key happenings such as his first exhibition held in the kitchen of his St Gallen apartment aged 23. Obrist’s musings on artists such as Etel Adnan and Louise Bourgeois underpin the narrative. The final chapter looks to the future, discussing how artists such as Ian Cheng and Refik Anadol harness artificial intelligence in their work.
Nordic Noir: Works on Paper from Edvard Munch to Mamma Andersson, Jennifer Ramkalawon, British Museum Press, 256pp, £35 (hb)
This British Museum exhibition and accompanying catalogue trace how the graphic arts have continued to flourish and evolve across the Scandinavian region since Edvard Munch’s death in 1944, writes the museum director, Nicholas Cullinan, in the foreword. The narrative is chronological, covering Munch and post-war art in the Nordic region and contemporary Nordic drawing and printmaking. “The bold expressiveness in form and meaning of Nordic graphic art, which can be traced back to Munch’s openness in exploring mental anguish and sexual desire, is still very evident in prints and drawings made from the 1970s to the present day,” adds Cullinan.
