Synopses & Reviews
The first comprehensive study of the modern history of monochrome art,
Monochromes traces the development of single-color artworkand#151;painting, sculpture, photography, video, and installationsand#151;up to the present. With almost 160 full-color reproductions, this stunning book examines fundamental aesthetic issues raised by the monochrome in a historical context. The authors ask whether the monochrome is the last and most radical phase of abstract painting or instead a point of departure for installations and environments. Among the many artists featured in this book are Alexander Rodchenko, Georgia O'Keeffe, Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Ad Reinhardt, Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, Robert Irwin, and Isamu Noguchi. The book includes writings on the monochrome by twenty-six artists, from Kasimir Malevich to Warhol, and from Carl Andre, Reinhardt, and Donald Judd to Ben Nicholson, Robert Ryman, and Anish Kapoor. In an engaging essay, Barbara Rose deftly surveys the divergent complex issues raised by the monochrome.
Additional Essays by Gladys Fabre, Christopher K. Ho, and Vincenzo Trione. Edited by Valerie Varas and Paula Rispa
Synopsis
"Discussing more than a hundred years of art history, Monochromes: From Malevich to the Present is a lavish visual journey through some of the most iconic and visually stunning works of twentieth-century art. It offers very clear and understandable interpretations of an important and little understood artistic movement with international scope, and presents a cogent argument for the centrality of the monochrome to modern art. Historical survey, theoretical examination, illustrated chronicle, and aesthetic exploration-the four main texts-offer a thorough and fascinating account of this major artistic trend, tracing its evolution from its origins in revolutionary Russia to its numerous and diverse manifestations throughout the world."and#151;Terry Berne, cultural critic for Art in America
About the Author
Barbara Rose is the author of American Art since 1900, and Autocritique: Essays on Art and Anti-Art, as well as monographs on Ad Reinhardt, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Claes Oldenburg, and Lee Krasner among others. Gladys Fabre is an art historian and curator. Christopher K. Ho is a professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. Vincenzo Trione is Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Naples. Valerie Varas is a specialist in visual arts. Paula Rispa is an expert in contemporary arts and architecture.
Table of Contents
Editors' Note
Preface by Barbara Rose
Pre-Malevitch Monochromes and Chronology
Monochrome Artworks
The Meanings of Monochromeand#151;Barbara Rose
Monochromes of Light in Time and Space: Color as Becoming, from Suprematism to Polish Unism, from group Zero to Opalkaand#151;Gladys Fabre
Modernism, Minimalism and Monochrome: the Monochrome's Future and Pastand#151;Christopher K. Ho
Icons of Silenceand#151;Vincenzo Trione
Chroma: Passages through Color: Selected extracts from artists' written work
Introduction
Malevich
Rodchenko
Arp
Fontana
Manzoni
Klein
Burri
Tapies
O'Keeffe
Warhol
Arman
Andre
Reinhardt
Judd
Kelly
Venet
Scully
Nicholson
Ryman
Rueda
Bonalumi
West
Irwin
Bianchi
Kapoor
Abakanowicz
Notes on the Essays
Artists' Biographies: Key Dates
Bibliography
Indexes
Sources and Acknowledgments