From Library Journal
Fischl is one of the most active and influential figurative painters working at the end of the 20th century. His figures, most often nude and caught in compromising or alienating positions, are blunt portrayals of the human body. In this work, essays by noted art critic Danto and Border Crossings editor Robert Enright provide context for the artist's work; Enright also arranged "Fischl on Fischl," a chapter culled from interviews with the artist. Comedian, writer, and well-known contemporary art collector Steve Martin discusses "Barbeque," a Fischl piece from his own collection. The essays, and 233 works selected here, present the full range of Fischl's work from 1970 to the present. His more recent work, portraits of the famous, is compelling in a genre that is often superseded by photography. An extensive bibliography is included. Recommended for larger collections of contemporary art. Martin R. Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Eric Fischl emerged in the 1980s as one of America’s most important figurative painters. His paintings compel the viewer to participate in a world of middle-class suburban ambiguity and drama. Engaging and distinctly American, Fischl’s canvases present a world in which narration, sexuality, and psychology are preeminent.
This volume is the most comprehensive and current examination of this important 20th century painter. More than 200 works – selected in conjunction with the artist – present the full scope of Fischl’s career and span three decades: the 1970s, with Fischl’s seminal formative works; the 1980s, and his burst onto the art world; and the 1990s, with the artist’s mature works, often of a personal and contemplative nature. In his most recent works, Fischl has turned to portraits of his most intimate circle of friends, including Steve Martin, Mike Nichols, and April Gornik, the painter’s wife; these engrossing images have been accomplished with a mastery that has been compared to that of Caravaggio.
The introduction, by philosopher and critic Arthur Danto, places Fischl in the context of his contemporaries. Commentary drawn from interviews with Fischl – conducted by noted writer Robert Enright – accompany the paintings. Finally, a witty and personal afterword by Steve Martin – best known as a gifted comic and autor, but also as an astute collector of modern art – discusses Barbecue, a famed Fischl painting from his private collection.
About the author
Arthur Danto is a professor emeritus of philosophy at Columbia University and art critic for The Nation. He is the author of more than 15 books, including Narration and Knowledge, The Transfiguration of the Commonplace, The Philosophical Disenfranchisement of Art, and The State of Art.
Robert English is the editor at large of Border Crossings. He has published a collection of interviews in Peregrinations: Conversations with Contemporary Artists.
Steve Martin is the famed American actor and writer.
