Mark Bradford (b. 1961) constructs impressive, large-scale abstractions that merge the subject and substance of urban life, low and high culture, order and chaos. Constructed from the thickly layered street posters that cover the walls, windows, and lampposts of his native South Central Los Angeles, the large-scale abstractions explore the idea of the ruin and the processes of urban decay while recording the community's informal economic patterns. Carol E. Foster delves into Bradford's creative process and innovative use of found materials and reveals the influence of earlier artists, such as Piranesi and Leonardo, on his newest body of work. Focusing on Bradford's method of establishing a metaphoric relationship between the materials he employs and the images he creates, this book offers a perspective on a rising star of contemporary art.

Neither New nor Correct: New Work by Mark Bradford

Arts & Photography

Foster, Carter E.

Individual Artists

The Whitney Museum of American Art

Working in the tradition of trompe l'oeil, Steve Wolfe (b. 1955) creates careful replicas of classic books, worn album covers, and vinyl records, crafted from modeling paste, screenprints, drawings, and many other media. Wolfe’s reproductions embrace the tattered jackets, aged paper, and worn corners that come with the consumption of the culture within. These marks become records of time and memory representing the intersection of abstract thought and physical substance. With painstakingly composed illusion, these objects fall within the tradition of trompe l'oeil and blur the line between everyday object and art.
This book focuses on Wolfe’s works on paper, including drawings and pieces that combine drawing with painting, collage, and printmaking. Although his work is included in numerous museum collections and has appeared in several group shows, this is the first major publication on this important emerging artist.

Steve Wolfe on Paper

Sirmans, Franklin

History & Criticism

Whitney Museum of American Art

Established in 2000 by the Martin Bucksbaum Family Foundation and the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Bucksbaum Award is presented biennially to an artist living and working in the U.S. “whose work demonstrates a singular combination of talent and imagination.” A Decade in Conversation introduces each of the recipients—video artist Paul Pfeiffer, who often works with found footage; Irit Batsry, an artist specializing in video and installation pieces; Raymond Pettibon, whose acerbic and darkly satirical drawings critique contemporary culture; Mark Bradford, who specializes in abstract collage work and painting; and Omer Fast, known for exploring the possibilities of cinema. Featuring interviews with the artists and compelling illustrations and installation views, this book presents fascinating details about the ways the Bucksbaum award winners are shaping contemporary art today.

A Decade in Conversation: A Ten-Year Celebration of The Bucksbaum Award, 2000-2010: With Interviews with Paul Pfeiffer, Irit Batsry, Raymond Pettibon, Mark Bradford, and Omer Fast

Paul, Christiane

Iles, Chrissie

Kukielski, Tina

Edward Hopper (18821967) is recognized as one of the most well-known American artists of the 20th century. His distinctive style, combining subtle observations of the world with his imagination, has not only influenced other artists but also photographers, filmmakers, and popular culture. Although Hopper is primarily known for his oil paintings, including such iconic works as Nighthawks (1942) and Early Sunday Morning (1930), this important publication is the first comprehensive exploration of his drawings and working methods. In 1967, Hopper’s widow, Josephine Nivison Hopper, bequeathed her husband’s artistic estate to the Whitney Museum of American Art, including a fascinating collection of more than 2,500 drawings spanning his entire career. This group of works has never been the subject of in-depth study and many have never been reproduced before. Hopper kept these drawings for personal reference as he revisited various themes throughout his career. Carter E. Foster examines how Hopper used his drawings to develop his paintings, arguing that the artist’s work can only be fully understood after careful study of these preparatory sketches. Foster also argues that Hopper was, in many ways, a traditional draftsman who methodically developed schematic ideas into detailed studies to refine content. However, the steps toward this refinement are unique to Hopper and reveal how he turned the mundane into poetic images with universal appeal.

Hopper Drawing

One of the finest private collections of master drawings of French artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, more than 450 in all. This beautiful volume publishes the 59 most important drawings, each reproduced in rich duotone with a comprehensive essay.

French Master Drawings: From the Collection of Muriel Butkin

Hudson Hills

Drawing Modern illustrates major pieces by some of the twentieth century’s most important artists, including Louise Bourgeois, Arshile Gorky, Eva Hesse, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Paul Klee, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Bruce Nauman, and Cy Twombly. Works by a younger generation of artists are also included, among them William Kentridge, Gabriel Orozco, and Rosemary Trockel. Drawn from the extensive private collection of Agnes Gund, president of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the works on paper collected here represent a panoramic view of the major developments in American art from Abstract Expressionism onward. 
This remarkable group of drawings evinces an inclusive and pluralistic vision, comprising an unusual variety of media and styles, even as they are clearly grounded in a high-modernist aesthetic, and invested in the notion of the art object as an autonomous, organic whole. The abstraction characteristic of this work enables a complex personal, and even emotional, engagement. As Ms. Gund herself puts it, in her Foreword to the volume, "An especially well-rendered work makes my heart sing and my stomach get the squishy feeling of falling in love."

Drawing Modern: Works from the Agnes Gund Collection

Grove, Jeffrey D.

Chaffee, Cathleen

Cable, Patrick Shaw

Graphic Design

Cleveland Museum of Art

Renowned for his remarkable use of colour and technical mastery, this beautifully illustrated volume explores Bukovnik's work in vivid detail. A full chronology, bibliography, and listing of exhibitions and collections complete this stunning examination of the art and career of an important American watercolourist.

Gary Bukovnik: Watercolors

Henry, Clare

Zona, Louis A.

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Books by Foster, Carter E.