Beautiful World, Where Are You?

Edited by Sinéad McCarthy

‘Such energy and dynamism … demands [to] be seen’ — Telegraph
‘Many highlights’ — Observer
‘Invigorating’ — Times

Published on the occasion of the tenth edition of Liverpool Biennial, this book reflects on the timely question Beautiful world, where are you? It is derived from a 1788 poem by the German poet Friedrich von Schiller, later set to music by Austrian composer Franz Schubert in 1819. The years between the composition of Schiller’s poem and Schubert’s song saw great upheaval and profound change in Europe, from the French Revolution to the fall of the Napoleonic empire. Today the poem continues to suggest a world gripped by deep uncertainty; a world of social, political and environmental turmoil. It can be seen as a lament, but also as an invitation to reconsider our past, advancing a new sense of beauty that might be shared in a more equitable way.

Featuring contributions from a range of disciplines and presenting a diversity of perspectives on the theme, the book includes contributions from the artists in the Biennial, as well as writers, ecologists, musicians, poets, scientists, journalists and political commentators from around the world. It considers the international nature of both Liverpool and the Biennial and presents images of historical artefacts from the city’s rich collections. Addressing urgent issues such as gender and racial inequality, conservation, extinction, education, resource extraction, indigeneity and post-colonialism, while articulating alternatives and new possibilities, this book captures a moment in time and an expression of hope for the future.

Sinéad McCarthy is Curator at Liverpool Biennial

The Christian Year in Painting

John S. Dixon

‘A gorgeous repository of … images’ — Spectator
‘[Dixon’s] depth of knowledge of the Christian liturgy, his enthusiastic educator’s way of presenting, and his smart succinct writing style make this book fascinating … a rich, deeply satisfying read’ — New York Journal of Books

The stories of Christianity and painting have been intertwined since at least the Middle Ages. The painters of the early, high, and late Renaissance in Italy, Spain, and northern Europe learned their art and craft while working in the service of both the Church and devout patrons, producing depictions of scenes from the Bible and the lives of the saints for the benefit and instruction of clergy and worshippers alike. This book follows a course through the Christian year – from Advent and the Christmas season, through Holy Week and Easter, to All Saints’ Day – to present numerous works celebrating the key events and festivals of the liturgical calendar by some of the best-known names from art history.

Velázquez, Piero della Francesca, Rembrandt, Raphael, Giotto, Titian, Rubens, and Caravaggio are just some of the many artists included in the book with their celebrated depictions of feasts such as the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity, the Annunciation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday.

John S. Dixon guides the reader by offering detailed analysis of the formal qualities and symbolism of each painting, while outlining the biblical stories that inspired their creation and explaining their religious and art-historical significance. Full illustrations and close-up details of the featured works are accompanied by comparative illustrations of paintings and sculptures of the subjects by other masters. This beautiful book will enable all lovers of painting, both Christian and non-Christian, to expand their appreciation of these magnificent works of art.

John S. Dixon is the former Deputy Principal of Trinity and All Saints College in Leeds (now Leeds Trinity University) and a former tutor in art history at the Open University. He has also been for many years the arts correspondent for the weekly newspaper the Catholic Times.

Fourth Plinth

How London Created the Smallest Sculpture Park in the World

Foreword by Grayson Perry
Texts by Isabel de Vasconcellos

‘Since 1999, the plinth has acted as the smallest but most prominent sculpture park in the world.… It’s a strange and lovely thing.’ — Sunday Times

A marble statue of a heavily pregnant disabled woman, a model of Nelson’s HMS Victory inside a huge bottle, a giant blue cockerel, and a great big bronze thumbs up. These are just some of the eye-catching art works that have adorned the empty stone pedestal in London’s Trafalgar Square known as the Fourth Plinth. Since 1999, many leading international artists such as Antony Gormley, Hans Haacke, Rachel Whiteread, Mark Wallinger, Yinka Shonibare, Elmgreen and Dragset have been invited to propose works for the space. The results have divided opinion across the capital and beyond, prompting debate not only about the merits of each commission, but also about the value of art in the public realm.

This book tells the story of every commission that has stood upon the plinth, including the very latest, David Shrigley’s Really Good, unveiled in September 2016. Individual chapters present the background and genesis of each work, with behind-the-scenes views of the fabrication, contributions from those involved, and in situ shots of all the installed works. And just as each commission reflects aspects of London’s past and present, the book celebrates the impact of art on today’s creative and multicultured city.

Grayson Perry CBE RA is an internationally celebrated artist, writer and broadcaster. He was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003 and was elected a Royal Academician in 2012; the following year, he received a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, and in 2015 was appointed a Trustee of the British Museum and Chancellor of the University of the Arts London. Playing to the Gallery, the book of his 2013 Reith Lectures, is published by Penguin. He was a member of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group from 2009 to 2016.

Isabel de Vasconcellos is a writer, curator and arts advisor based in London.

Could Have, Would Have, Should Have

Inside the World of the Art Collector

Tiqui Atencio
with illustrations by Pablo Helguera

‘A fascinating insider’s guide to collecting art’ — Jeffrey Deitch, former director, MOCA LA, art dealer and advisor
‘The best book I know on this subject’— Benedikt Taschen, publisher
‘An inspiring summary for new collectors and old’ — Laurence Graff, jeweller and collector
‘A must-read for anyone starting an art collection’ — Evening Standard
‘Reads beautifully and extremely interesting’ — Bob Colacello, author and special correspondent, Vanity Fair
‘Thoroughly enjoyable’ — Financial Times
‘A fascinating read filled with reflections from some of the legendary names in collecting today’ — Sotheby’s Magazine
‘Tiqui Atencio has amassed a vivid and engrossing collection of collectors for this fun and informative book.’ — Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, collector
‘The list of featured collectors is staggering’ — fineartmultiple.com
‘Unputdownable’ — Lekha Poddar, co-founder, Devi Art Foundation, Delhi
‘Tiqui Atencio … is a sage observer of the art world, and as this book demonstrates, possesses both acute vision and admirable empathy.’ — Richard Armstrong, director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

What does it take to be a serious art collector? What drives someone to go after a particular work regardless of the cost? What form of addiction or compulsion causes an individual to devote vast amounts of time, money and emotional energy in pursuit of something that is unobtainable to most people? Tiqui Atencio has been collecting since she was eighteen years old. Decades later, she is one of the most prominent collectors of contemporary art, on the boards of international museums and art-world power lists. For Could Have, Would Have, Should Have, she has interviewed almost one hundred of the world’s most influential collectors – from financiers to artists – and asked them to tell their own story of how they started to collect and what continues to motivate them.

In chapters such as ‘Ways of collecting’, ‘Dealing with dealers’, ‘Living with art’, ‘But it doesn’t fit!’ and ‘What was I thinking?’, they reveal their highs and lows, the successes and regrets, the shared passions and intense rivalries, the works that got away … and the ones that perhaps should have done. Their anecdotes and recollections reveal the many practical and emotional aspects of collecting art, all the unexpected pleasures and challenges. What emerges is a frank and honest, surprising and eye-opening, and at times hilarious account of a lifelong dedication that is described by some as a heroic commitment and by others as a crazy sickness. Cartoons by celebrated artist and satirist Pablo Helguera complement the entertaining text and provide an alternative view onto the world of collectors and collecting.

Tiqui Atencio is a prominent collector of Latin American, pre-Columbian, and modern and contemporary art. She was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and studied in Italy, the United States and France. Between 1998 and 2004, she was on the advisory board of the Art Institutes International. Since 2005, she has been an ex-officio trustee of the Guggenheim Museum and is chair of the museum’s International Director’s Council. In 2003, she founded Tate’s Latin American Acquisition Committee and has been its chair since then. She is also a member of the museum’s International Executive Committee and an ex-officio trustee of Tate America’s Foundation. She is on the board of advisors of Art at Auction magazine and performed the same role for the UBS Art Collection. She is a member of the Société des Amis du Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and of the Monaco Projects for the Arts.

Pablo Helguera is a visual and performance artist living in New York. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Artoons, Education for Socially Engaged Art and The Parable Conference.

Interviewees: Basma Al Sulaiman; Ann and Steven Ames; Prince Pierre d’Arenberg; Richard Armstrong; Ara Arslanian; Monique Barbier-Mueller; Bill Bell Jr; Poonam Bhagat; Ivor Braka; Irma and Norman Braman; Peter Brant; Eli Broad; Estrellita Brodsky; Clarissa Bronfman; Trudy and Paul Cejas; Adrian Cheng; Michael Chow; Bob Colacello; Halit Cıngıllıoglu; Kemal Cıngıllıoglu; George Condo; Dimitris Daskalopoulos; Hélène David-Weill; Jeffrey Deitch; Ago Demirdjian; Beth Rudin DeWoody; Negar and Kamran Diba; Ulla Dreyfus-Best; Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson; Sevda Elgiz; Kim Esteve; Wendy Fisher; Lady Elena Foster; Glenn Fuhrman; Laurence Graff; Agnes Gund; Terry de Gunzburg; James Hedges IV; J. Tomilson Hill; Damien Hirst; Maja Hoffmann; Jane Holzer; Dakis Joannou; Pearl Lam; Rachel Lehmann; Dominique and Sylvain Levy; Karen Levy; Adam Lindemann; Fatima and Eskandar Maleki; Jean-Claude and Nicole Marian; Nada and Taha Mikati; Lady Alison Myners; David Nahmad; Helly Nahmad; Gwen and Peter Norton; Anthony d’Offay; Paulina Palacios Leroy; Sagrario Pérez Soto de Atencio; Catherine Petitgas; Patricia Phelps de Cisneros; Jean Pigozzi; Lekha Poddar; Eugenio Re Rebaudengo; Almine Rech; Ursula von Rydingsvard; Rolf Sachs; Muriel and Freddy Salem; Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo; Denise Saul; Kenny Schachter; Uli Sigg; Jennifer Blei Stockman; Norah and Norman Stone; Mercedes Stoutzker; Benedikt Taschen; David Teiger; Samir Traboulsi; Igor Tsukanov; Axel Vervoordt; Paulo Vieira; Angela Westwater and David Meitus; Andrea Wild Botero; Juan Yarur; Neda Young; Anita Zabludowicz; and other collectors who chose to remain anonymous.

Public Art (Now)

Out of Time, Out of Place

Edited by Claire Doherty
Texts by Claire Doherty, Per Gunnar Eeg-Tverbakk, Chris Fite-Wassilak, Matteo Lucchetti, Magdalena Malm and Alexis Zimberg
Designed by Why Not Associates

SHORTLISTED Art Book Prize 2016

‘An invaluable resource for anybody interested in contemporary art that engages with the public realm’ — Burlington Magazine

Public Art (Now): Out of Time, Out of Place is the first survey of progressive public art from around the world. It presents some of the most significant artworks in the public realm from the last decade, challenging preconceptions about where, when and how public art takes place.

The face of public art is changing. For decades, art in the public realm has been characterized by the landmark sculpture or spectacular outdoor event that helps to define or brand a place. But in recent years, a new wave of international artists and producers has rejected the monumental scale and mass appeal of such artworks. Instead, these individuals and groups favour unconventional forms that unsettle rather than authenticate a place’s identity; disrupt rather than embellish a particular location; and contest rather than validate the design and function of public space. Performed interactions, collaborative social movements and small-scale subversive acts are just some of the unorthodox approaches taken by these artists. Their works challenge preconceived ideas about the role of art in place-making as they seek to remake places through radical forms and practices.

Public Art (Now): Out of Time, Out of Place presents the artists who have been redefining the practice of public art over the past decade. They directly address the most pressing issues of our time, including the encroachment of corporate concerns on public space, the implications of global migration and the isolation of the individual, and the potential of collective action to share the future of our towns and cities. Some forty key works from around the world are organized into five sections – ‘Displacement’, ‘Intervention’, ‘Disorientation’, ‘Occupation’ and ‘Perpetuation’ – with detailed descriptions and dozens of installation and process shots. Interviews and quotes from practitioners, commissioners and commentators reveal the impetus and context for the projects, while the editor’s introduction sets out the conceptual, practical and ethical issues raised by the works.

Bringing together the most significant artworks in the public realm of the last ten years – from ephemeral interventions to long-term ongoing projects – this dynamic survey is an essential reference for anyone interested in the ideas, issues and impulses behind progressive public art, and an accessible introduction to one of the most vibrant areas of contemporary art.

Published in association with Situations, Public Art Agency Sweden, and the European Network of Public Art Producers

Claire Doherty is an award-winning curator and writer, and the founder director of Situations, an internationally renowned commissioner and producer of public art. She was editor of Contemporary Art: From Studio to Situation (2004) and Documents of Contemporary Art: Situation (2009), and co-editor of One Day Sculpture (2009), Locating the Producers: Durational Approaches to Public Art (2011), and Heather and Ivan Morison: Falling into Place (2009). In 2009, she was awarded a prestigious Paul Hamlyn Breakthrough Award as an outstanding cultural entrepreneur.