Mercedes Matter.
New York, NY: MB Art Publishing Co., (2011). First English language Edition. Hardcover. Large Oblong Quarto. (11 x 16 inches). 276pp. Original publisher's photographic boards. Generously illustrated with color and b&w illustrations. Prefatory essays by Julià Guillamon and Maya Picasso, Map, text (xvii Chapters), appendix, catalog of works and bibliography.
The product of six years of research, this book takes a close look at the life and impact of the New York Abstract Expressionist painter Mercedes Matter (1913–2001). Matter was a part of the social axis around Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Hans Hofmann, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, and occupied roles as painter, muse, model, critic and educator (she was the founder of the New York Studio School, and was responsible for its hiring Guston, Alex Katz and Morton Feldman among others). Matter's painting might more usefully be called Abstract Impressionism, since her particular skill was for a form of abstraction drawn from still life, but only just recognizable as such, and often not at all, as her figurations frequently tipped over into a joyously dispersed mark-making. This volume, the first thorough survey of its subject, includes reproductions of Matter's paintings, previously unpublished correspondence from her circle (including letters from Hofmann, Krasner and Pollock), vintage portraits of Matter by her husband, the Swiss photographer and graphic designer Herbert Matter, and essays exploring her numerous activities and impact."
A massive, well-produced and generously illustrated, scholarly volume, published to coincide with a retrospective exhibition of Matter's work held at various venues between 2009 & 2011. Appears unread. Just a touch of shelf-wear. Thus a bright, clean, near-Fine copy (issued without dust jacket). A very heavy, oversized, volume which will require extra shipping to that automatically quoted, the exact amount dependent upon the destination. Item #74490
ISBN: 9780615309903
Price: $300.00