In his new book Why Paintings Work writer and curator Jurriaan Benschop takes us on a fascinating and mind-expanding journey through the diverse landscape of contemporary painting. He introduces the work of dozens of painters and asks and attempts to answer a very simple question: Why do these paintings work?
Benschop considers both the visible aspects of painting, such as the depicted motif and the application of paint and the concepts, beliefs and motivations that underlie the canvas. Why Paintings Work is not just about how we look at paintings, but also about finding a language that suits the art and viewing experience of today.
Artists featured in this book include Nikos Aslanidis, David Benforado, Louise Bonnet, Glenn Brown, Maria Capelo, Peter Doig, Béatrice Dreux, Helmut Federle, Beverly Fishman, Elisabeth Frieberg, Victoria Gitman, Veronika Hilger, Martha Jungwirth, Andreas Ragnar Kassapis, Kristi Kongi, Mark Lammert, Rezi van Lankveld, Michael Markwick, Kerry James Marshall, Lara de Moor, Matthew Metzger, Marc Mulders, Kaido Ole, Jorge Queiroz, Fiona Rae, Daniel Richter, Jessica Stockholder, Marc Trujillo, Anna Tuori, Matthias Weischer, Paula Zarina-Zemane and Gerlind Zeilner.
Garret Publications, 284pp, 14cm x 20cm, paperback, 2023