Hiroshi Sugimoto

Alexander Nemerov

Christopher Rothko

Kate Rothko Prizel

A landmark monograph on an unprecedented scale that allows all aspects of Mark Rothko’s career to be heard in full voice, published in close collaboration with the artist’s family and featuring beloved works from major collections as well as never-before-seen canvases and paintings on paper. Deluxe and comprehensive, this revelatory volume examines the brilliance of Mark Rothko (1903–1970), a pioneer of the New York School and major figure in the Abstract Expressionist movement. Illustrated with more than 275 images that explore his paintings, prints, and works on paper, this book highlights the best-known and also lesser-known works by Rothko—from his early figurative and Surrealist works to his mesmerizing color-field paintings of immense scale to the more restricted palette of his luminous later works and his final series of black-and-gray paintings. Among Rothko’s artistic philosophies, he held that painting was a deeply psychological and spiritual experience through which basic human emotions could be communicated. This is the first book to include foldouts that highlight works from the Rothko Chapel in Houston and the Rothko Room at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko draw on intimate knowledge of the artworks and the artist’s life to give a fuller picture of their father and place him within the context of art history; they endeavor to give an impartial portrait—the man and his work—while introducing personal details where they can enlighten. Alexander Nemerov and Hiroshi Sugimoto provide reflections about the artist’s work.

Mark Rothko

'Hiroshi Sugimoto: Still Life' includes 'Polar Bear' (1976), his first photograph from the Diorama series, exhibited along with later works from the 1980s, 1990s, and, most recently 2012. Where many of the earlier silver gelatin prints present animals, a number of the 2012 photographs including Mixed Deciduous Forest and Olympic Rain Forest focus on natural landscapes. He has likened the record created by photography to a process of fossilization - the evidence of a moment suspended in time.

Dioramas

For more than 30 years, Hiroshi Sugimoto has traveled the world photographing its seas, producing an extended meditation on the passage of time and the natural history of the earth reduced to its most basic, primordial substances: water and air. Always capturing the sea at a moment of absolute tranquility, Sugimoto has composed all the photographs identically, with the horizon line precisely bifurcating each image. The repetition of this strict format reveals the uniqueness of each meeting of sea and sky, with the horizon never appearing exactly the same way twice. The photographs are romantic yet absolutely rigorous, apparently universal but exceedingly specific.

Seascapes

For more than 30 years, Hiroshi Sugimoto has traveled the world photographing its seas, producing an extended meditation on the passage of time and the natural history of the earth reduced to its most basic, primordial substances: water and air. Always capturing the sea at a moment of absolute tranquility, Sugimoto has composed all the photographs identically, with the horizon line precisely bifurcating each image. The repetition of this strict format reveals the uniqueness of each meeting of sea and sky, with the horizon never appearing exactly the same way twice. The photographs are romantic yet absolutely rigorous, apparently universal but exceedingly specific. The second in a series of luxurious, beautifully produced volumes each focused on specific bodies of Sugimoto's work, "Seascapes" presents the complete series of more than 200 "Seascapes" for the first time in one publication. Some of the photographs included have never before been reproduced.Hiroshi Sugimoto (born 1948) was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, where he studied politics and sociology at Rikkyo University, later retraining as an artist at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He has been active as a photographer since the 1970s. Some of his major photographic series include the "Dioramas," "Theaters," "Portraits," "Architecture" and "Lightning Fields." He currently lives in New York and Tokyo.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Seascapes

Hiroshi Sugimoto has explored ideas of time, empiricism, and metaphysics through a surreal and formalistic approach since the 1970s. A self-described "habitual self-interlocutor," Sugimoto uses the camera as a bridge between abstract questions and the quiet, comical nature of modern everyday life. Whether formally photographing Madame Tussauds wax figures and the wildlife scenes at the American Museum of Natural History, or opening the lens of his 8-by-10 camera to capture a two-hour-long film in one exposure, he explores themes of consumerism, narrative, and existence in rich and evocative imagery. This new project presents a survey of Sugimoto's iconic work, from his calm seascapes to his more recent exploration of lightning fields and photogenic drawing. Created in conjunction with an upcoming exhibition at FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE in Spain, the survey includes an introduction and essay by writer and curator Philip Larratt-Smith, an interview with Sugimoto, and text by the prominent Brazilian artist Iran do Espírito Santo.

Hiroshi Sugimoto

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