Description
By (author) Gingeras Alison M.
Short /annotation
This definitive book on the renowned postwar avant-garde artistic movement offers a comprehensive insight into Cobra”s history and achievements, and explores its lasting influences on contemporary art.
The European artistic collective known as Cobra was born in thewake of World War II”s devastating events, its name an acronymfor the native cities of its founders: Copenhagen, Amsterdam,and Brussels. The influential group of painters and sculptors hada tremendous impact on the development of European abstractexpressionism, and contemporary art in general. Cobra wasarguably the last avant-garde movement of the 20th century.Moving chronologically, this book explores the years leadingup to Cobra”s formation, charts its complex expansion over adecade, and illuminates how the movement helped shape thetrajectory of contemporary art today. Thoughtfully integratedamong the numerous images, many presented as full-pagecolor illustrations, are essays that probe the ideologicalhallmarks that shaped the group as a whole: its rejection ofrational constraints; a focus on play and youthfulness; andits embrace of immediacy, particularly in the form of “action”paintings. In addition, comprehensive biographies of the artistsilluminate crucial aspects of each individual”s journey, helpingto expand readers” understanding of Europe”s socio-politicaland theoretical climate.
Review quote
“Impressively informed and informative, exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented, The Avant-garde Won”t Give Up: Cobra and Its Legacy is a unique and highly recommended.” -Midwest Book Review
Review quote
“Impressively informed and informative, exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented, The Avant-garde Won”t Give Up: Cobra and Its Legacy is a unique and highly recommended.”-Midwest Book Review
Biographical note
ALISON M. GINGERAS is a curator and writer based in New York. She has servedas Chief Curator at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice and Curator of ContemporaryArt at the Centre Pompidou. KAREN KURCZYNSKI is Assistant Professor ofArt History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. KERRY GREAVES isa Curator and current PhD candidate at the Department of Art History, CityUniversity of New York Graduate Center. MARIE GODET is a Curator andAssistant Professor of Art History, Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
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