British artist Michael Landy (b. 1963) is known primarily as an installation artist. His work, along with others associated with the Young British Artists (YBAs), was first catapulted to the world spotlight when it was featured in the notorious Sensation exhibition (1997). His sculptural installations and performances explore political and social themes, such as the nature of consumerism and commodity.
In 2009, Landy began a three-year artist residency at the National Gallery, London. He chose to focus his project on representations of saints and their accompanying stories, often gruesome, which were once part of common culture but are now largely unknown. Landy’s preoccupation with recycling narratives and repurposing imagery results in Saints Alive, the subject of this book, conceived to include drawings, collages, and a series of kinetic, interactive sculptures with moving parts and sounds.

Michael Landy: Saints Alive

Arts & Photography

CORK, Richard

Sliwka, Jennifer

Wiggins, Colin

History & Criticism

National Gallery London

Visions of Paradise showcases new scholarly research on the monumental Palmieri Altarpiece by Francesco Botticini (1446–1498). The painting, which depicts the Assumption of the Virgin, was made for the funerary chapel of the Florentine citizen Matteo Palmieri (1406–1475). Palmieri was a true “Renaissance Man”—an associate of the Medici and a humanist, whose career encompassed a variety of roles, as diplomat, poet, writer, and apothecary. In this book, Jennifer Sliwka uncovers new insights about the culture that produced this stunning altarpiece and the fascinating patron who commissioned it. In addition to its religious content, the altarpiece depicts a panoramic landscape that serves as a very early example of a “city portrait” of Florence; this accurate, detailed view, which includes Palmieri’s villa and farm, predates several of the earliest known maps of the city. Sliwka examines what the painting reflects about Florentine society and spiritual beliefs, and sheds light on aspects of the painting—including its authorship, date, theological significance, and original location—that are frequently questioned.

Visions of Paradise: Botticini's Palmieri Altarpiece

Painting “without color” has long held a fascination for artists. In this striking and original book, the authors explore how and why artists from the 15th century to the present have chosen to paint in black, white, and shades of gray. Sometimes artists used trompe l’oeil monochromatic effects to represent other media, such as sculpture, prints, or photography; others have consciously limited their palette as a means of re-focusing the viewer’s attention, while contemporary artists such as Gerhard Richter and Bridget Riley have often found inspiration in pushing black and white to its limits, and in new directions. The authors trace the history of this art form, from the symbolism of sacred images in medieval church ritual – epitomized in Netherlandish painting from the 15th century onwards by Hans Memling and Jan van Eyck – to the modern era and the work of artists such as Josef Albers and Ellsworth Kelly.

Monochrome: Painting in Black and White

Packer, Lelia

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Books by Sliwka, Jennifer