The avant-garde won't give up
Subtitle: Cobra and its legacy
By: [edited by] Alison M. Gingeras ; contributions by Marie Godet [and 3 others]
Contributors: Blum & Poe
Publisher: Blum & Poe; DelMonico Books/Prestel
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 223
ISBN-13: 9783791355092
Subjects: Influence; Exhibitions; Cobra (Association)
Description: The European artistic collective known as Cobra was born in the wake of World War II's devastating events, its name an acronymfor the native cities of its founders: Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam. The influential group of painters and sculptors had a tremendous impact on the development of European abstract expressionism, and contemporary art in general. Cobra was arguably the last avant-garde movement of the 20th century. Moving chronologically, this book explores the years leading up to Cobra's formation, charts its complex expansion over a decade, and illuminates how the movement helped shape the trajectory of contemporary art today. Thoughtfully integrated among the numerous images, many presented as full-page color illustrations, are essays that probe the ideological hallmarks that shaped the group as a whole: its rejection of rational constraints; a focus on play and youthfulness; and its embrace of immediacy, particularly in the form of action paintings. In addition, comprehensive biographies of the artists illuminate crucial aspects of each individual's journey, helping to expand readers' understanding of Europe's socio-political and theoretical climate.
Notes: "Published on the occasion of the exhibition The Avant-garde Won't Give Up: Cobra and Its Legacy, curated by Alison M. Gingeras. Blum & Poe, 19 East 66th Street New York, NY 10065, September 9-October 17, 2015, Blum & Poe, 2727 South La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034, November 5-December 23, 2015"--Colophon.

Includes bibliographical references.