Description

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An instant classic—a lively new introduction to contemporary art that stretches from Andy Warhol's Brillo boxes to Marina Abramović's performance art to today's biennale circuit and million-dollar auctions.

Encountering a work of contemporary art, a viewer might ask, "What does it mean?" "Is it really art?" and "Why does it cost so much?" These are not the questions that E. H. Gombrich set out to answer in his magisterial The Story of Art. Contemporary art seems totally unlike what came before it, departing from the road map supplied by Raphael, Dürer, Rembrandt, and other European masters.

In The Story of Contemporary Art, Tony Godfrey picks up where Gombrich left off, offering a lively introduction to contemporary art that stretches from Andy Warhol's Brillo boxes to Marina Abramović's performance art to today's biennale circuit and million-dollar auctions. Godfrey, a curator and writer on contemporary art, chronicles important developments in pop art, minimalism, conceptualism, installation art, performance art, and beyond.

About the Author

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Tony Godfrey is the author of Conceptual Painting and Painting Today and has contributed to Art in America, the Burlington Magazine, and numerous exhibition catalogs. Formerly Programme Director of the MA in Contemporary Art at Sotheby's Institute in London, he is a curator based in Manila.

Praise For…

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"Godfrey writes in an accessible and blessedly jargon-free manner, and he ranges widely, featuring contemporary artists from all corners of the globe." – The Washington Post Book World