Art books are an excellent way to delve deeper into the art world. Often thought of as simply decorative books for the coffee table, art books provide insight into a range of topics—from monographs on specific artists to an overview of an art movement or genre. In other words, art books don’t just look good on a table, they also provide valuable information.
We asked Peggy team members to tell us about their favourite art book right now. Here are their answers:
100 Years 100 Artworks is my favourite art book right now because it gives a really compelling glimpse into how art has evolved dramatically yet little by little over the past century. Bonus: the author was my art history teacher during my masters and her art narratives were totally fresh and unique and her passion contagious.
Art is a social experience, and this artifact represents Bronwyn Hunter-Shortly and my first ever visit to Art Basel Switzerland, where we saw Stingel’s orange carpet walls at the Fondation Beyeler—the walls are “interactive” and meant to be touched by the audience. The book’s surface is also very tactile, meant to become “distressed” or damaged (like the carpet walls), and this embodies the concept of “impermanence” to me - that nothing in the world is permanent.
This book is an incredible overview of Janet's process and career. I especially enjoy the studio shots - displaying the pages and pages of fashion magazines and art books that she draws inspiration from for her pieces. I love flipping through and seeing old favorites (Pink Suit, 2020) interspersed with pieces I discovered by reading this book (Green Room AJ, 2018).
I really want to see Wolfgang Tillmans’s retrospective at MoMA right now. Since I’m not able to see the show in New York, this art book is the next best thing. I love that you don’t need to travel to experience art—art books can also offer an immersive experience into an artist’s practice.
Magnum Contact Sheets is an incredible look into the process of documentary photographers spanning from the 1930s all the way to 2010. It covers over 70 years of history, from Robert Capa’s Normandy landings and the Paris riots of 1968 via Bruno Barbey, to images of Che Guevara by René Burri, Malcolm X by Eve Arnold, and portraits of classic New Yorkers by Bruce Gilden.
Lee Lozano’s overtly aggressive and humorous depictions of bodies interlaced with machines, tools, and other symbols uniquely address topics of power, gender conventions, and sexuality. This comprehensive monograph gives an awesome look into these important and exciting drawings, while also feeling like an art object in and of itself.