Art Cities of the Future: 21st-Century Avant-Gardes

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Antawan Byrd

Reid Shier

Phaidon Press, London, 2013, English

Nonfiction, Art and Cultural History; Nonfiction, Urban Design

11.4 x 8.7 inches, hardcover, 335 pages, 557 color and 22 black-and-white illustrations

ISBN: 9780714865362

Suggested Retail Price: $79.95

From the Publisher. The contemporary art world is increasingly global, with a larger population, wider territory, and greater number of nationalities than ever before. Its prevailing conversation, however, has yet to catch up. Art Cities of the Future: 21st Century Avant-Gardes uncovers twelve distinct avant-gardes that have surfaced in recent decades, exploring their artistic heritage, cultural climate, and contemporary milieu.

The book's format is simple: for each of the twelve cities - Beirut, Bogotá, Cluj, Delhi, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Lagos, San Juan, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore and Vancouver - a curator selected eight artists to represent the contemporary avant-garde. Though the artists work in a variety of media, including photography, painting, sculpture, installation, video, and performance art, all share two distinct qualities: a commitment to experimental art and a dedication to their local landscape.

Lively, thought-provoking, comprehensive, and packed with more than 500 images, Art Cities of the Future is sure to widen the historical narrative, allowing us to imagine a future of diverse aesthetics and shared concerns in the common language of contemporary art.

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