Adrian Locke

Although often associated with the key figures of Belgian Symbolism, Leon Spilliaert in fact demonstrated a peculiarly individual style. Born in Ostend, he worked there for most of his career. An introvert and insomniac who suffered from poor health as a young man, Spilliaert wandered the night-time streets of the North Sea resort, creating mysterious and highly atmospheric depictions of its dark docks, beaches and promenades. Almost entirely self-taught, he drew influence from such painters as Odilon Redon and James Abbott McNeill Whistler, as well as the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Friedrich Nietzsche. This book brings together over a hundred works from international collections, including a series of haunting self-portraits that Spilliaert created in his twenties. Authoritative authors discuss the artist's singular approach and put his career in context alongside that of his more famous compatriot and contemporary James Ensor.

James Ensor (1860-1949) produced one of the most unusual bodies of work at the turn of the twentieth century. Marked by psychological complexity, contradictions and sheer eccentricity, his works - featuring such bizarre subject-matter as dressed-up skeletons and macabre carnival masks - have continued to baffle and intrigue in equal measure. Ensor was born in Ostend and barely left his home town during his lifetime; his family, however, ran a curio shop filled with an array of exotic objects including parrots, a monkey and masks from around the world, which perhaps in part influenced the imagery of his mature work. In this volume, essays explore Ensor's life and legacy, while Luc Tuymans's comments on his selection provide a dictinctive picture of James Ensor, who has been such a major influence on Expressionism and Surrealism.

Art & Place is an extraordinary collection of outstanding art destinations in the Americas, visited by millions of people every year. The book features hundreds of powerful and spectacular art works, all created by an artist specifically for their location –whether indoors, outdoors, desert, in the mountains or in the middle of a city. This is art to experience –in an immersive way –presented together in a single book for the first time. From the monumental sculptures of Richard Serra to the grand land art of Robert Smithson, and from the to the oversized public installations of Claus Oldenburg to Diego Rivera's History of Mexico in Mexico City, Art & Place is the only book to compile all the best of site-specific art of North, Central and South America. Featuring beloved site-specific art in 60 cities–from Albuquerque to Washington, DC and from Baja to Rio de Janeiro. Each of the works has a dedicated entry that includes large-format images with an explanation of how the artist adapted their work to its environment. Art & Place presents works geographically rather than chronologically, allowing fresh juxtapositions and exciting opportunities for comparison to arise, as a spread of rock art may appear next to a contemporary sculpture. Covering everything from carving and painting, murals and frescos, mosaics, altarpieces, tapestries, integral sculpture, stained glass, earthworks and land art, there is something for everyone in this one-of-a-kind book.