Lydia Yee

Beautifully produced monograph of the contemporary artist Yin Xiuzhen (b. 1963, Beijing, China), renowned for transforming found, tactile materials into poignant and poetic works of sculpture and installation. This comprehensive monograph - the first in over a decade - offers an in-depth exploration of the sculpture and installations of Yin Xiuzhen (b. 1963, Beijing, China), an artist renowned for transforming found, tactile materials - worn clothing, used suitcases, industrial detritus - into poignant reflections on memory, displacement and the shifting contours of urban life. Featuring commentary from the artist herself, the book also includes an essay by Lydia Yee that traces the evolution of her practice – from early performance pieces to major works that reflect on memory, globalisation and the rapid transformation of urban landscapes. A new interview with the artist and over 80 full colour illustrations complete this essential volume.

The catalogue to accompany a major solo presentation of the work of the influential New York-based artist Mary Heilmann, her first in a public institution in the UK in 15 years. Born in California in 1940, Heilmann studied ceramics and poetry before moving to New York in 1968 and taking up painting. A pioneer of infusing abstract painting with influences from craft traditions and popular culture (especially rock music and California’s beach culture), Heilmann is one of the most important yet still underrecognised artists working today. This publication explores Heilmann’s approach to abstraction from two distinct but interrelated perspectives: the formal and the personal. The personal is reflected in the title Looking at Pictures, named after a section in the artist’s memoir The All Night Movie (1999), in which she writes, `Each of my paintings can be seen as an autobiographical marker’, clearly represented here through works that relate to moments in the artist’s friendships, memories of places where she has lived or spent time and her love of music and film. The juxtaposing formal aspect of her work is also explored, most evidently in her early paintings of grids and squares rendered in primary colours and in works that are based on architectural or interior planes, such as doors and mirrors. As well as new essays by Lydia Yee (Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery) and Briony Fer (Professor of History of Art, University College London), and writings by the artist on key works, the publication will feature 100 beautiful full-colour illustrations of paintings, works on paper, furniture and ceramics from Heilmann’s five-decade career.

Street Art, Street Life examines the street as subject matter, venue, and source of inspiration for contemporary artists and photographers from the late 1950s to the present. This unique volume includes street photography; documentation of performance, events, and artworks presented in the street; works using material from the street; and examples of street culture. Through works by almost thirty world-renowned artists, Street Art, Street Life explores a range of themes related to the street: as arena for political and cultural expression, violence and crime, gender roles in an urban context, advertising and commerce, and as counterpoint to museums and other traditional art venues. Street Art, Street Life is published on the occasion of an exhibition of the same name, organized by international curator Lydia Yee.