Enrico Baj: The Artist's Home

Description

Not far from Milan, in the hills of the northern Italian countryside, lies the estate of famed Italian artist Enrico Baj. This jewel of a book offers a unique lens through which to consider a true artistic giant of the late twentieth century associated with Dada, Surrealism, Art Informel, and CoBrA, as well as Nuclear Art, a movement he cofounded. Organized as a tour of the artist s home, from full rooms designed with a great attention to detail to entire walls covered floor to ceiling with paintings by the artist to a headboard carved directly into a wall, almost every surface of the house is covered in work made by Baj himself. While his subject matter may have been deeply serious (many of Baj s works reveal an obsession with nuclear war and the abuse of political power), as this book shows, his work was always playful and vibrant, often incorporating bits of found materials like military medals, seashells, rope, and twine. Whether one focuses on the luxurious trim and tassel of a bedroom curtain or the deeply personal arrangement of treasured sculptures on a dressing room table, every corner of the estate is energized by the element of surprise. This book showcases the artist s individual touch and provides a wealth of playful vignettes to inspire homeowners, collectors, and artists alike.

Michael Reynolds is a New York based creative director, editorial stylist, exhibition and set designer, advertising director, curator, and visual brand consultant. He helped to create Wallpaper* magazine, for which he currently serves as U.S. editor. He is also a contributing editor for Architectural Digest, among other publications. Mariuccia Casadio is a curator and art consultant who writes monthly for Vogue Italia. Francesco Bonami is an Italian art curator and writer who is currently honorary director of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin.

"The extraordinary residence and its influence on the artist's oeuvre are explored in the tantalizing new volume Enrico Baj: The Artist's Home (Skira Rizzoli). 'The house is the perfect way to approach Baj's work,' says art dealer Amalia Dayan, whose gallery with Daniella Luxembourg, Luxembourg & Dayan, has been instrumental in the recent reassessment of Baj's career. 'It's a magical place where you get a very strong sense of him. Just like his art, it's casual and full of humor, but there's a lot of substance and intelligence to both.'" -Architectural Digest