VIJA CELMINS

More than 90 of Celmins’ astonishing hyperrealistic paintings are contextualized with writings by the artist herself and by luminaries including Teju Cole, Rachel Cusk and Marlene Dumas

Latvian American artist Vija Celmins (born 1938) is a master of subtle visual power. She is best known for her captivating paintings and drawings depicting galaxies, surfaces of the moon, desert floors, oceans and spider webs. Her works are not monumental; they are painted with a restrained palette and defy quick viewing. But once you are involved with them, your gaze gets caught up in them and they unfold their fascination and great beauty. This monograph presents all her approximately 90 exhibited artworks as well as a selection of documentary photographs. Several commentaries by the artist on her works are included, most of them published for the first time. Contributions by renowned authors and artists such as Julian Bell, Teju Cole, Rachel Cusk, Marlene Dumas and Robert Gober provide new perspectives on the artist’s impressive oeuvre.