Eva Hesse

by Eva Hesse, Elisabeth Sussman, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Eva Hesse, a pivotal figure in the development of postwar international art, created paintings, sculpture, and works on paper that were striking in their beauty and playful sensibility. Although much has been written about Hesse's dramatic life - her childhood flight from Nazi Germany, her struggles to gain acceptance as a young female artist, her battle with cancer, and her tragic death in 1970 at the age of 34 - her art has yet to receive the critical attention it deserves. This lavishly illustrated catalogue redresses that omission, focusing on Hesse's innovative working methods and choices of materials as well as on the larger aesthetic and philosophical questions raised by her artistic practice. The book presents and documents over two hundred works by Hesse in all media. Particular attention is devoted to the degradation and ageing of her sculptures over the past three decades. Essays by a distinguished team of writers deal with themes of mutability and decay in Hesse's art; discuss her little-known early career in New York and Germany; explore her innovative use of translucent materials; and examine the role of drawing and collage in her creative process. This catalogue accompanies an exhibition that will be on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from February to May 2002; the Museum Wiesbaden, Germany, from July to September 2002; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, from September to December 2002.

343 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002