NEW YORK – Phaidon will present Ugo Rondinone, a comprehensive survey of the Swiss-born, New York-based artist Ugo Rondinone (b. 1964-). Created in close collaboration with the artist, this richly-illustrated monograph is a lasting documentary of Rondinone’s extraordinary career, from his early Indian-ink landscapes and Sun Paintings to later multimedia works, installations and the large-scale public sculptures for which he is best known today. The 160-page hardcover will be released in September 2022, priced at $54.95.
The book features more than 200 images, including exhibition installation shots, an exclusive studio visit and reproductions of Rondinone’s handwritten notes and sketches, together providing unprecedented insight into his output and process.
During the past 30 years, Ugo Rondinone has developed a distinct body of work: vibrant paintings, immersive installations, sculptures and text-based works, each united by a poetic quality and an enduring preoccupation with universal themes of time and the cosmos. His critically-acclaimed work frequently reconciles the aesthetic language of psychedelia and advertising with intimate and thoughtful reflections on personal and collective experiences.
In his Rainbow Signs series (1997-ongoing), the artist spells out poetic meditations in the brash visual grammar of the billboard, creating a striking contrast that reoccurs in works such as Human Nature (2013) and Seven Magic Mountains (2016). The latter work, a monumental tower of fluorescent stones stacked in the Nevada desert, combines – in the artist’s own words – “the language of Land Art with the language of Pop Art.” For the millions of viewers who make the pilgrimage to see the piece each year, the effect is both humbling and profound.
Contributions to Ugo Rondinone include an interview with Laura Hoptman, executive director of the Drawing Center in New York; a survey from independent critic and curator Erik Verhagen; a focus piece on Rondinone’s Natural Projection by Nicholas Baume, director and chief curator of the Public Art Fund in New York; an exclusive insight into the artist’s studio practice with photographer Jason Schmidt; and a selected chronology and bibliography.
Adored by critics and the public alike, Ugo Rondinone is one of the most critically and commercially successful artists of his generation. His works combine electrifying energy and ambition with a meditative, spiritual quality that speaks to audiences across the world. This title offers a definitive survey of the artist’s extraordinary career to date. It is a critical addition to Phaidon’s acclaimed Contemporary Artists Series, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020 and continues to serve as an essential resource for everyone interested in art today.
The artist is represented by Galerie Eva Presenhuber (Zurich), Sadie Coles HQ (London), Gladstone (New York, Brussels) and Esther Schipper (Berlin), Galerie Kamel Mennour (Paris), Kukje Gallery (Seoul) and Krobath (Vienna).