Painted Landscapes: Contemporary Views

Painted Landscapes: Contemporary Views

Painted Landscapes, Contemporary Views explores American landscape painting today, its relevance in the contemporary art world, and its historic roots. This volume profiles sixty individual living artists (and over 200 color images) whose contributions distinguish important aspects of the genre and address land use, nature appreciation, and ecology through landscape painting. Encompassing every style from traditional realism (with a contemporary edge) to abstraction and non-objectivity, these contemporary artists range from today's art stars to emerging or regionally recognized talent in the Eastern, Western, and Southwestern regions of the nation.  "Lauren P. Della Monica rethinks contemporary art in her book "Painted Landscapes.' " Nancy Schoeffler, The Hartford Courant "Lauren Della Monica has produced an elegant, graceful book that opens our eyes to a far more varied and richer interpretation of landscape than we may have imagined." Diane Meier, Author of The New American Wedding, Ritual and Style in a Changing Culture. It was important to me to find the right balance of male and female painters, and as much diversity of ethnic backgrounds as possible while still respecting the genre of landscape painting first and foremost. The big stars in the book are Wolf Kahn, Alex Katz (though I show work for which he is not well known), Richard Estes, Wayne Thiebaud, etc. Yes, all white men. So, I included some of my very favorite painters who deserve to be right there with the big guys: they are the grande dames Lois Dodd, Sylvia Plimack-Mangold, Yvonne Jacquette and Jane Freilicher. The selection process of all the artists was meant to show a visual spectrum, from representational and perhaps more traditional styles of painting to the totally abstract, non-objective works. Taken together, each chapter presents the full spectrum of styles and careers. The selection is unique and no one will be familiar with all of the artists included.