MirrorMirror

The Reflective Surface in Contemporary Art

Michael Petry

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Hardback

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English

Thames & Hudson Ltd
14 November 2024

History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -; Art & design styles: from c 1960

A dazzling and intriguing exploration of the use, as a medium, of mirrors and reflective surfaces in contemporary art worldwide.

From the art of Cindy Sherman to Anish Kapoor, from Yayoi Kusama to Tracey Emin, MirrorMirror presents an intriguing and gloriously illustrated global survey of 'reflective' work by more than 150 artists across media, nationalities, genders and locations. The extraordinary range of works featured in MirrorMirror invites us to ponder and reflect upon the nature of reality and our place within the world.

A fascination with mirrors and reflective surfaces is a common theme among artists of the past. Michael Petry's thought-provoking introduction begins with Jan van Eyck's celebrated Arnolfini Portrait (1434), one of the first paintings to feature a significant mirror. Petry references key works by the great masters - from Diego Velazquez's The Rokeby Venus, to Edouard Manet's complex painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergere (1882) and Claude Cahun's Reflected Image in Mirror, Checked Jacket (1928), a seminal photograph for those whose gaze is often upon themselves.

Present-day practitioners are no less intrigued, revisiting historical concerns and approaches for contemporary circumstances, often working with modern technologies and materials, from stainless steel to vinyl and from polished obsidian to sunglass lenses. Petry presents Jeff Koons's Balloon sculptures, Subodh Gupta's stainless-steel life-sized trees and Not Vital's mirror architecture, and also documents works that use actual mirrors, including pieces by Gavin Turk and Alicja Kwade, and the large-scale, spectacular installations of Doug Aitken, Teresita Fernandez, Olafur Eliasson and Sarah Sze. Special consideration is given to selfies and the way in which the mobile phone now operates as a modern-day mirror to the self. In all these works, the concept of reflection, the notion of creating an alternative space or of opening up space within the frame of the viewer's interaction with the artwork, have a root in the past.

The multitude of artworks in MirrorMirror - from monumental installations to the slightest selfie - capture how mirrors appeal to more than just human vanity but are objects of magic, transformation and power.

By: Michael Petry
Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 275mm, Width: 230mm,
Weight: 1.720kg
ISBN: 9780500026205
ISBN 10: 0500026203
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 14 November 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Michael Petry is an artist, author and Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), London. He is the author of The Art of Not Making, Nature Morte and The Word is Art, all published by Thames & Hudson.

Reviews for MirrorMirror: The Reflective Surface in Contemporary Art

'A who's who of contemporary artists working in the space: Anish Kapoor, Cindy Sherman, Doug Aitken, Lee Bul, Tracey Emin, Olafur Eliasson, Trevor Paglen, Sarah Sze, Yayoi Kusama and more ... also looks back to history to establish the legacy upon which these artists build' - Aesthetica 'Intriguing and gloriously illustrated illustrated global survey of ‘reflective’ work by more than 150 artists across media, nationalities, genders and locations ... captures how mirrors appeal to more than just human vanity, but are objects of magic, transformation and power' - Artlyst