Published on the occasion of an exhibition of Philip Guston’s works from 1971 at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles, Resilience: Philip Guston in 1971 captures a year defined by the artist’s stalwart resilience and creative reinvention.
The year 1971 marked a critical juncture in Guston’s artistic career, telling a story of renewal, invention, and outrageous satire through two major series of work, the Roma paintings and the Nixon drawings.
This publication sheds light on the single pivotal year that launched Guston into the final prolific decade of his career, during which he painted works now celebrated as some of the most important contributions to the art of the 20th century. Created immediately after the overwhelming critical rejection of his new figurative work first exhibited in October 1970 at the Marlborough Gallery in New York City, these works bear witness to an artist at the height of his powers, acutely responsive to his world during a time of social turmoil and political upheaval in the United States.
The 188-page publication is written by Musa Mayer, daughter of the artist and author of the celebrated memoir about her father, Night Studio. Here Mayer offers an intimate view of her father during a formative time for his artistic practice and a moment of exceptional creative growth. The book includes extensive plates of the artist’s Roma paintings and the complete “Poor Richard” series of Nixon drawings, as well as many personal photographs and other materials drawn from Guston’s archive that provide further insight into his state of mind.
Designed by Iza Hren, Resilience: Philip Guston in 1971 features Guston’s letters to poet Bill Berkson and his biographer Dore Ashton; the diaries of his wife, Musa Guston, and never-before published Michael Blackwood film stills of Guston and the poet Clark Coolidge in Guston’s Woodstock studio.
Resilience: Philip Guston in 1971 is the fourth Philip Guston exhibition curated by Musa Mayer at Hauser & Wirth and her third book with Hauser & Wirth Publishers. The second, Philip Guston: Nixon Drawings 1971 and 1975, was awarded the FILAF d’Or prize as the Best International Art Book of 2017.
About Hauser & Wirth Publishers
Since its founding in 1992, Hauser & Wirth Publishers has grown into a dynamic imprint that produces more than 20 titles per year, with a special focus on artists’ archives and writings. It creates unique, object-like books that encourage an understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art, with a backlist also comprising monographs, artists’ books, publications focused on important private collections, and exhibition catalogs—often bringing new and overlooked aspects of an artist’s creative practice into focus. By commissioning original, in-depth scholarship to give thoughtful insight, Hauser & Wirth Publishers aims to craft accessible, lasting records of artists’ work, ideas, and exhibitions.
In 2019, Hauser & Wirth Publishers opened a stand-alone global headquarters and flagship bookshop in the historic center of Zurich, Switzerland, which operates alongside a parallel enterprise in New York. The Zurich headquarters occupies the former home of the Oprecht & Helbling bookshop and the legendary Europa Verlag publishing house. Today it serves as an international hub for research and scholarship, led by Chief Editor Dr. Michaela Unterdörfer, who has helmed Hauser & Wirth Publishers since 2005.
