David Zwirner Books is pleased to publish Kandinsky: Incarnating Beauty and Strange Impressions, the twenty-third and twenty-fourth volumes in the ekphrasis series.
Kandinsky: Incarnating Beauty explores Alexandre Kojève’s philosophical approach to the relationship between art and beauty, inspired by the paintings of his renowned uncle Wassily Kandinsky. The book further elaborates on the unique relationship between the artist and the philosopher, including personal letters between Kandinsky and his nephew, as well as an introduction by Boris Groys who contextualizes Kojève’s life and writings.
Order Kandinsky: Incarnating Beauty now.
Strange Impressions features selections from Romaine Brooks’s unpublished memoir No Pleasant Memories, revealing the psyche and practice of this underrecognized female artist. Most known for her bold portraits painted in gray tones, Brooks was revolutionary in her feminist renderings of women in resistance. Openly queer, she challenged conceptions of gender and sexuality in her art, which also served as her refuge.
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A note on ekphrasis: Since its launch in 2016, the ekphrasis series, dedicated to publishing rare, out-of-print, and newly commissioned texts as paperback volumes, has become the cornerstone of David Zwirner Books’s programming. The series has established itself among prominent publications, earning reviews from Vogue and The Brooklyn Rail in 2022 for new riveting titles. Acclaimed as “a vivifying approach to art criticism,” the ekphrasis series is part of David Zwirner Books’s ongoing effort to publish new and surprising pieces of writing on visual culture.
Shop the full set of ekphrasis books and select titles at 25 percent off online this holiday season now through December 9. Use code: WINTER25
Browse these new releases and other top-selling titles in person at the David Zwirner Books Holiday Pop-Up Bookstore at 535 West 20th Street, New York. The Holiday Pop-Up will be running December 8–10 & December 15–17, 10am–6pm.