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Helen Frankenthaler: painting without rules
The late American abstract expressionist and “color field” artist pioneered the soak-dye technique, which allowed paint to seep deeper into the canvas. Published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, this book documents his work, putting it in dialogue with pieces by friends and contemporaries such as Pollock and Rothko. Marsilio€40
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadine
Basquiat is most often associated with New York, but less is known about his relationship with Switzerland, and particularly Engadin, where the idea for his collaborations with fellow artists Andy Warhol and Francesco Clemente was born. A new book shows the country’s influence on his paintings to coincide with a solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth St Moritz. Hauser & Wirth Publishing23
Alfredo Volpi: Lucca-São Paulo (1896-1988)
This catalog celebrates one of the key figures of Brazilian modernism, Alfredo Volpi. Around 70 paintings from the artist’s most prolific period (1940 to 1970) convey his mastery of color, along with reflections by Brazilian curator Valéria Piccoli and Stefano Collicelli Cagol, director of the Pecci Center in Prato. Mousse Publishing€35
Denzil Forrester: Duppy Conqueror/We Culture
This kaleidoscopic volume spans nearly five decades of work from Grenada-born, Cornwall-based Forrester, who draws on London’s dub reggae culture and the 1980s club scene for his groovy sketches. Included throughout are essays by art and music historians and poems by Linton Kwesi Johnson. Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art/Miami Institute of Contemporary Art, $60