Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The work of Eva Hesse (1936-1970), one of the greatest American artists of the 1960s, continues to inspire and to endure in large part because of its deeply emotional and evocative qualities. Her latex and fiberglass sculptures in particular have a resonance that transcends the boundaries of minimalist art in which she had her roots. Hesse's breakthrough solo exhibition-- Chain Polymers at the Fischbach Gallery in New York in 1968--was a turning point in postwar American art.
Eva Hesse: Sculpture focuses on the artist's large-scale sculptures in latex and fiberglass and provides a rare opportunity to look at Hesse's artistic achievement within the historical context of her life in never-before-seen family diaries and photographs. Essays consider Hesse's art from a variety of angles: Elisabeth Sussman discusses the sculptures shown in the 1968 solo exhibition; Fred Wasserman delves into the Hesse family's life in Nazi Germany and in the German Jewish community in New York in the 1940s; Yve-Alain Bois examines Hesse's works within the context of the art and aesthetic theories of the 1960s; and Mark Godfrey analyzes the importance of Hesse's celebrated hanging sculptures of 1969-70. In addition to color reproductions of the artist's sculpture, the book features a copiously illustrated chronology of the artist's life.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Eva Hesse (1936-70), the celebrated American artist of the 1960s, is remembered for her poignant, minimalist-inspired work. This catalog, which accompanies the exhibition of the same name at the Jewish Museum in New York (showing until September 17, 2006), focuses on Hesse's brief life and artistic achievements, emphasizing the moment she secured her status as an artist in 1968. Both the catalog and the exhibit feature Hesse's deeply expressive body of sculptural work made of industrial synthetics. Never before published or displayed family documents, photographs, memoirs, and ephemera from Hesse's short life provide a rich historical context. Themes of the exhibition, such as her family's life in Nazi Germany and her sculpture in comparison to other art of the 1960s, are carefully considered in erudite essays by notable contributors Elisabeth Sussman, Fred Wasserman, Yve-Alain Bois, and Mark Godrey. The catalog comes complete with copious color plates, a chronology of Hesse's life, an exhibition checklist, a bibliography and notes, a list of exhibitions and reviews, and an index. Highly recommended for libraries with an art history focus.-Jennifer H. Krivickas, Yale Ctr. for British Art (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Minimalist sculptor Hesse "was one of the greatest artists of her generation," explains Sussman (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York), giving credit to the dark 1960s as a source of Hesse's inspiration. This book celebrates and reintroduces her simplistic, repetitious "loop and twists" sculptures from the 1968 exhibition Chain Polymers. Like Warhol, Hesse felt nothing grew to be something. Her elastic and nontraditional, industrial medium (galvanized steel, latex, and fiberglass) evolved over time. Changing environmental conditions allowed gravity to pull and fight the original intent of many of her works. Artforum (now Artforum International) deemed it "strange." Reviewed as a "plastic presence" and "negative power of mindless repetition," the collection, in general, received positive reviews in 1968. Hesse continued to create despite her illness, succumbing to death in 1970. Wasserman (The Jewish Museum) provides a detailed family diary of Hesse's early years in Nazi Germany. For special collections on Jewish artists. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. J. E. Gaydos University of Pittsburgh at Titusville

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Elisabeth Sussman is an independent curator living in New York.

(Bowker Author Biography)