Vasily Kandinsky

Edited by Neue Galerie New YorkTexts by Vivian Endicott Barnett, Shulamith Behr, Christian Derouet, Reinhold Heller, Jill Lloyd, Peter Vergo, Rose-Carol Washton LongThe evolution of the Gesamtkunstwerk in the artist’s work from the Blaue Reiter to the Bauhaus yearsAlongside his development of a revolutionary abstract style, Vasily Kandinsky (1866–1944) demonstrated an ambition to go beyond conventional easel painting. His famous large paintings with musical and theatrical associations transformed into veritable environments. The catalog explores the evolution of a Gesamtkunstwerk in the work of Kandinsky including essays by leading Kandinsky scholars on painting as a total work of art, or the artist’s interest in music and theatre. Separated into three sections, it illustrates how Kandinsky’s fascination for the Wagnerian concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk and the principles of synesthesia developed into large-scale painting within the context of the two highly significant artistic groups Blaue Reiter and Bauhaus, as well as in response to the changing historical circumstances, last but not least, culminating in his large-scale decorative utopian murals and installations. Please note that Rare/Out-of-Print titles are very limited in stock.Hardcover208 pages | 192 black-and-white and color illustrationsNeue Galerie New YorkHatje Cantz, 201323.50 x 28.50 cmISBN 9783775737340Neue Galerie Exhibition Catalogue, Art History, Essays, Movements

Vasily Kandinsky: From Blaue Reiter to the Bauhaus, 1910-1925 Exhibition Catalogue

By Hajo DüchtingOver the course of his artistic career, Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) transformed not only his own style, but the course of art history. From early figurative and landscape painting, he went on to pioneer a spiritual, emotive, rhythmic use of color and line and is today credited with creating the first purely abstract work.As much a teacher and theorist as he was a practicing artist, Kandinsky's interests in music, theater, poetry, philosophy, ethnology, myth, and the occult, were all essential components to his painting and engraving. He was involved with both the influential Blaue Reiter and Bauhaus groups and left a legacy not only of dazzling visual work, but also of highly influential treatises such as Concerning the Spiritual In Art. Key tenets included the connections between painting, music and mystical experience, and the purification of art away from material realism and towards an emotional expression, condensed in particular by color.This book presents key Kandinsky works to introduce his repertoire of vivid colors, forms, and feelings. Tracing the artist's radical stylistic development, it shows how one painter's progression paved the way for generations of abstract expression to come.Hardcover96 pagesTaschen, 20158.4 x 0.5 x 10.4 inchesISBN 9783836507462Artist Monograph, Painting, Abstraction

Kandinsky (Basic Art Series 2.0)

Original Price: $70 UP TO 20% ADDITIONAL SAVINGS FOR MEMBERS Edited by Matthias Frehner and Daniel Spanke Kunstmuseum Bern, the oldest museum in Switzerland, turns its gaze toward its own acquisition history in this lavish book that features artistic masterpieces considered worthless by the Nazis, and the stories of how they came to Switzerland. As a result of the Nazi regime’s scorn for modern art, virtually all non-traditional art between 1933 and 1945 was banned in Germany on the grounds that it was un-German, Jewish, or Communist in nature. Those identified as “degenerate” artists were dismissed from teaching positions and forbidden to exhibit or to sell their works. This book sheds light on the historical significance and provenance of nearly 525 works by modernist greats, such as Picasso, Chagall, and Kandinsky, which were acquired by the Kunstmuseum Bern through a combination of auctions and private donations. The book traces the fates of artists who suffered under the Nazi regime and who had connections to Switzerland, including Kirchner, Klee and Dix, and contrasts the cultural policies of the Third Reich with those of Switzerland in the same period. Finally, it details the dramatic events and unprecedented efforts that went into preserving invaluable works of art. Please note that Rare/Out-of-Print titles are very limited in stock. Hardcover376 pagesPrestel, 20169.2 x 1.4 x 11.2 inchesISBN 9783791355368Art History, Museum Studies

Modern Masters: "Degenerate" Art at the Kunstmuseum Bern

Edited by Tracey Bashkoff and Megan FontanellaContributions by Mark Antliff, Annegret Hoberg, Patricia Leighten, and George E. Lewis One of the foremost artistic innovators of abstraction in the 20th century, Vasily Kandinsky sought to liberate painting from its ties to the natural world and promote the spiritual in art. This richly illustrated publication looks at Kandinsky anew, through a critical lens, reframing our understanding of this vital figure of European modernism, who was also a prolific aesthetic theorist and writer. A series of multidisciplinary essays considers his nuanced relationships with the avant-garde artistic communities in which he lived and made art; the influence of anarchism and radical ecology; experimental methods of improvisation exploring the interplay between sight and sound; his place among Bauhaus peers whose contributions have been underrecognized; and his return, toward the end of his life, to long-held cultural interests that date back to his early years in Russia. Tracing Kandinsky’s life and work through his years in Moscow, several cities in Germany, and Paris, the texts offer striking new insights into an artist whose creative production and style were intimately tied to a sense of place—and displacement—and evolved amid the political and social upheavals catalyzed by the Russian Revolution and World Wars I and II. Kandinsky’s history is closely linked to that of the Guggenheim Museum. Solomon R. Guggenheim began collecting the artist’s work in 1929; a year later, they would meet at the Bauhaus, in Dessau. This book highlights more than ninety works from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s preeminent Kandinsky holdings, presenting the full arc of his artistic development and career. Included are paintings in oil and oil with sand, reverse-glass paintings, as well as woodcuts, watercolors, and drawings on paper. An illustrated chronicle of Kandinsky’s life and career, including selected exhibitions and publications, rounds out the volume.Hardcover196 pages | 125 color images, 55 black-and-white imagesGuggenheim Museum, 20218.74 x 10 inchesISBN 9780892075591Exhibition Catalogue, Avant-Garde

Vasily Kandinsky: Around the Circle

By Barb RosenstockIllustrated by Mary GrandPré A Caldecott Honor Book “GrandPré employs muted purples and blues to depict Vasya’s dull childhood world. Once he starts painting, the pages come alive with bright swirls of color that fly around his head like strands of melody…Even those who aren’t inspired to visit a museum will take away the lesson of Kandinsky’s life: Listen to what excites you and follow its call.”—The New York Times“Rosenstock’s prose strikes a balance between lightheartedness and lyricism. GrandPré’s paintings conjure up an entire epoch…breathing life into all the characters.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review“A rich, accomplished piece about a pioneer in the art world.”—Kirkus, Starred Review Vasya Kandinsky was a proper little boy: he studied math and history, he practiced the piano, he sat up straight and was perfectly polite. And when his family sent him to art classes, they expected him to paint pretty houses and flowers—like a proper artist. But as Vasya opened his paint box and began mixing the reds, the yellows, the blues, he heard a strange sound—the swirling colors trilled like an orchestra tuning up for a symphony! And as he grew older, he continued to hear brilliant colors singing and see vibrant sounds dancing. But was Vasya brave enough to put aside his proper still life's and portraits and paint . . . music? In this exuberant celebration of creativity, Barb Rosenstock and Mary GrandPré tell the fascinating story of Vasily Kandinsky, one of the very first painters of abstract art. Throughout his life, Kandinsky experienced colors as sounds, and sounds as colors—and bold, groundbreaking works burst forth from his noisy paint box. Hardcover40 pagesAge range: 4-8 yearsKnopf Books for Young Readers, 20148.7 x 0.3 x 11.3 inchesISBN 9780307978486Biography, Art History

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art

Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944)Black Form, 19231 notecard and envelope4 ¼ x 6 inches

Vasily Kandinsky: Black Form, 1923 [Single Card]

Portrait of Vasily Kandinsky, 1933, gelatin silver print. Photo by: Hugh Erfurth (1874-1948).

Portrait of Vasily Kandinsky [Postcard]

Edited by Jelena Hahl-Fontaine What the venerated artist’s letters reveal about his life and art. Wassily Kandinsky was not only the inventor of abstract painting but its gifted advocate. His letters reveal an artist who thought, communicated, and organized incessantly. He was also straightforward and warm-hearted, so it is especially surprising that a significant portion of his correspondence has remained unpublished until now. Through astute—and at times witty and polemical—letters that Kandinsky wrote to his colleagues and friends, readers gain an insight into the artist’s way of thinking and his everyday life. His correspondence also reflects the dramatic times in which he worked; Kandinsky lived through two revolutions, two world wars, the Nazi regime, four emigrations, and transformative events within the art world. Wassily Kandinsky: A Life in Letters provides rich context into the corpus, circumstances, and personality of a monumental artist. Hardcover344 pagesHirmer Publishers, 20245.25 x 1.2 x 8.25 inchesISBN 9783777440361Literary Letters

Kandinsky: A Life in Letters 1889 1944

By Wassily KandinskyIntroduction by Lisa FlormanTranslated by Ruth Ahmedzai KempNotes by Lisa Florman A treatise on the spiritual in contemporary painting to adopt new, metaphysical ways of conceiving of and creating art, by one of the most impactful and recognized artists of the twentieth century, in a new translation for the first time since publication A Penguin Classic In Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Wassily Kandinsky, one of the most famous abstract painters of all time, urges the reader to free themselves from art’s traditional bonds to material reality. In this radical theoretical work, he calls for a spiritual revolution in painting, arguing that artists, much like musicians, should be allowed to express their own inner lives in abstract, non-material terms. Investigating form and colour, spirituality and tradition, Kandinsky explores art’s resonance with the soul, its purpose and nature, and its power to inspire us, to stir our emotions and to help us see beyond the limits of our world. A significant contribution to the understanding of non-objectivism in art, this book serves as an important landmark in modern art history and is necessary reading for every artist and art-lover. Paperback192 pagesPenguin Classic, 20255.1 x 7.75 inchesISBN 9780241384800Philosophy, Art Theory

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

Edited by Ortrud Westheider and Michael Philipp Spanning six decades, three continents, and multiple mediums, this exhibition catalog explores one of the most significant and influential artistic movements of the twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, painting underwent a profound transformation. Artists no longer wanted to depict the visible; they aspired to a new visual language that reduced artistic expression to an interplay of colors, lines, and shapes; reflected the modern world; and transcended national boundaries. A central figure of this art movement was Wassily Kandinsky, who laid the theoretical foundations with his work Point and Line to Plane. This lushly illustrated and highly researched volume showcases how Geometric Abstraction found radical expression in all its variations in Europe, the USA and beyond. It features more than one hundred works by over seventy artists, including Josef Albers, Sonia Delaunay, Barbara Hepworth, El Lissitzky, Agnes Martin, Piet Mondrian, Bridget Riley, Frank Stella, and Victor Vasarely. Essays by leading scholars illuminate the ways these artists were inspired by the advanced technologies and theories of their time, including concepts of the fourth dimension and the space- time continuum. The authors explore the movement through a transnational lens—from Belgium, Germany, and Great Britain, to France, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the United States; and emphasize the long-neglected role of women in the movement’s advancement. Through its insightful essays and stunning visuals, this volume offers a definitive exploration of how geometric abstraction revolutionized modern art and continues to inspire artists across the globe. Hardcover 320 pagesPrestel, 20259.5 x 11.75 inchesISBN 9783791377919Art History, Movements

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Vasily Kandinsky

Vasily Kandinsky: From Blaue Reiter to the Bauhaus, 1910-1925 Exhibition Catalogue

Kandinsky (Basic Art Series 2.0)

Modern Masters: "Degenerate" Art at the Kunstmuseum Bern

Vasily Kandinsky: Around the Circle

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art

Vasily Kandinsky: Black Form, 1923 [Single Card]

Portrait of Vasily Kandinsky [Postcard]

Kandinsky: A Life in Letters 1889 1944

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

Kandinsky's Universe: Geometric Abstractions in the 20th Century

Shop at Neue Vasily Kandinsky

Vasily Kandinsky: From Blaue Reiter to the Bauhaus, 1910-1925 Exhibition Catalogue

Kandinsky (Basic Art Series 2.0)

Modern Masters: "Degenerate" Art at the Kunstmuseum Bern

Vasily Kandinsky: Around the Circle

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art

Vasily Kandinsky: Black Form, 1923 [Single Card]

Portrait of Vasily Kandinsky [Postcard]

Kandinsky: A Life in Letters 1889 1944

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

Kandinsky's Universe: Geometric Abstractions in the 20th Century

Shop at Neue
Vasily Kandinsky