Author(s): Zdenek Felix

Art

As irascible as Tzara and as elusive as Duchamp, Francis Picabia (1879-1953) was both the prototypical Dadaist and the most mercurial artist of his generation. This volume, published for the first Austrian retrospective on Picabia, traces the artist through his many phases: from restless apprentice painter oscillating between Fauvism and Cubism to mischievous Dadaist, editor of "391" magazine and best friend to Duchamp; from antagonist of Andre Breton to ally of Gertude Stein; from advocate of a new machine aesthetics to subversive photorealist painting garish nudes derived from French glamour magazines. Picabia's bizarre, reckless contradictions and wild contrarianism are amply represented in this substantial, tri-lingual publication, which includes 200 color plates, an extensive and illustrated biography and a complete bibliography, providing the most comprehensive overview of his career currently in print.