Bodies of Work by Lauren P. Della Monica

Bodies of Work: Contemporary Figurative Painting
by Lauren P. Della Monica

Summary
Human forms can be intensely intimate or broadly universal. Here, figurative artists use the human form as a tool to express varied content and contemporary issues. 

These paintings depict our feelings and sentiments, our sense of belonging to a larger community in the contemporary world, while capturing the impulses behind the range of figuration presented by today's contemporary international artists.

Portraitist Marlene Dumas presents figures in a gritty, unsentimental manner, evoking the essence of the human condition, while Kerry James Marshall paints the life of African-Americans in the twentieth-century, employing recent historical review to document the social challenges. British artist Jenny Saville paints the figure in massive scale, combined with an overt, never-ending interest in the pure rendering of human flesh. 
Hope Gangloff paints her figures as characters, intimate friends, and acquaintances, narrating a drama from their canvases. An important resource for those interested in contemporary figurative painting.

Impressions
I like realistic paintings and drawings and when I've seen "Bodies of Work", I was curious to know more about nowadays figurative art.

Through the different artists and sensibilities, I was amazed at the details of the portraits and their originality. You can feel the emotions coming from the subject who is posing, like he/she was completely naked in front of you.
For some models, it's literally true and the way the artist see the nudity is also interesting to look at.

The second part is about social art. A section probably more conceptual, more darker for some artists who use their brushes to make engaged art. A great way of expressing your opinions, your views through images.

An interesting art book where I've discovered a lot of great artists and their amazing work.

About the author
Lauren Pheeney Della Monica is a New York-based art consultant specializing in advising private clients on building collections of fine art. She writes about contemporary art, American art, and art collecting.

Source
*Arc provided by Edelweiss
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.