NONFICTION

Birds of a Feather: Joseph Cornell's Homage to Juan Gris

Yale Univ. Feb. 2018. 96p. illus. notes. bibliog. ISBN 9781588396273. $25. FINE ARTS
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OrangeReviewStarIn 1953, assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903–72) discovered a painting by Spanish cubist Juan Gris (1887–1927), The Man at the Café. Inspired by this encounter and by Gris's biography and published correspondence, Cornell began working on a series of assemblages in tribute to Gris. This catalog accompanies an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that unites 11 of the 16 shadow box constructions Cornell dedicated to Gris using Gris's oil and newsprint collage techniques, along with other contextual material. Guest curator McKinley's in-depth essay in this small but beautiful work explores Cornell's life and work and wildly creative sensibility. Dossiers at the end of the volume include a full and comprehensive list of each of the exhibited works' interior contents and materials.
VERDICT Museumgoers and other art lovers will find this a revealing look at the influences and process of two intriguing artists.
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