Piet Mondrian

The public image of Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) is usually one of a serious man in a suit and tie with a reserved, rather aloof demeanor. This image was shaped by a small group of some 10 photographs, although there are around 400 known photographs of the artist and his studios that provide a far more balanced and livelier portrait of the real Mondrian.
This gorgeous book is not a biography but rather a visual account of Mondrian’s life that vividly evokes the world of this most emblematically modern of artists. The archival photographs reproduced here show that Mondrian’s studios in Amsterdam, Paris and New York were works of art themselves, as fascinating as the guests seen visiting them. Also included here are snapshots showing Mondrian’s daily life, taken during journeys or visits; photographs of openings and dinners; and formal portraits that he used to promote the image of a serious and uncompromising artist. Detailed captions and richly illustrated essays on the significance of photography in the context of Mondrian's work make this book an extraordinary document of his time.

Published on the occasion of the Dutch artist’s 150th birthday, Mondrian Evolution celebrates the multifaceted work and artistic development of Piet Mondrian. The artist cemented his place in the art historical canon with his geometric compositions characterized by black lines cast against white surfaces partially filled by the primary colors blue, red and yellow. Indelible as they are, these compositions comprise only a portion of Mondrian’s expansive oeuvre. The artist moved through various formal evolutions, corresponding to his various geographical residences, before he arrived at his signature minimalist abstract style. After his classical training in figurative painting, Mondrian departed for Paris, where he immersed himself in the avant-garde currents energizing the city; Cubism, in particular, stimulated his imagination. Taking the movement as a point of departure, Mondrian developed Neo-Plasticism, a nonrepresentational “pure plastic art,” which he believed to be the pathway to universal beauty.
This monograph diligently traces the artist’s progression from landscape painter to abstractionist trailblazer—and all the stops in between. Each chapter homes in on a specific motif within Mondrian’s oeuvre, including windmills, dunes, the sea, farms reflected in the water and plants in various forms of abstraction.

German art historian and curator Ulf Küster entertainingly leads readers through well-known and lesser-known aspects of the life and work of Piet Mondrian (1872–1944).
Pivotal to modern art’s move toward abstraction, Mondrian’s oeuvre is extraordinarily versatile and complex. The artist was profoundly impressed by contemporary culture and found inspiration all around—from the patterns of the Dutch canal system to the rhythms of jazz and the foxtrot. The influence of his work can also be found all around—not only in abstract painting and art movements (such as Concrete art, Color Field painting, Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism) but also in design, architecture and fashion. Yves Saint-Laurent's famous “Mondrian Dress,” for instance, made him a posthumous fashion icon. Piet Mondrian: A–Z demonstrates Mondrian's far-reaching influence.
Art historian Ulf Küster (born 1966) is a curator at the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel since 2004, and the author of numerous publications, among them his book on Louise Bourgeois in Hatje Cantz's Art to Read series and Edward Hopper: A–Z.

Although Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) was not an active member of the Bauhaus, his name is often mentioned in connection with the art school. Mondrian, cofounder of the De Stijl movement in the Netherlands, called for a strict reduction of visual language to orthogonal composition and primary colors, which met with great approval in Bauhaus circles. His rigorous geometric compositions of verticals and horizontals and strident palette of essential colors were important to numerous Bauhaus masters; Mondrian’s influence appeared in Bauhaus architecture, product design, typography, graphic design, painting and beyond. It is therefore not surprising that Mondrian’s essays on art theory, most of them written for the De Stijl journal, were translated into German and published as number five in the Bauhausbücher series.

New Design starts with a philosophical foray into art, which Mondrian describes as a figurative expression of human existence—an expression which will find its natural conclusion in his own concept of a “New Design.” Mondrian then considers the relationship between painting and architecture and dares to take a far-reaching look at the future of Neoplasticism, which he imagines revolutionizing design and architecture around the world.

Harry Holtzman's renowned translations of Mondrian's selected essays appear in New Design as a complete compilation for the first time. The publication is true to the content and design of the German first edition of 1925 and includes a brief scholarly commentary.