Jay DeFeo: Photographic Work

This monograph showcases over 150 photographic works by Jay DeFeo, many of which are previously unpublished and reproduced at the artist's original size. DeFeo, known for her monumental masterpiece The Rose, explored experimental photographic techniques in the 1970s, creating a diverse body of work that reflected her artistic expression. The book includes essays by art experts that examine the materiality, sculptural layering, and illusionistic devices in DeFeo's photographs, highlighting her remarkable range and daring experimentation with the medium.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 22 August 2023
Publisher: Distributed Art Publishers

This monograph on the legendary and influential artist Jay DeFeo features over 150 photographic works—many never before published—most reproduced at the size the artist printed them. After the completion of her monumental masterpiece The Rose in 1966, DeFeo moved from the heart of artistic activity in San Francisco to a small house in Marin County, California. There she embarked on a focused and rigorous exploration with the camera. For much of the 1970s, she used the camera as a tool to look and think with, creating a wide range of black-and-white photographs she processed in her darkroom. The artist used experimental photographic techniques to produce extraordinary artworks, alongside documentary images of her studio and paintings in process. Her contact sheets, some of which are reproduced here, are often filled with multiple views of one object, revealing the way DeFeo looked and sketched with the lens. In 1972, she wrote: My interest in photography has always paralleled my expression as a painter. Essays by Hilton Als, Judith Delfiner, Corey Keller, Justine Kurland, Dana Miller and Catherine Wagner survey the rich materiality, sculptural layering and illusionistic devices of DeFeos playful and enigmatic photographic works, illuminating her astonishing range and daring experimentation with the medium.

Jay DeFeo (1929–89) was a Bay Area artist who created an original and provocative body of work, including the iconic painting The Rose (1958–66). In the 1970s and 1980s, DeFeo continued her visionary work in a range of mediums, including works on paper, photography, collage and photocopies. Among many other exhibitions, she had a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1984.

DeFeo was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Bay Area. She studied art at the California School of Arts and Crafts in Oakland and later at the San Francisco Art Institute. She began her career as a painter, but soon turned to photography, which she considered a more direct and expressive medium.

Her early work was influenced by the Abstract Expressionist movement, with its emphasis on bold colors and abstract forms. However, she soon developed her own unique style, characterized by her use of unconventional materials and techniques. She often used found objects, such as feathers, leaves and twigs, as well as unconventional photographic processes, such as solarization and double exposure.

One of her most famous works is The Rose, a monumental painting that took her over five years to complete. The painting is a complex and intricate depiction of a rose, with thousands of individual brushstrokes and layers of paint. The painting is considered a masterpiece of Abstract Expressionist art and is one of the most important works of the 20th century.

In the 1970s and 1980s, DeFeo continued to explore new artistic mediums, including photography, collage and photocopies. She often used these mediums to create intricate and abstract works that were influenced by her earlier work as a painter. Her photographs, for example, often featured abstract patterns and shapes that were created using unconventional photographic techniques.

DeFeo was a controversial figure in the art world, with some critics accusing her of being self-indulgent and others praising her for her bold and innovative approach to art. Despite the controversy, DeFeo continued to create new and exciting works until her death in 1989.

In conclusion, Jay DeFeo was a legendary and influential artist who created an original and provocative body of work that was characterized by her use of unconventional materials and techniques. Her early work was influenced by the Abstract Expressionist movement, but she soon developed her own unique style, which was characterized by her use of unconventional materials and techniques. Her most famous work is The Rose, a monumental painting that is considered a masterpiece of Abstract Expressionist art. In the 1970s and 1980s, DeFeo continued to explore new artistic mediums, including photography, collage and photocopies, creating intricate and abstract works that were influenced by her earlier work as a painter. Despite the controversy surrounding her, DeFeo continued to create new and exciting works until her death in 1989, leaving a lasting legacy in the art world.

Dimension: 305 x 248 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636811116