A richly illustrated reconsideration of the life and work of painter
Bohumil Kubista.
In Degrees of Separation, scholars from the Czech Republic, Canada,
Germany, and Hungary take a new approach to exploring the work of one of
Central Europe's most interesting modernist painters, Bohumil Kubista.
While many art historians have viewed Kubista's work solely in the
context of an idealized Czech canon, Kubista did not identify with a
nation-state clearly defined by ethnicity, language, or territorial
reach.
Taking a transnational approach that incorporates thorough topographical
research, the authors attempt to redraw the map of European modernism by
exploring the artist's subversive approach to the stylistic currents of
his time. The book reveals the complex relationships within early
twentieth-century Europe, as Kubista and other Central European artists
tried to balance their admiration for the dominant artistic trends
coming out of Paris with their desire to find alternative forms of
expression arising from local artistic and intellectual sources. The
richly illustrated book features a wealth of documentation, including an
exhaustive timeline with notes, a comprehensive inventory of Kubista's
works, and an up-to-date exhibition list.