Fiona Rae's (b. Hong Kong, 1963; lives and works in London) abstract
paintings attracted the attention of broad audiences when she
participated in the legendary exhibition Freeze at London's Docklands in
1988. It put her on the map as an early member of the group known as
Young British Artists, who would revolutionize not only the English art
world. To this day, Rae's distinctive creations, which are rooted in a
conceptual engagement with the problems and potentials of abstract
painting, have remained prominent and seminal contributions to the
field. In 2011, she was appointed professor of painting at the Royal
Academy, one of the first women to hold this position. The catalogue is
the first to feature the most important pictures from this period: the
Row Paintings. They mark the inception of the artist's internationally
acclaimed oeuvre. An essay by Terry R. Myers offers an appraisal of the
Row Paintings' significance in their historic context as well as the
contemporary discourse of painting.