Dexter Dalwood

Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch; Camp David; the greenhouse where Kurt Cobain’s body was found; Sharon Tate’s house; Jackie Onassis’ yacht. If these secluded, celebrity-drenched sites, thick with the magic of fame, are among the defining locales of these times, then British artist Dexter Dalwood (born 1960) is the history painter of our era. His bold, busy canvases usually begin their lives as small collages, literally cut and pasted from the pages of magazines and art history. In the subsequent large-scale works, the abrupt disjunctions remain, repurposing the genre of history painting to express the complex nature of iconicity in our age. With 100 color images, this volume provides a first overview of this major artist’s work, including paintings and collages made over the last 12 years. Essays by Michael Bracewell and Terry R. Meyers, and an extensive interview with the artist by Martin Clark and Florence Derieux, complete the book.