Material Imagination Art in Europe, 1946-72 [Paperback]

Material Imagination examines the interrelated concepts of matter, materialism, and materiality in postwar European art, from 1946-1972.

• Provides a unique perspective on European art by prioritizing material dimensions over concept or context, while also paying attention to theoretical and historical concerns
• Explores artists’ methods and materials in order to better understand the social and cultural environments in which their works of art were made
• Demonstrates how materials can be harnessed to affect the critical interpretation of artwork
• Brings together exceptional illustrations and new research in eight essays by art historians and scholars

Notes on Contributors 6

Chapter 1 Material Imagination: Art in Europe, 1946–72 8
Natalie Adamson and Steven Harris

Chapter 2 Black Flowers Blossom: Bachelard, Soulages and the Material Imaginary of Abstract Painting 22
Natalie Adamson

Chapter 3 Materialism and Intersubjectivity in Cobra 44
Karen Kurczynski

Chapter 4 Makeshift Wholes: Interiority and Texture in Postwar British Design 66
Alex Kitnick

Chapter 5 Materializing Modernism in Postwar Italy: Fausto Melotti, Gio Ponti, and the 1961 Esposizione Internazionale del Lavoro 88
Marin R. Sullivan

Chapter 6 L’Optique Moderne: Daniel Spoerri’s ‘Optical Readymades’ 112
Jill Carrick

Chapter 7 Terrain vague: Ben Vautier and the Ecole de Nice 140
Anna Dezeuze

Chapter 8 ‘Not Yet&l3Â