Biography of artist

What would the winter holidays be without those warm, comforting afternoons spent under the blankets or close by the chimney? If you&#;ve exhausted all the classics of French literature and the summer&#;s bestsellers, why not try another genre: the artists&#; biography? Since many artists have lived thrilling lives, Artsper suggests these biographies of artists whose lives make for a compelling novel!

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Dazzling Epic of the Precursor of Street Art

Jean-Michel Basquiat (), whose works can be found on Artsper, was undoubtedly one of the artists who made the biggest impressions on the New York underground art scene in the s.

Born in Brooklyn, this African-American with a rebellious temperament left school when he was a teenager to devote himself to his passion: art. His personal graffitis were quickly noticed for their tribal signs and naïve characters. Criticizing consumerism and the exclusion of ethnic communities, Basquiat has his first exhibition at the age of This remarkable arrival brought him to the forefront of the art scene.

These profoundly violent, tortured works relate to art brut and include numerous evocations of death. This work continued to torment him until his death, caused by an overdose when he was only 28 years old.

Short but prolific, the career of the child prodigy of urban art has recently been related in a graphic novel written by Julien Voloj and illustrated by Søren Mosdal. While based on real events, the book tries to reveal the artist&#;s demons, which inspired him but precipitated in his demise.

Andy Warhol: Icon of Pop Art

Close to Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol () collaborated with him on over works. They shared the same favourite theme: consumer society. If Basquiat is the emblem of Street Art, Andy Warhol (available on Artsper) is unquestionably the emblem of Pop Art.

Beginning his career in advertising, he became world famous in the s thanks t

If you are looking for an escape from the news and the noise, try our list of award-winning memoirs and artist biographies to add to your &#;to-read&#; shelf.
Our reading list evokes both the artists’ inner lives and their connections to their contemporaries and the art scene, whilst others shed light on the complexity of these figures and meditate on existential questions. We spotlight a selection of books drawing from previously unpublished letters and personal notes, through the scandalous &#;80s New York art scene to never-before-seen interviews and contemplations on the purpose of making art.

Widow Basquiat

by Jennifer Clement,

Instead of writing a classic artist biography of Jean-Michel Basquiat, award-winning author Jennifer Clement chronicles her close friend Suzanne Mallouk&#;s love affair with Basquiat in an emotionally resonant prose. Drawing from Mallouk&#;s memories, Clement takes us through the mesmerizing and wild s New York art scene and goes into the pure but often abusive relationship Mallouk and Basquiat had, through the collateral damages of drug habits and suffocating paranoia. In the end, it is the story of Mallouk’s life, but also gives glimpses of who Basquiat was through his &#;widow&#;s&#; short reminiscent vignettes.

The Diary Of Frida Kahlo

by Frida Kahlo, Carlos Fuentes (Introduction),

Frida Kahlo kept a haunting journal during the last decade of her life, preoccupied with death, beset by isolation and by an unending round of surgeries from a series of accidents building up to a brutally crippling bus-and-streetcar crash that led to a life of constant pain. Although never intended to be shown to the public, the book begins in the mids and follows a personal journey via Kahlo’s thoughts, poems, dreams, and reflections on her stormy relationship with her husband, painter Diego Rivera.

The Surreal Life Of Leonora Carrington

by Joanna Moorhead,

• Van Gogh

• The Life
• By: Steven Naifeh, Gregory White Smith
• Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
• Length: 44 hrs and 55 mins
• Unabridged

• Overall

• Performance

• Story

Working with the full cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith have accessed a wealth of previously untapped materials and illuminated with poignancy the wanderings of Van Gogh's troubled, restless soul

• 5 out of 5 stars

• Empathy for a True Artist

• By Sojourning Hope on

An artist biography (or ‘artists biog’) is a paragraph or two about you and your career as a practitioner. It may also contain a line about the key themes to your practice.

Biographies are often confused with other tools used for self-promotion. A biography differs from an artist&#;s CV in being only written in prose. An artist statement talks about the work and the thinking behind it. A biography talks about the person themselves.

What to include in your artists&#; biog

The sort of key information in an artist&#;s biography might be:

• Your name
• The medium you work in
• A line about the key themes, concerns of your practice.
• Your showing history
• Your art related education (degree level onwards)
• Other interesting information relevant to your practice or career as an artist (e.g. collaborations or arts collectives, other areas or aspects to your career that inform your practice)
• Where you live and work