John Stezaker

The art of John Stezaker engages with the ceaseless flow of images that has been a consequence of mechanical reproduction, mass media and popular culture. His intervention into these images through collage, excision, reconfiguration, inversion or occlusion can be seen to interrupt their everyday circulation in a profound way: image and perception alike are questioned, rearranged and opened to new possibilities. Through their transformation Stezaker's images acquire poetic resonance, and, in many cases, a disquieting allure. With over 120 illustrations, this monograph presents the first overview of John Stezaker's work on paper from the 1970s onwards, featuring his found images, collages, image fragments and a selection from The 3rd Person Archive. Essays by Dawn Ades and Michael Bracewell, as well as a conversation between the artist and curators Daniel F. Herrmann and Christophe Gallois, place Stezaker's work in a historical context and analyse his methodology and practice. The exhibition opens at the Whitechapel Gallery, London in January 2011 and travels to the MUDAM, Luxembourg at the end of the year (June - September 2011). It will also show at Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St Louis, USA (January - April 2012);