Contemporary Artists: Paul Graham

Part of the Contemporary Artists series.

Paul Graham uses and abuses classic genres of photography - the portrait, the landscape, the still life - to map a cultural and geopolitical topography. This book brings together for the first time successive bodies of the British artist's work inspired by a series of journeys; via diners on the A1 road in Britain; the suburban streets and country lanes of Derry and Belfast; private apartments, public meeting places throughout Europe; and, increasingly in the 1990s, the cityscapes of Japan. His jewel-like colours and unsettling compositions reveal how historical traumas leak through to permeate the everyday.

Graham's work has been celebrated in shows at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Fotomuseum, Winterthur and the Tate Gallery, London.

Wilson charts the development of Graham's most significant series as defined by the journeys the artist has taken, weaving relations between an emerging aesthetic and the specifics of time and place. Wearing speaks with Graham and Squiers focuses on a triptych from the 'New Europe' series. A series of notes by Graham and an interview with Lewis Baltz provide further insight.

'Contemporary Artists' is a series of authoritative and highly illustrated studies of important artists of the late 20th century. Each title offers a comprehensive survey of individual artists' works. Different genres of art writing are contributed by an international spectrum of authors who are leading figures in their fields, ranging from art history and criticism to philosophy, cultural theory and fiction. Each study provides incisive analyses and multiple perspectives on contemporary art and its inspiration. These are essential source books for everyone concerned with art today.