The Body in Contemporary Art Paperback by Sally O'Reilly

Product Details

• Publisher: Thames and Hudson (2025-11-04)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 240 pages
• ISBN-13: 9780500205044
• Item Weight: 572.67 grams
• Dimensions: 8.25 x 5.9 x 0.7 cm

A new volume in the acclaimed World of Art series: featuring work across a range of media that represents the human body.

This international survey presents art made over the last two decades in which the human form is central. From painting and sculpture to installation, video art, and performance, it examines the roles played by the body in art, from being the subject of portraiture to becoming an active presence in participatory events.

Organized thematically, the book focuses on subjects such as nature and technology, the grotesque, identity politics, and the place of the individual in society. Featuring work by artists such as Matthew Barney, Marlene Dumas, Olafur Eliasson, Oleg Kulik, and Ernesto Neto, it shows how the body continues to be pivotal to the understanding and expression of our place in the universe.

About the Author

Sally O'Reilly writes for performance, print, and video, and is a regular contributor to various art magazines including Art Monthly, Frieze, ArtReview, and Time Out. She has written numerous catalog essays for international museums and galleries, and was writer in residence at the Whitechapel Art Gallery and Modern Art Oxford. O'Reilly has also curated and produced numerous performance events, both independently and as one of the founders of Brown Mountain College of the Performing Arts.