Francis Alÿs: Ricochets

Publisher: Prestel

Publication Date: 2024

Edited by Florence Ostende

This immersive publication explores the artistic journey of one of today's most prominent conceptual artists, with a specific focus on his groundbreaking series, “Children’s Games.”  Whether he's moving a sand dune in Peru or pushing an enormous ice block through the streets of Mexico City, Francis Alÿs is constantly seeking to decipher complex social, political, and cultural issues in ways that are simultaneously affecting, imaginative and provocative.

Highlighting rarely seen source material, this richly illustrated book delves into the impulses behind Alÿs's influential works. Celebrating the breadth and importance of the artist’s work, a series of essays by leading scholars and writers look at his studio practice and influences across art, history, and literature, revealing new perspectives on his prolific career and ongoing preoccupations.

It also examines the most recent iteration of his critically acclaimed series Children's Games, in which he documents children's games from various cultures around the world. From whimsical explorations of everyday life to his engagement with cross-cultural contexts from Latin America to North Africa and the Middle East, Alÿs’s work serves as a platform for navigating the world, inviting viewers to engage with the poetic and transformative potential of artistic expression.

Details

Publisher: Prestel

Artist: Francis Alÿs

Publication Date: 2024

ISBN: 9783791377643

Binding: Hardcover

Dimensions: 9.75 x 11 in

Pages: 256

Artist and Contributors

Francis Alÿs

Belgian-born Francis Alÿs (b. 1959) is known for his in-depth projects in a wide range of media, including film, painting, photography, performance and video. Through his practice, Alÿs consistently directs his distinct poetic and imaginative sensibility toward anthropological and geopolitical concerns centered around observations of, and engagements with, everyday life.

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