Constructive Clarity: Max Bill and His Time, 1940–1952

Angela Thomas' Constructive Clarity: Max Bill and His Time, 1940–1952, explores the peak years of the Swiss polymath's career, covering his artistic and intellectual networks, his writing and publishing, and his influence on Concrete art and urban planning.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 800 pages
Publication date: 09 July 2024
Publisher: Hauser & Wirth

Angela Thomas, an art historian and the widow of Max Bills, provides a captivating glimpse into the peak years of the Swiss polymath's career in her multivolume biography, Constructive Clarity: Max Bill and His Time, 1940–1952. The second installment of the series delves deeper into Bills' life, exploring his multifaceted artistic and intellectual networks during World War II. Thomas highlights Bills' groundbreaking contributions to various fields, including design, painting, sculpture, architecture, typography, writing, curating, teaching, and politics. She traces his journey from the Bauhaus in Dessau to his connections with the Parisian avant-garde and his enduring friendship with Georges Vantongerloo. The book emphasizes Bills' significance as a writer, publisher, and exhibition organizer, as well as his profound impact on the development of Concrete art in South America and his active involvement in urban planning and postwar reconstruction. Through a wealth of correspondence, conversations, and previously unpublished sources, Thomas skillfully weaves a narrative that brings Bills' life to life and sheds new light on the artistic, political, and personal contexts in which he worked.

Weight: 1500g
Dimension: 235 x 165 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783906915692