Manuel Neri: Early Work 1953-1978

Rating:
Summary: Neri is a National Treasure
Review: This very beautiful book is a good introduction to Manuel Neri's sculptures, but it is also cherished by those who have followed his career for years.

The book is filled with fantastic photographs! The elegant photographs of his work (going back to the 50's) are magnificent. It is an art in itself to photograph sculpture, and I am sorry to say that my search for the photographer's name ended in frustration. He or she deserves a lot of credit.

There are also wonderful snapshots from Neri's life, with many nice photos of the artist with second wife Joan Brown (see Tsujimoto, Karen: The Art of Joan Brown). It's a real slice of an exciting era in west coast art: the 50's, 60's and 70's.

What Neri has done for figurative art covers a greater scope than that of the San Francisco Bay Area, yet he is firmly part of the Bay Area figurative tradition. All the contributors speak of the atmosphere into which Neri arrived as an art student, but particularly Beardsly places him in a unique, thriving artists' society. He does this by writing about how Neri's relationships with Joan Brown and Mark DeSuvero impacted his work; their images live and breathe with profundity in certain of Neri's sculptures (shown with the text).

The book is divided in two: the artist's work and the artist's life; both are compelling enough, it would have been unwise to mix them. The book is very well organized.

Neri's work may at first appear too rough to the eye that only knows Rodin and Donatello, but a second look will discover the grace and energy the artist creates in every work. It is a great book for anyone interested in figurative art. Neri's studies and drawings are quite beautiful by themselves... A great book for any artist who enjoys capturing the figure, either the one who just likes to dabble in life drawing or the serious and technically-minded draftsman. Anyone at all can find in Neri's work a new way to look at line and the figure. Also great for anyone who wants to get to know Bay Area art.