Encounters with ArtistsRichard CorkLabel: Thames & Hudson LtdDescription: Leading art critic and writer Richard Cork tells the stories of his personal encounters with some of the world’s most influential modern and contemporary artists. Richard Cork draws on his impeccable skills as a critic and writer to tell the story of his encounters with some of the world’s most influential artists. Through a series of frank interviews some scheduled others serendipitous he uncovers artists’ inner thoughts anxieties and creative ambitions to reveal the personalities behind the art. From individuals who are able to look back over a lifetime’s work such as Louise Bourgeois Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns to young artists encountered at the beginning of their careers including Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst from a drive through the Yorkshire countryside with David Hockney to a tour of Soho drinking establishments with Francis Bacon alongside remarkably insightful encounters with artists as varied as Gerhard Richter Doris Salcedo Sonia Boyce Luc Tuymans and Steve McQueen Richard Cork has found that ‘talking to artists can in my experience be surprising revealing salutary testing provocative stimulating and at times capable of overturning all my preconceptions about the individuals I encounter.’ Cork has played a significant role in popularizing late modern and contemporary art. In the words of art critic Louisa Buck his ‘lucid even-handed and at times trenchantly critical judgement has been invaluable in helping to create the multiplicity of approach and vigorous debates of today’s artistic climate’.
