With its fairy-tale yet matter-of-fact title, Grace and Beauty reveals Jim Dine's unquenchable enthusiasm for re-imagining his iconic personal motifs-here the Classical torso, hearts and tools-in experimental combinations of media. The book contains his most recent works, all from 2022: mixed-media assemblages, and monumental bronze and stainless-steel sculptures-"an army of sculptures: flowers, machines, and primitive skulls at once"-which he often adorns with thick coats of explosive color. These are hybrid forms between sculpture and painting whose stark contrasts display the artist's quest for new territories of beauty. Dine introduces each group of works with a short personal text and complements them with a series of documentary photographs taken at Kunstgiesserei St.Gallen, where his sculptures are born-the site of his proud collaboration with the foundry's expert team and the crucible for his ongoing struggle with matter.
At 87, I paint what I want and how I want so that now the horse I keep tethered in the studio is completely without a rider. - Jim Dine
Co-published with Galerie Templon, Paris
