Sonja Sekula and Friends

Sonja Sekula (1918-63) was born and educated in Lucerne, but emigrated to the United States in 1936 together with her family. In 1941, she began studying art at the Arts Students League in New York and made the acquaintance of Andre Breton and his friends among the surrealists. Her automatic paintings and texts soon captured the interest of Peggy Guggenheim and Marcel Duchamp, and in 1943 she was invited to show her work at Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery. In the late 1940s Betty Parsons Gallery featured Sekula's paintings in a number of group and solo exhibitions. Mental health problems dogged her throughout her life and forced her to return to Switzerland, where she committed suicide in 1963. This book provides a comprehensive overview of Sekula's art in context of the work of her friends and fellow artists from the period. Richly illustrated, it offers a chance to rediscover an immensely talented artist who has been unjustly neglected. AUTHOR: Kunstmuseum Luzern is one of Switzerland's leading art museums with a special focus on contemporary art and on Swiss artists. 100 colour illustrations