Edward Hopper. A–Z, Hatje Cantz Verlag

Edward Hopper. A–Z
Hatje Cantz Verlag

EDWARD HOPPER. A–Z

Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2020

Text by Ulf Küster

Graphic design by Torsten Köchlin und Joana Katte

English or German, 120 pp., 40 ills., hardcover

13.00 x 19.50 cm - 18,00€

In Europe Edward Hopper is primarily known for his oil paintings of scenes of urban life, and he is considered one of the twentieth century’s most important artists. His less familiar landscape paintings are now on display in a show at the Fondation Beyeler as well as in the catalogue A Fresh Look at Landscape. In the accompanying volume, Edward Hopper. A–Z, the curator and art theoretician Ulf Küster sheds some light on the ABCs of the artist’s life and work. 

Josephine and Edward Hopper 

in Two Lights Cape Elizabeth, Maine 1927

Edward Hopper began his career as an illustrator, but today Edward Hopper (1882–1967) is mainly known as a painter. His paintings display his virtuosity in the depiction of light and shadow, which formed the basis of a unique aesthetic that went beyond painting into the realms of pop culture, film, and photography.

An atmosphere of melancholy and isolation runs through Edward Hopper’s paintings, and it can also be perceived in his landscape paintings. At the same time they convey a threat, which he portrays in his work by relating landscape to city as the human invasion of nature. This is geometrically clear in the pictorial composition: buildings that make the presence of humans obvious are important elements. Railroads structure the pictures horizontally, while the expanded sky and atmospheric light show the transformation of nature in the still landscape.

“Landscape always shows the influence of humankind on nature, something that Hopper’s pictures subtly reflect in a variety of ways. He created a manifestly modern approach to one of art history’s established genres.,” says the curator Ulf Küster about the significance of Edward Hopper’s landscape pictures.

Edward Hopper ca. 1937

Photo: Harris & Ewing

Appearing concurrently with the show at the Fondation Beyeler, the book Edward Hopper. A–Z sheds light on the biographical details of Edward Hopper’s life, with a view to how they affected his work. From “A,” as in “American landscape,” to “Z,” as in Zero, Ulf Küster entertainingly and informatively tells of important influences and specific places involved in Edward Hopper’s oeuvre. Hence, the reader discovers what kind of influence Goethe’s work had on the painter, or which brand of car the artist preferred, thus gaining enriching insight into his work, which allows for new interpretations.

EXHIBITION: Edward Hopper, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, January 26 – September 20, 2020

HATJE CANTZ
www.hatjecantz.de