Steidlville

Maria Lassnig’s writings can now be read in English for the first time. Encompassing Lassnig’s diary entries and notes, along with a selection of her poems and letters from 1943 to 1997, this book is illustrated with numerous photographs of the artist and reproductions of her drawings. Originally published in 2000 in German by Hans Ulrich Obrist, it includes major material not previously available in English to encompass the artist’s diverse oeuvre, her complex working process and rich life.

The publication brings together an array of texts, including childhood memories, reflections on nature and aging, thoughts on art and painting, as well as on her outsider status. Like Lassnig’s painting and drawing these writings are deeply introspective and concern experiences of the human body, taking her psychological self as the subject. They are significant expressions of her belief that “truth resides in the emotions produced within the physical shell”. Even though Maria Lassnig has attained critical acclaim and received several awards for her painting, the range and significance of her work was hardly known outside German-speaking Europe before her successful exhibition at London’s Serpentine Gallery. This publication is the first in-depth introduction to Maria Lassnig.