INFORMATION
Author(s): Petra Mason, Richard Blanco, Paul Laster, Robert Farris Thompson
Print length: 238 pages
Dimensions: 26,42 × 31,24 cm
Format: Hardcover
Price: 2.259.000 đ
Weight: 1.930 g
Publisher: Rizzoli
Publication year: 2015
INTRODUCTION
"Carlos Betancourt: Imperfect Utopia" is a vibrant and expansive monograph exploring the bold, layered practice of artist Carlos Betancourt and his studio Imperfect Utopia, which helped shape the Miami art scene of the 1980s and beyond. His work draws from Caribbean roots, Miami’s cultural mix, and a global vision of memory, identity, and nature—melding photography, collage, painting, assemblage and installation in colorful and evocative compositions.
Across 238 pages and more than 250 full-colour images, the book features essays by art critic Paul Laster, scholar Robert Farris Thompson and poet Richard Blanco that contextualize Betancourt’s visuals within themes of diasporic culture, aesthetic hybridity, and the constant interplay between nature and constructed space. His camera-based work often blends celebrity photography, landscapes, found materials and lush tropical references, creating dream-like assemblages that reference Warhol, Mendieta, and Rauschenberg.
This volume is both a feast for the eyes and a deep dive into the artist’s unique visual language. It’s ideal for collectors, students of contemporary art, and anyone intrigued by how culture, geography and memory can intertwine to produce powerful artwork. But don’t let the title fool you—this book shows that though the studio is called “Imperfect Utopia”, the results are richly deliberate, immersive and unforgettable.
