Join us for a talk with art historian Matthew Israel to launch his new book, The Big Picture. Exploring ten of today’s most exciting contemporary artworks created by ten artists over a span of fifteen extraordinary years, Israel reveals the fascinating stories behind each of the artworks, connecting them to larger social and artistic contexts. The works selected range from Andreas Gursky’s stunning, large-scale color photograph Rhine II to Ai Weiwei’s powerful Remembering, an installation of children’s backpacks following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, to Kara Walker’s acclaimed installation, A Subtlety, in Brooklyn’s former Domino Sugar Refinery. Accessible and insightful, The Big Picture presents an indelible portrait of the multifaceted, confounding, often mercurial world of contemporary art in the twenty-first century―a place of wonder and delight that reflects our rapidly shifting global reality.

Matthew Israel is an art historian based in New York City. He is currently Curator at Large at Artsy (Artsy.net) and Director of Artsy OnSite, a global series of artist and curator talks and conversations. Previously at Artsy, he was Director of The Art Genome Project. Israel has written for international art magazines and exhibition catalogues; delivered talks about modern and contemporary art and his work at Artsy globally; worked for prominent galleries; managed major artist estates and foundations; and taught modern and contemporary art at NYU, where he received a PhD in Art History and Archaeology from NYU's Institute of Fine Arts.