Published on the occasion of an exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, May 20-Sept. 4, 2011.

Blurred landscapes, falling trees and the lofty peaks of the Pyrenees - the extraordinary aesthetics of Ori Gersht's work seduce the viewer. But beneath the beautiful first appearances lie the sites of historical events - in this way the artist makes visible what is no longer plain to see. Ori Gersht (* 1967) views the landscape as the location of past events. On his journeys he follows the traces of the past and translates the process of remembering into powerfully expressive images. The impressive panorama of the Pyrenees, for example, is a site of a desperate flight from the National Socialists. His works of art are metaphors for the unsolvable relationships between past and present, between life and death. They are in the liminal space between (natural) forces and destruction on the one hand, and beauty and grandeur on the other. The images unfold their poetry and horror simultaneously in an extensive pictorial series.

What does it mean to be awake? What exactly is therapeutic about retail therapy? And what are you really working on when you're at your desk, in the gym, or having dinner? From getting ready in the morning, through heading to work, going to a party, having sex and falling back to sleep, Breakfast with Socrates provides an hour-by-hour commentary on what history's greatest philosophers have said about the meaning behind everything we do. A fascinating exploration of our daily lives, Breakfast with Socrates also draws on literature, art, politics and psychology to offer an informal introduction to the history of ideas that will help anyone to think more healthily. Breakfast will never be the same again...

Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at the National Gallery, London, Oct. 31, 2012-Jan. 20, 2013, the CaixaForum Barcelona, Feb. 21-May 19, 2013 and at the CaixaForum Madrid, June 19-Sept. 15, 2013.

Much of contemporary photography and video seems haunted by the past, by ghostly apparitions that are reanimated in reproductive media, as well as in live performance and the virtual world. By using dated, passé, or quasiextinct stylistic devices, subject matter and technologies, this art embodies a melancholic longing for an otherwise unrecuperable past. Haunted examines the myriad ways photographic imagery is incorporated into recent practice and in the process underscores the unique power of reproductive media while documenting a widespread contemporary obsession with documenting the past. The works included in the exhibition range from individual photographs and photographic series, to sculptures and paintings that incorporate photographic elements, to videos, film, performance and site-specific installations. Drawn primarily from the Guggenheim's collection, Haunted features recent acquisitions, many of which will be exhibited by the museum for the first time.

Thought-provoking and richly visual, Nature Morte brings together, for the first time, the poignant, provocative re-imaginings of the traditional still life by over 180 international contemporary artists. This visually stunning and timely book reveals how leading artists of the 21st century are reinvigorating the still life, a genre previously synonymous with the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Old Masters. Michael Petry's careful selection celebrates works by emerging and established artists alike, from all over the globe, including John Currin, Elmgreen & Dragset, Robert Gober, Renata Hegyi, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Gary Hume, Sarah Lucas, Beatriz Milhazes, Gabriel Orozco, Elizabeth Peyton, Marc Quinn, Gerhard Richter, Sam Taylor-Wood and Ai Wei Wei. Short and compelling introductions begin each chapter and are followed by dramatic, visually led spreads that pair each work with a perceptive reading of its significance to the still-life tradition. Petry's engaging, provocative text reveals how contemporary practitioners are revisiting the major motifs of the still life and translating them for the modern world. Petry explores the timeless themes of life, death and the irrevocable passing of time in these new works for our modern world; artworks that invite us to pause and reconsider what it means to be human.