BOOK:Francis Bacon-Couplings,Gagosian Publications

Francis Bacon’s disturbing images (his portrayals of friends and fellow artists, and the deformations and stylistic distortions of classical subjects) radically altered the genre of figurative painting in the 20^th Century. In Bacon’s paintings, the human presence is evoked sometimes viscerally, at other times more fleetingly, in the form of a shadow or a blurred, watchful figure. In certain instances, the portrayal takes the form of a composite in which male and female bodily traits are transposed or fused. Published on the occasion of the exhibition “Francis Bacon: Couplings”  at Gagosian, London (6/6-3/8/19) this book presents Bacon’s double-figure paintings, which explore a theme that preoccupied the artist throughout his career: the relationship—both physical and psychological—between two people. It features an introductory text by Richard Calvocoressi; a new essay and plate texts by Martin Harrison; and a never-before-published interview between Bacon, Richard Francis, and Ian Morrison; as well as studio ephemera and working documents.-Efi Michalarou