From the Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of How to Be an Artist: a deliciously readable survey of the art world in turbulent times

Jerry Saltz is one of our most-watched writers about art and artists, and a passionate champion of the importance of art in our shared cultural life. Since the 1990s he has been an indispensable cultural voice: witty and provocative, he has attracted contemporary readers to fine art as few critics have. An early champion of forgotten and overlooked women artists, he has also celebrated the pioneering work of African American, LGBTQ+, and other long-marginalized creators. Sotheby’s Institute of Art has called him, simply, “the art critic.”

Now, in Art Is Life, Jerry Saltz draws on two decades of work to offer a real-time survey of contemporary art as a barometer of our times. Chronicling a period punctuated by dramatic turning points—from the cultural reset of 9/11 to the rolling social crises of today—Saltz traces how visionary artists have both documented and challenged the culture. Art Is Life offers Saltz’s eye-opening appraisals of trailblazers like Kara Walker, David Wojnarowicz, Hilma af Klint, and Jasper Johns; provocateurs like Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, and Marina Abramović; and visionaries like Jackson Pollock, Bill Traylor, and Willem de Kooning. Saltz celebrates landmarks like the Obama portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, writes searchingly about disturbing moments such as the Ankara gallery assassination, and offers surprising takes on figures from Thomas Kinkade to Kim Kardashian. And he shares stories of his own haunted childhood, his time as a “failed artist,” and his epiphanies upon beholding work by Botticelli, Delacroix, and the cave painters of Niaux.

With his signature blend of candor and conviction, Jerry Saltz argues in Art Is Life for the importance of the fearless artist—reminding us that art is a kind of channeled voice of human experience, a necessary window onto our times. The result is an openhearted and irresistibly readable appraisal by one of our most important cultural observers.

To those in the art world, Jerry Saltz is a household name - his work has won him the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, and as senior art critic for the New York Magazine, Saltz has a voice and opinion which greatly influences both artists and the masses. If we are to truly examine his work, we must forget the television appearances, his three honorary doctorates, and the lifetime he has dedicated to art. However, even if you push these statistics to the back of your mind, the end product is clear; this is the work of an art critic doing what he does best, criticizing art. In addition to breaking down the intricacies of modern art and the artists behind the pieces, he meditates upon the recent history of art, and the direction of its future. The book is multifaceted, and the strongest part of the work is Saltz’s conversational prose. His personal essays, detailing his arduous journey into becoming the eminent critic he is today, are illuminating and told in an honest, open style. Art is Life is one of the most comprehensive books on modern art, leading up to 2021, and detailing the shutdown of galleries during the pandemic. This book is directed at those who have an interest in the art world, but will be equally entertaining and informative for anyone who wants to learn about the madness, genius, and human heart of those who create art. ( )