The Americans -- New Art is the first book to survey the most recent wave of young American contemporary artists, including many individuals who have only just begun to emerge onto the international scene. These artists belong to a generation that has developed an energetic & coherent alternative to the expansive & often brash aesthetic dismantled by the bubble-burst downturn of the American economy at the end of the 1980s. Featuring a selection of the work of 30 artists that demonstrates the use of both cutting-edge & traditional media, the book includes 200 illustrations, offering a stimulating mix of painting, sculpture, installation, photography, film & video. This group, most of whom are in their twenties or thirties, differ significantly from their exuberant Young British Artist counterparts. Their work is marked by a mood of speculation & introspection together with an approach to making art that verges on the obsessive-compulsive. The Americans -- New Art includes the work of cult figures such as Fred Tomaselli & Tim Hawkinson, as well as newer names, such as installation artist Ricci Albenda & sculptor Rachel Feinstein; other artists include Jeff Burton, Liz Craft, Rob Pruitt, T J Wilcox, Kara Walker, Arturo Herrera, Jonathan Horowitz, Tony Matelli, Evan Holloway, Tom Friedman, John Pilson, Brian Calvin, Paul Sietsema, Erik Parker, Piotr Uklanski, Ellen Gallagher, Amy Adler & Roe Ethridge. Also includes four essays by leading contemporary art writers, including Barbican Art Gallery curator, Mark Sladen. Published in association with the Barbican Art Gallery, London. Designed by Joseph Burrin at Big Corporate Disco.