Matt Black Book Launch with José Parlá

Floor One, The Whitney Shop

Come celebrate the release of filmmaker Matt Black’s new book, Reflections: In Conversation with Today’s Artists, published by Assouline, with a book launch event in the Whitney Shop.

The evening will include a conversation between author Matt Black and artist José Parlá, a book signing, and light reception.

When filmmaker Matt Black interviews artists, it’s personal. His perceptive queries prompt subjects to reveal intriguing pieces of their individual journeys with various media. Rashid Johnson talks about using historically charged materials to express his identity; Taryn Simon, about exploring the different forms of power upon individuals; and Robert Longo, navigating between traditional representation and modernist abstraction.

The twenty-one conversations in this volume are casual, comfortable, and insightful, effortlessly bringing out each artist’s personality, as if the reader were sitting in the room with him or her. The political and social dialogues found in the artists’ work are a large part of what makes them so relevant in the art world today.

Illustrated with the artists’ work, artists in their studios, and shots from Black’s video interviews, Reflections: In Conversation with Today’s Artists is a unique foray from the printed page into the world of the cinematic—a collage-like work of art in itself.

Artists featured: Dustin Yellin, Robert Longo, Taryn Simon, Damien Hirst, KAWS, Banks Violette, Larry Clark, Joyce Pensato, Jeff Koons, José Parlá, JR, Rashid Johnson, Genieve Figgis, Doug Aitken, Harmony Korine, Rostarr, Erik Parker, Scott Campbell, Kenneth Anger, Aaron Young, and Gary Simmons.

This event is free. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.