It Speaks to Me: Art that Inspires Artists

Jori Finkel

Hardcover | 20.14 x 2.08 x 24.92 cm | 160 pp

Prestel | 2019 | 9783791356594

Imagine your favourite artist leading you through a museum to the very work of art they can't stop thinking about. That's the experience at the heart of It Speaks to Me. In lively and intimate interviews, some of today's most acclaimed artists share the compelling details that make an artwork memorable and meaningful to them. 

Together these artists bring to life a wide range of museum pieces, from celebrated masterpieces to little-known gems, or from a Rembrandt self-portrait to a social-protest drawing. In the process they remind us of why we look at art at all: to share in the spark of creativity that can jump from an artwork across countries and centuries and to experience the extraordinary sensation of being inspired.

Highlights include: David Hockney on Edgar Degas, Marina Abramovic on Umberto Boccioni, Ai Weiwei on a Shang Dynasty jade, Nick Cave on Jasper Johns, Judy Chicago on Agnes Pelton, William Kentridge on Antoine Bourdelle, Luc Tuymans on Jan van Eyck, and Gillian Wearing on Rembrandt.