Viviane Sassen - Lexicon - 2014
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Description from the seller
Viviane Sassen: Lexicon
Lexicon is one of Viviane Sassen's most ambitious and visually compelling publications, offering a broad survey of the Dutch photographer's multifaceted practice. Rather than following a chronological narrative, the book unfolds as an associative visual journey, revealing the recurring themes, symbols and formal experiments that have defined Sassen's work across photography, fashion, fine art and personal projects.
At the heart of Lexicon is Sassen's distinctive ability to transform the familiar into the unexpected. Bodies dissolve into sculptural forms, shadows become active compositional elements, and colour functions as both structure and emotion. Her photographs challenge conventional ideas of portraiture and representation, inviting viewers to engage with images that exist somewhere between reality and abstraction.
The publication highlights Sassen's remarkable command of light, geometry and spatial relationships. Figures are often fragmented or partially concealed, creating compositions that balance tension and elegance while encouraging multiple interpretations. This visual language, inspired by surrealism, modernist art and her experiences living in Africa during childhood, has become one of the most recognizable voices in contemporary photography.
Bringing together works from different stages of her career, Lexicon reveals the coherence of Sassen's artistic vision despite the diversity of her subjects. Editorial commissions, personal photographs and conceptual series coexist seamlessly, demonstrating how her experimental approach transcends the boundaries between commercial and artistic photography.
Beautifully designed and richly reproduced, the book allows the intensity of Sassen's imagery to unfold across generous page layouts, emphasizing the material and tactile qualities of her photographs. Accompanied by insightful texts that provide context without limiting interpretation, Lexicon serves as both an introduction to her practice and an in-depth exploration of her evolving visual vocabulary.
A landmark publication in contemporary photography, Viviane Sassen: Lexicon is an essential addition to any collection of Photography Books. It celebrates an artist whose innovative use of colour, form and abstraction continues to redefine the possibilities of the photographic image, making this volume indispensable for anyone interested in contemporary visual culture and experimental photobooks.
Seller's Story
Dartbooks is a specialized photography bookshop based in Barcelona, dedicated to photobooks, rare and out-of-print editions, and historically significant publications. With a strong focus on Japanese photography, Dartbooks was founded to provide continuity to a field that requires depth, expertise, and careful curation.
The bookshop was established after the closure of Kowasa, a landmark reference for photography books in Spain. Its disappearance left a clear gap for photographers, collectors, and institutions in need of a space with a serious and knowledgeable approach to the photobook. Dartbooks emerged in response to that need, not as a replacement, but as part of the natural evolution of a cultural ecosystem.
Dartbooks operates with a curatorial mindset, shaped by long-term engagement with photography and book collecting. The project functions as a book hunting platform for collectors, professionals, and libraries worldwide, and also provides advisory support to other bookshops seeking to develop coherent and specialized photography collections.
The catalogue includes new publications, rare and out-of-print titles, monographs, retrospectives, self-published works, signed copies, and editions produced directly by photographers through their own imprints. The selection reflects a sustained commitment to photography as a form of visual narration, where images construct meaning beyond text.
Although rooted in the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Dartbooks serves an international audience. Its community includes collectors, professionals, and institutions from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and beyond, both through the physical space and the online platform.
Dartbooks understands the photobook not merely as an object of consumption, but as a cultural artifact that documents artistic practices, historical contexts, and personal visions. The bookshop functions simultaneously as a place of discovery, an archive in constant growth, and a point of connection between photographers, publishers, and readers.
Viviane Sassen: Lexicon
Lexicon is one of Viviane Sassen's most ambitious and visually compelling publications, offering a broad survey of the Dutch photographer's multifaceted practice. Rather than following a chronological narrative, the book unfolds as an associative visual journey, revealing the recurring themes, symbols and formal experiments that have defined Sassen's work across photography, fashion, fine art and personal projects.
At the heart of Lexicon is Sassen's distinctive ability to transform the familiar into the unexpected. Bodies dissolve into sculptural forms, shadows become active compositional elements, and colour functions as both structure and emotion. Her photographs challenge conventional ideas of portraiture and representation, inviting viewers to engage with images that exist somewhere between reality and abstraction.
The publication highlights Sassen's remarkable command of light, geometry and spatial relationships. Figures are often fragmented or partially concealed, creating compositions that balance tension and elegance while encouraging multiple interpretations. This visual language, inspired by surrealism, modernist art and her experiences living in Africa during childhood, has become one of the most recognizable voices in contemporary photography.
Bringing together works from different stages of her career, Lexicon reveals the coherence of Sassen's artistic vision despite the diversity of her subjects. Editorial commissions, personal photographs and conceptual series coexist seamlessly, demonstrating how her experimental approach transcends the boundaries between commercial and artistic photography.
Beautifully designed and richly reproduced, the book allows the intensity of Sassen's imagery to unfold across generous page layouts, emphasizing the material and tactile qualities of her photographs. Accompanied by insightful texts that provide context without limiting interpretation, Lexicon serves as both an introduction to her practice and an in-depth exploration of her evolving visual vocabulary.
A landmark publication in contemporary photography, Viviane Sassen: Lexicon is an essential addition to any collection of Photography Books. It celebrates an artist whose innovative use of colour, form and abstraction continues to redefine the possibilities of the photographic image, making this volume indispensable for anyone interested in contemporary visual culture and experimental photobooks.
Seller's Story
Dartbooks is a specialized photography bookshop based in Barcelona, dedicated to photobooks, rare and out-of-print editions, and historically significant publications. With a strong focus on Japanese photography, Dartbooks was founded to provide continuity to a field that requires depth, expertise, and careful curation.
The bookshop was established after the closure of Kowasa, a landmark reference for photography books in Spain. Its disappearance left a clear gap for photographers, collectors, and institutions in need of a space with a serious and knowledgeable approach to the photobook. Dartbooks emerged in response to that need, not as a replacement, but as part of the natural evolution of a cultural ecosystem.
Dartbooks operates with a curatorial mindset, shaped by long-term engagement with photography and book collecting. The project functions as a book hunting platform for collectors, professionals, and libraries worldwide, and also provides advisory support to other bookshops seeking to develop coherent and specialized photography collections.
The catalogue includes new publications, rare and out-of-print titles, monographs, retrospectives, self-published works, signed copies, and editions produced directly by photographers through their own imprints. The selection reflects a sustained commitment to photography as a form of visual narration, where images construct meaning beyond text.
Although rooted in the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Dartbooks serves an international audience. Its community includes collectors, professionals, and institutions from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and beyond, both through the physical space and the online platform.
Dartbooks understands the photobook not merely as an object of consumption, but as a cultural artifact that documents artistic practices, historical contexts, and personal visions. The bookshop functions simultaneously as a place of discovery, an archive in constant growth, and a point of connection between photographers, publishers, and readers.
Details
Number of books
1
Subject
Photography
Book title
Lexicon
Author/ Illustrator
Viviane Sassen
Condition
Very good
Publication year oldest item
2014
Height
29 cm
Edition
1st Edition
Width
23 cm
Language
English
Original language
Yes
Publisher
Artbeat Publishers
Binding/ Material
Hardback
Number of pages
72
