DesignArt

For well over 100 years artists have blurred the distinction between "art" and "design," creating works for which Alex Coles has coined the term "DesignArt." In a pioneering study of this dynamic area of art-making, he traces its course from the early 20th century to the present, when such works have become a dominant feature of the contemporary art scene. From Matisse's plush interior for Nelson Rockefeller's New York City townhouse to the playful environments created by Jorge Pardo; from the handprinted fabrics and tapestries of Sonia Delaunay in the 1920s to the fabric designs Takashi Murakami recently conceived with Marc Jacobs, Coles has identified a major and previously uncharted strand in art history. Written in a clear and accessible style and fully illustrated in color throughout, DesignArt is indispensable for all those with an interest in modern art and design and the relationship between the two.