Ashley Bickerton: Ornamental Hysteria

Bali-based artist Ashley Bickerton (born 1959) rose to prominence in the early 1980s as part of New York’s East Village art scene with his vibrant abstract works critiquing consumer culture and the commodification of the art object.

Alongside Jeff Koons, Meyer Vaisman and Peter Halley, Bickerton pioneered what was called the “Neo-Geo” movement with his unconventional paintings devoid of Expressionist brushstrokes. Featuring works that span the duration of Bickerton’s career thus far, from the earlier consumerist works up to the recent tropically colored mixed-media paintings of exotic, erotic fantasies and nightmares, Ashley Bickerton: Ornamental Hysteria draws from works in Damien Hirst’s Murderme collection. This fully illustrated book offers a thorough survey of the artist’s diverse body of work and includes essays by novelist Paul Theroux and art critic Nicola Trezzi, as well as a conversation between Bickerton and the filmmaker Roddy Bogawa.