Art Deco Graphics

The art deco style, usually associated with furniture, architecture and jewelry, also spilled over into graphic art, as this abundantly illustrated survey proves. From posters to packaging, fashion, wallpaper, magazine covers, menus and book illustration, art deco artists merged the fragmentary techniques of cubism, Russian constructivist logic and the energy and speed of futurism into a unique style. This blockbuster survey, billed as the first devoted exclusively to art deco graphics, includes hundreds of examples by A. M. Cassandre, Lucien Bernhard, Erte, Leger, Bakst, El Lissitzsky and scores of less well-known artists. In commercial design, art deco was clearly part of a revolution that redefined layout and typography. For its nostalgic charm, intrinsic interest and recovery of little-known beautiful works, the book is significant. Kery is a curator in the art deco/art nouveau fields. (October