Petah Coyne

Unlike many contemporary artists who focus on social or media-related issues, Petah Coyne (b. 1953) imbues her work with a magical quality to evoke intensely personal associations. Her sculptures convey an inherent tension between vulnerability and aggression, innocence and seduction, beauty and decadence, and, ultimately, life and death. In her darkly beautiful sculptural installations, often described as lush and dreamlike, she uses unusual and eclectic materials like hay, black sand, wax, satin ribbons, artificial flowers, white powder, and taxidermy animals. "Petah Coyne: Everything that Rises Must Converge" features works spanning the past decade, among them pieces that incorporate literary themes from sources as diverse as Southern writer Flannery O'Connor (who inspired the current book's title), Japanese novelist Yasunari Kawabata, and medieval poet Dante. Additional works take their inspiration from filmmakers such as Yasuhiro Ozu and Michelangelo Antonioni. Also presented are a series of ghostly photographs featuring blurred figures of children and Buddhist monks. The book includes an interview with the artist and an original short story by A.M. Homes that responds to the themes and narratives in Coyne's work.