New Tribal Labyrinth: Atelier Van Lieshout

New Tribal Labyrinth offers a survey of works from the eponymous ongoing project by Atelier Van Lieshout, the internationally recognized studio of Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout. This publication reflects on our extremely advanced and complex society, in which over-consumption and limited raw materials play a crucial role. In Atelier Van Lieshout's vision, this will lead to conflict and the subsequent emergence of a new world order, with groups of people organizing themselves in tribes instead of nation-states. This new tribal world will see a return to farming and industry—which currently both have been banished from our society—and a re-establishment of our relationship with materials which now has been lost.

The book—published in collaboration with GRIMM gallery—is richly illustrated, showcasing not only the finished works of the artist but also how some of the pieces were made by van Lieshout and his team in their Rotterdam studio.

Joep van Lieshout lives and works in Rotterdam. Since the early 1980s, he has produced objects primarily in brightly colored polyester, the material that would become his trademark in subsequent years. Over the years he has gained international recognition for objects that balance on the boundary between art, architecture, and design. These works of art are practical, uncomplicated, and substantial. Recurring themes in the work of van Lieshout are autarky, power, politics, and the more classical themes of life and death.