Forthcoming Books

Recently Released Books

Complete Catalog

How to Order Books

Manuscript Guidelines

Rights & Permissions

Desk & Review Copies

Contact Us




Secret Exhibition
Secret Exhibition
Six California Artists of the Cold War Era
By Rebecca Solnit
ISBN 0-87286-254-2
Over 200 illustrations
$17.95




Secret Exhibition chronicles a vital California art movement, focusing on six artists – Wallace Bergman, Jess, Bruce Conner, Jay DeFeo, Wally Hendrick, and George Herms – who broke new ground with provocative work, especially in assemblage and mixed-media projects. This important though relatively little-documented 1950s' avant-garde flourished on the West Coast, where the artists were free to create art that was as subversive as it was uncommercial. The story of these artists and their close associates – Beat Generation poets, experimental filmmakers, and musicians who were also breaking away from formalism and convention – is told here against the backdrop of the Korean and Vietnam wars, postwar growth, and the rise of a vigorous counterculture. With first-hand accounts by writers and artists, passages from letters, poems, and ephemeral publications, Secret Exhibition brings together a complex picture of an exciting era; and more than a hundred illustrations in black and white and color make it a visual record of an essential chapter in contemporary American art.

"Secret Exhibition is the first book to fully document an era and an art all too often ignored or mythologized in histories of American art after World War II. Solnit succeeds impressively in providing both a well-documented chronicle of an art movement and a fascinating picture of the social and cultural milieu that shaped its artists. An indispensible resource. – Whitney Chadwick

This documents the moment and historically most important movement in California art. It's a must for those interested in this century's art – Dennis Hopper



City Lights Publishers Catalog by author:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

All City Lights Books are available in the City Lights Bookstore (Map & Directions ) and at other fine bookstores around the country. You can also order these books directly from our web site, simply click on the "add to cart" button next to the book of your choice. All orders will be sent by U.S. 4th Class Mail. For expedited shipping, or international orders, please see our Ordering Information .