Maria Lassnig on painting and living, in previously unpublished letters to the celebrated curator

The Austrian painter Maria Lassnig (1919-2014) and the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) had a steady correspondence spanning 20 years, during which time they discussed art, literature and their exhibition and book projects together.

Published for the first time, Lassnig's handwritten letters provide an insight into her reflections on art and her existence as an artist, into their heights, depths and intricacies. Lassnig allowed Obrist not only to partake in her thoughts on painting or her polemics on photography, but also in her everyday life between the urban art world and her remote studio in the Austrian countryside.

The book includes numerous reproductions of works by Lassnig, as well as of the letters and postcards to Obrist.