Andrew Geller Deconstructed : Artist and Architect

The author has unique access to all of Andrew Geller's original archives, including many never-before-published drawings, photographs, and interviews, making this the definitive book on Geller's life and work. Geller is an unsung hero of the modernist era, just now coming to be understood for his witty and prescient works Alan Hess, writer of the foreword, is a very important architectural writer who will lend support to the importance of Geller in the world of modernist architecture through his essay/foreword. Jake Gorst is an Emmy (R) award winning documentary filmmaker. The author's film, Leisurama, has been shown widely at film festivals since it was introduced in 2005, and has broadened the "brand" of both the subject and the author. Over the course of a career that lasted more than fifty years, Andrew Geller - architect, artist, and designer - quietly produced a large and culturally significant body of work, leaving an invaluable mark in his field. Geller's impact was first felt in the heady post-World War II years he spent at the Raymond Loewy design firm, where one highlight amongst many was his creation of the iconic logo for Lord & Taylor, in an inspired flourish of the hand. He is undoubtedly most well-known, though, for his architecture, and his stunning modernist beach houses in particular, houses that still grace our shores and which, not unlike Andrew Geller himself, were innovative, unconventional, and saturated with a delight for beauty and form. In Andrew Geller: Deconstructed, Jake Gorst celebrates the life and work of his grandfather, bringing together two-decades worth of interviews, both formal and informal, as well as many artefacts and treasures culled from Geller's vast personal collection of drawings and photographs. Included within are stories and images not only of his now famous beach houses, but also of the many lesser-known buildings and early artworks, making this the definitive volume on this architectural icon. Gorst's intent in writing this volume - to share this wealth of information and provide an intimate glimpse into the inner workings of an artist - is here fully actualised, rendering a vivid portrait of a man whose main drive in life was to create beauty whatever he did.