This exhibition catalog by Austrian-born Robert F. Hammerstiel is a collection of brightly colored still-life photographs that depict a utopia with a distinct aftertaste of plastic, of artificial colors and flavors that taint normally desirable objects in the Western world. “Questioning the mechanisms underlying our consumer society has always been an important driving force in my work,” said the artist in 2005. From streets lined with identical houses to bountiful spreads of meat and wine, Hammerstiel’s work showcases robust symbols of prosperity, shiny, pretty things that are so out-of-context that they seem somehow dysfunctional. Includes an interview with the photographer and excellent texts by art historians.

Robert F. Hammerstiel, *1957 in Pottschach, Austria. Lives and works in Vienna, Austria.