With its fairy-tale yet matter-of-fact title, Grace and Beauty reveals Jim Dine's unquenchable enthusiasm for re-imagining his iconic personal motifs-here the Classical torso, hearts and tools-in experimental combinations of media. The book contains his most recent works, all from 2022: mixed-media assemblages, and monumental bronze and stainless-steel sculptures-"an army of sculptures: flowers, machines, and primitive skulls at once"-which he often adorns with thick coats of explosive color. These are hybrid forms between sculpture and painting whose stark contrasts display the artist's quest for new territories of beauty. Dine introduces each group of works with a short personal text and complements them with a series of documentary photographs taken at Kunstgiesserei St.Gallen, where his sculptures are born-the site of his proud collaboration with the foundry's expert team and the crucible for his ongoing struggle with matter.

Born in 1935 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jim Dine completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Ohio University in 1957 and has since become one of the most profound and prolific contemporary artists. Dine's unparalleled career spans more than 60 years, and his work is held in numerous private and public collections. His books with Steidl include Pinocchio (2006), Hot Dream (52 Books) (2008), A Printmaker's Document (2013), Paris Reconnaissance (2018), The Secret Drawings (2020), A Beautiful Day (2021), I print. Catalogue Raisonné of Prints, 2001-2020 (2021) and Electrolyte in Blue (2021).