Fiori Ai is an artist who was born in Beijing, China, and moved to the United States at the age of ten. In the introduction to this lovely book is a detailed description of her college education and teaching experiences, as well as a list of exhibitions. How American art evolved in the twentieth century is also highlighted. The beautiful collection begins with her first work in collagraphs. By using “square or rectangular strips painted with graduations of color,” she constructed a variety of intriguing designs. Fiori Ai included works from the next three phases of her artwork. How her work developed over several years is a fascinating study. The last phase included in the book is made up of 85” x 42” panels. In the stunning book, Color-Field Paintings by Fiori Ai, an enchanting array of artwork is displayed, accompanied by thorough, beneficial information.

It seems this book will be especially appreciated by artists who feel inspired to express a new style or medium. The evolution of the work from one phase to the next is another lesson for artists. The last chapter, Future Vision, is a heartfelt message to artists as she envisions “unlimited possibilities” in expanding upon her work. For the non-artist, s/he can simply enjoy the beauty of the art! The many variations Ms. Ai used in design, color, and light will keep the owner of this book entertained for years. Artist and author Fiori Ai has presented a modern-day art book in Color-Field Paintings – a gift for artists and those who appreciate art.

Color-Field Paintings by Fiore Ai is an 80-page non-fiction art book emphasizing abstractions in art. The artist provides a variety of single and multi-paneled abstraction works, along with a brief history and background. The book includes an introduction, historical context, early beginnings collagraphs, various paintings and panel series, prisma, and planetary series. The book reads on a more technical level and likely targets artists who enjoy abstract work, or teachers who find it useful for their art classes. However, anyone who enjoys various types of art will find this an interesting read.

I teach art to students from kindergarten through high school and have found myself, more often than not, drawn to abstract kinds of artworks. They allow for a breadth of imagination not typically seen in more realistic works. This book begins with simple panels and colors, and briefly describes the methods used to create them. As you read through the book, you find that the images grow more complex and interesting and when you explore the final pages, you see the amazing results of mixing these abstractions together: beautiful, colorful works of art. The dawn/dusk and waves are my favorites, though I enjoyed each of them. Color-Field Paintings by Fiore Ai brings a type of abstract art to the reader, showing how when using both creativity, imagination, and the principles and elements of art, anything is possible. This is a book that lovers of art can learn from and hopefully explore their own methods of making beautiful art. Highly recommended.

Color-Field Paintings by Fiore Ai is a non-fiction book on the topic of art and photography. This book would appeal most to those who are artistically inclined, enjoy art, and/or are looking for inspiration. The book begins with a brief introduction to the author/artist and a historical context section which offers insight into the development of American art in the 20th century. The book is then organized into sections, which are collagraphs, elongated paintings, large multi-panel color-field paintings, and large single-panel series. Each section holds not only the artwork but also explanations and descriptions of the art. Each individual piece explores different aspects of American abstract art; some explored aspects include translucent and prismatic light, color gradations, and spatial divisions.

Color-Field Paintings by Fiore Ai is a well-organized book that offers the perfect balance between written words and visual elements. As an art novice, I really appreciated the explanations and descriptions that went along with the art as it helped me to not only understand the piece but also notice the different artistic elements. While I found the artworks to all be well done, my favorite piece was Cosmic Rays IV. I just really liked how the different colors blended together and how they seemed to join together to create different shapes; I also felt like the overall tone of the image was rather calming as each color transition was done smoothly and it did not feel rushed or busy. Overall, I found this book to be very inspiring as I got some great painting and crafting inspiration from the different works which I can’t wait to try for myself!