About this publication

Deciphering the Artist's Mind is Berend Strik's magnum opus — a landmark 2020 publication documenting his groundbreaking series of the same name.

Beginning in 2012, Strik visited the studios of some of the world's most iconic artists — including Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, George Segal, Martha Rosler and others — photographing their workspaces. He then enlarged these photographs and embellished them with his signature embroidery, creating layered works that interrogate the idea of accessing an artist's private creative thought.

The publication pairs a visual survey of these works with in-depth texts by Marja Bloem (former curator of exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam), developed through conversations and encounters with the artists themselves.

Designed by the legendary Irma Boom (one of the Netherlands' most celebrated book designers), the publication is itself a work of design — a fitting container for Strik's art.

Special Edition: This is the signed edition, hand-numbered and personally signed by Berend Strik.