Live the Art

Jeffrey Deitch was the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles from 2010 to 2013. Before founding his eponymous gallery in 1996, Deitch began his career in the 1970s working for the John Weber Gallery in New York. He went on to cofound Citibank's important art advisory program and later turned to private dealing.

“…an in-depth, curiously illustrated history…The book is, among other things, a striking object…Live the Art is itself an exercise in nostalgia for a bygone New York.” –The New York Times“This is the art book of the year, a vast catalog of the artists and events sponsored by Jeffrey Deitch in the abandoned garage in SoHo that became Deitch Projects from 1996-2010, when the dealer decamped to run the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. The cover is a plastic dinner plate; inside, there are endless color photos of the old gallery space alive with everything from beaded kitchens (artist Liza Lou) to Debbie Harry and Fab 5 Freddy "Recapturing the Rapture." Each chapter is a year of the gallery's art. You only have to flip through the pages to see that money was a small part of what made Deitch Projects so special. The essential thing was to be a model for arts entrepreneurs around the world.” –The Star Ledger“Live the Art is anything but the average coffee table book…the book features photos of about two-thirds of all projects exhibited at the space, but is satisfyingly text-heavy…” –Surface“Buy the book…it’s fitting that a new Stefan Sagmeister- designed coffee-table tome celebrating Deitch Projects’ 15-year run comes equipped with a plastic plate that suggests readers literally dine off it.” –Wall Street Journal“Part visual gag, part nostalgia trip, all legacy-builder, Live the Art memorializes the seminal arts-and-entertainment mecca…the book perfectly sets the table for Deitch’s third act—whatever that may be.” –Departures"It's a kind of art history memoir; told as a visual essay..." -New York Magazine“Autumn brings a fresh, fascinating crop of art, architecture, and design releases. This is one of our favorites.” –Architectural Digest