My Dearest Friend Adria de Haume has just released a New Exquisite Book called Cross Purpose published by Assouline.
“In spite of the layers of historically controversial context, the cross for me ultimately remains a symbol of unconditional love and protection. It is a locus in consciousness where the Divine Spirit meets and merges with human existence, becoming a physical marker, transcending time and space into the pure consciousness of All That Is.” - Adria de Haume
“Bespoke jewelry designer and artist Adria de Haume fashioned her first cross sculpture in 1982 to encourage the recovery of a critically ill friend. She has since harnessed the power of the cruciform to create a splendid array of personal, intricate, and truly meaningful cross-centric pieces. For three decades, de Haume’s sculptures have inspired, comforted, and delighted viewers and collectors. Cross Purpose is an exquisitely striking homage to this dominant and revered art form, illustrating the range of materials d Haume uses in her craft.
This volume displays de Haume’s body of work through four compelling themes: Politics and Play, comprising pieces with titles such as Gorbachev Cross and Superhero Cross; Fashion and Fancy, including tributes to the great fashion houses such as Chanel, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton; Poets and Painters, honoring Donne, Hemingway, Schnabel, Warhol, and many more; and Saints and Saintly, venerating not only saints such as St. Domininc and St. Catherine of Alexandia but also sait-like individuals including humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg. This beautiful slipcase edition includes a comprehensive catalogue raisonne of de Haume’s cross sculptures, panels, and prints from 1989 to the present. Charles Riley’s detailed essay interpreting de Haume’s works is a tribute to the complexity and depth of each piece’s unique story.
Cathy Cash Spellman has worked as creative director at Revlon and vice president and board member at Bloomingdale’s. She served on the Board of united Retail and the Upledger Institute and owned her own marketing and advertising agency for seven years. Spellman has authored many books featured on The New York Times Bestseller List, including So Many Partings; An Excess of Love; and Paint the Wind. She has also written for Cosmopolitan; Town & Country; and Harper’s Bazaar, among others.
Diane M. Kirkpatrick, PhD, was a professor of art history at the University of Michigan for over thirty years. Having served as chair of the university’s Department of History of Art and as interim director of the Institute for the Humanities, Kirkpatrick has also published many papers, specializing in contemporary art, photography, cinema, and technological media. For her outstanding contributions to undergraduate education, Professor Kirkpatrick was named Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in 1997.
Charles A. Riley II is a cultural historian, journalist, and professor at the City University of New York. He is the author of thirty-one books, including Arthur Carter: Sculptures, Drawings, and Paintings; Color Codes; and The Saints of Modern Art. His articles have appeared in Art & Antiques; Antiques and Fine Art; Flashart; Fortune, and many other magazines. During the summer of 2013, as he wrote this essay, he was a fellow of the Rubin Museum.”
-Cathy Spellman
