This volume examines the motives behind rejections of beauty often found within contemporary art practice, where much critically acclaimed art is deliberately ugly and alienating. It reflects on the nature and value of beauty, asking whether beauty still has a future in art and what role it can play in our lives generally. The volume discusses the possible end of art, what art is, and the relation between art and beauty beyond their historically Western horizons to include perspectives from Asia.

The individual chapters address a number of interrelated issues, including: art, beauty...