"Sean Scully, one of the most important aritsts of our time, allows conflict to be carried out in his works--conflict between structure and emotion, body and spirit, impulsivity and reflection. The Irish-American painter has been reinterpreting abstract art since the 1960s, not as a purely formal exploration of color, form, planes, structure, body, and light, but as a medium whose means of expression is tied to external and internal moods, literary influences, and physical experiences. Scully has articulated his attitude in many lectures, interviews, and texts, which comprise the starting point for the exhibition Vita Duplex. With 140 illustrations, the eponymous catalogue provides a comprehensive look at the artist's visual oeuvre, as well as his world of ideas, and defines its place in the history of abstract painting."