This book pays homage to the illusory power of painting and at the same time takes a worldwide tour through the everyday culture of the modern age: images of vehicles with gleaming chrome in middle-class residential areas, brightly coloured candies, shimmering lipstick cases, deserted fast-food restaurants and garish advertisements - they all captivate through their technical brilliance and astounding precision, which seeks to compete with photography while consciously turning away from abstraction.

Artists: Alexandra Averbach, John Baeder, Robert Bechtle, Charles Bell, Roberto Bernardi, Tom Blackwell, Pedro Campos, Andres Castellanos, François Chartier, Chuck Close, Robert Cottingham, Don Eddy, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, Ben Johnson, Ralph Goings, Richard McLean, Malcolm Morley, Johannes Müller-Franken, Ron Kleemann, Karin Kneffel, David Parrish, Rod Penner, Gerhard Richter, John Salt, Raphaella Spence, Craig Wylie et al.