Global Gothic: Gothic Church Buildings in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Although largely overlooked in studies of architectural history, church architecture in a Gothic idiom outlived its 19th century momentum to persist worldwide throughout the 20th century and into the new millennium.

Global Gothic presents a first systematic worldwide understanding of ＂Gothic＂ in contemporary architecture, both as a distinct variation and as a competitor to recognized modern styles. The book’s chapters critically discuss Gothic’s various manifestations over the past century, describing and illustrating approaches from Gothic Revival living traditions in the former British Empire and original Gothic appropriation in Latin America to competitions of European builders in former Asian and African colonies. The focus is also on the special appropriations in North America, China and Japan, as well as contemporary solutions that tend to be transnational in style.

With contributions from renowned architecture experts from around the world, Global Gothic provides an overview of this cultural phenomenon and presents a wealth of stunning material, much of it little known. Richly illustrated in full color, it offers an important contribution to colonial and postcolonial global art history and a seldom acknowledged perspective on art history in general.

Contributors: Barbara Borngässer (Technische Universität Dresden), Martín M. Checa-Artasu (Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico City), Thomas Coomans (KU Leuven), Pedro Guedes (University of Queensland), Bruno Klein (Technische Universität Dresden), Bettina Marten (Technische Universität Dresden), Olimpia Niglio (Hosei University Tokyo), Peter Scriver (University of Adelaide), Amit Srivastava (University of Adelaide)

Barbara Borngässer is an art historian, working on late medieval, modern, and contemporary architecture. She is a founding member of the German Carl Justi Association for Cooperation in Art History with Spain, Portugal, and Latin America.

Bruno Klein holds the Chair for Christian Art of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages at the Technische Universität Dresden and is a member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences. He has authored numerous publications on the historical and social development of art discourses.