Metamorphosis 2

I'm a huge fan of Jon Beinart's book Metamorphosis, so it's no surprise that the second installment in the series, Metamorphosis 2, is a treasure trove of fantastical art as well.  Like the first, this book features the work of 50 contemporary masters of representational, imaginative works.  It is an impressive showcase in that it includes both the very well known (ie. Robt Williams and H.R. Giger) as well as some of the more up-and-coming artists who deserve far more attention (many of whom have been featured on this site - ie. Heather Nevay, Ben Tolman, Madeline von Foerster, and so on).  Beinart is doing a great service by cataloging this movement, though he is understandably loath to classify or categorize the works under one blanket name. 

The book itself is hardbound and image-rich with extremely high quality printing.  This is a must-have for any art library, and will surely be considered one of this period's classic tomes, right up there with Kirsten Anderson's Pop Surrealism or Gestalten's The Upset (which I'll be reviewing for this site soon).  There is very little text to read, so the experience of flipping through it is that of looking through a series of miraculous windows.  Pure delight.