Manuel Neri is widely recognized for his life-size figurative sculptures in plaster, bronze, and marble. His work echoed the commitment of earlier artists, such as Alberto Giacometti and Marino Marini, who used the figure as a vehicle to express Modernist ideals in the aftermath of World War II. Manuel Neri and the Assertion of Modern Figurative Sculpture traces the development of these sculptural ideas of the figurative motif and illuminates the enduring sculptural form and humanist ideas present in Neri's work.

Representing the breadth of the artist's oeuvre, this book offers insights into the development of Neri's sculpture and a fresh perspective on his contributions to contemporary art. With approximately 400 color images, it captures Neri's engagement with Modernism, tradition, and humanity's struggle to understand itself. An introduction by Alexander Nemerov and essay by Bruce Nixon illustrate Neri's lifelong involvement with the most creative traditions to capture the modern age—in all its contradictions, vulnerabilities, and possibilities—in the enduring mirror of the human body.