This book has a presence of its own. It is not insignificant, however, that it is being published in connection with an exhibition. The book and the exhibition complement each other. Both show the recent work of fifty-nine artists from eighteen different countries. Lens and paper, and occasionally the display screen, play a substantial role in this. Images of highly contrasting subject matter reflect the diversity and fragmentation of our time. Even so, there is a common denominator. In all of these expressions, an intimate aspect prevails. The book and the exhibition show how differently the beauty of intimacy can be manifest in visual art at the moment.