Since 1953, the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI e. V. has awarded the annual ars viva prize for visual arts to outstanding young artists based in Germany. The award honours work that demonstrates a distinct language of form and an awareness of contemporary issues. This year’s award includes exhibitions at the Rudolf-Scharpf-Galerie of the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum in Ludwigshafen, and at the Belvedere 21 in Vienna, as well as an artist residency on Fogo Island, Canada. The ars viva prize 2024 will be awarded to Atiéna R. Kilfa (b. 1990), Daniel Lie (b. 1988) and caner teker (b. 1994).

Text in English and German.

Hi-Fi Horizons is the definitive visual tour of the fast growing listening bar movement. Spaces that trade thumping dance floors for velvet seats, sculpted speakers and reverent communal listening. From Tokyo’s historic jazz kissa to Dante’s Hi Fi in Miami, Zurich’s Kasheme, Honeycomb Hi Fi, Barcelona’s Curtis and Mexico City’s Café de Nadie, it gathers photographs of glowing turntables and rapt audiences. Curated and narrated by London DJ and tastemaker Killian “Don Grizz” Radtke, it traces vinyl focused sessions and intimate rooms that fuse design, cocktails and hospitality, giving people a reason to leave the house.

Perfect for readers of Dust & Grooves, Hi-Fi Horizons lists the curtain on the curators, DJs and designers redefining nightlife. No longer the preserve of “audiophiles,” these Hi-Fi havens lure diners, crate diggers and night owls alike, delivering club quality sound without the crush. Featuring 200 colour images, venue spotlights and insider commentary, it invites readers to slow down and rediscover music at its best. 

The volume traces over 50 years of activity in the field of industrial design by Antonio Citterio, one of the masters of contemporary design. Introduced by Andrea Branzi and Francesco Bonami, the volume – structured in seven chapters – offers an accurate and extensive account of a work that has seen the production of over 600 products, united by a stylistic code capable of combining a discreet and elegant modernity with a meticulous attention to detail: from the Diesis series and the Baia sofa, designed with Paolo Nava and which mark the beginning of a ten-year collaboration with B&B Italia, to the important collaborations with Flexform, Arclinea, Vitra, Flos, Axor, up to the most recent works with Cassina and Illy.

The rich iconographic repertoire includes product images, archival photographs – some of which tell the “behind the scenes” of the birth of some design icons – and autographed sketches.

Texts by Stefano Casciani, Francesca Picchi, Deyan Sudjic (former director of the Design Museum of London).

About the Weather accompanied Canan Tolon’s second solo exhibition at Dirimart (23 November–24 December 2023) with the same title. The bilingual publication gathers Tolon’s large-scale works in rust and acrylic on canvas, created in 2023, alongside earlier pieces in the same technique. Her abstract compositions emerge through a process that embraces chance: metal fragments placed on canvas interact with water, air, and weather, generating unpredictable rust forms shaped by conditions beyond the artist’s control—humidity, pollution, temperature shifts, or wind. These works register environmental processes, functioning as both material traces and invitations to free association, constantly renewed in dialogue with the viewer. The volume also includes essays by art historian Berin Gölönü and curator Kevser Güler, who reflect on Tolon’s practice and the exhibition’s ironic title, which alludes to our tendency to avoid urgent concerns—such as the climate crisis—by resorting to “small talk” about the weather.

Text in English and Turkish.

Every bartender must know each and every ingredient behind the bar. The third edition of Spirits distilled, by Mark Ridgwell, is a comprehensive guide to all of the major spirits categories. Taking the reader through the principles of distillation to an explanation on how to taste spirits, Ridgwell reveals the history and legends behind vodka, gin, tequila, genever, rum, brandies, liqueurs, eaux-de-vie, flavoured white spirits and the entire range of whiskies. Lovers of spirits will find this book to be an invaluable resource for understanding and appreciating the world of spirits from a qualitative rather than quantitative perspective. Professionals too will find the quizzes in Spirits distilled a particularly useful tool for understanding better the spirits they sell. This edition of Spirits distilled contains a new chapter on cocktails by drinks consultant Michael Butt, with a section at the end of each spirit chapter detailing the best cocktails featuring that spirit. An essential book that belongs on the reference shelf of everyone who works with or enjoys spirits, Spirits distilled is a classic in the making.

The term ‘anachoresis’ is derived from the Greek verb ‘anachorein’ (‘to withdraw’). The practice of retreat has a long tradition in art and cultural history: from the historical social ‘retreat’ of East Asian artist-scholars into a state of contemplation to the staging of self-isolation in modern and contemporary artworks by Joseph Beuys or Tehching Hsieh. Often, this process is associated with a surge of creativity and self-reflection. But what happens when the retreat is carried out collectively? What kind of interaction takes place when a group temporarily withdraws from society in order to create a space for communication and interaction? The artist persona REICHRICHTER explored these and other questions in their three-year transcultural project anachoresis – participation through fragments.

From 2020-2023, artists from Germany and Taiwan were brought together in the form of a collective laboratory. These gatherings were not only shaped by the practice of the individual artists, but also reflected the broader transcultural dialogue between Germany and Taiwan. This book continues the dialogue-based approach of the project and through a series of theoretical essays discusses the role that participatory art can play in today’s world.

Text in English, German and Chinese.

“Do come in as often as you like – the place is only alive when used” – Jim Ede

Take a room-by-room journey through the Kettle’s Yard house in Cambridge (UK), former residence of curator and ‘friend to artists’ Jim Ede and his wife Helen. Home to their substantial collection of 20th century art, furniture, ceramics, glass and natural objects, the house remains open for visitors to experience as the Ede’s intended: art as a way of life.

The carefully curated interior spaces in the original converted cottages (1957) and Leslie Martin-designed extension (1970) are a masterclass in balance and restraint, appealing to aesthetes across the spectrum of art and design from fine art to fashion; interior designers, architects and art historians.

Richly illustrated with new photography by Gilbert McCarragher and inspired by classic mid-century guidebooks, this book will catch the eye of long-time fans of Kettle’s Yard as much as those discovering the house for the very first time. A companion publication Kettle’s Yard Art & Artists ISBN 9781904561620 is also available.

When we see a bird, do we really see it? It’s perfectly possible to go through life with an almost total disregard for birds. However, in Britain, there are more than a million members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. And thanks to Instagram – and other networking sites – there is also a growing number of bird photographers opening our eyes to unimagined treasures.

From the giants of our skies to the sweetest singing garden warbler, from Matthew Stadlen’s London street to the Indian jungle and taking in countries as far afield as Albania and Australia, this book is, in a way, also a story of his life. 

“… This volume is a perfect fit for mood boards, forward-looking conversations, and stories about the bags that have continued to drive style conversations for decades.” — La Repubblica

Bags: The Classic Collection is an unmissable celebration of the most iconic and influential handbags in history.

Featuring 30 of the world’s most desirable models, this supremely elegant volume takes you on a journey through luxury, fashion and design, exploring the aesthetic world of each featured bag through stunning photos and revealing design stories. Each of the featured handbags has transcended the functional and even the fashionable to become a bona fide status symbol in its own right. From the Hermès Kelly to the Fendi Baguette, the Chanel 2.55 to the Balenciaga Motorcycle bag, each is defined by a unique vision, and each has impacted the cultural landscape in its own special way.

Written by Lucia Savi of London’s Design Museum, this is a luxuriously illustrated guide to the historical contexts and aesthetic philosophies that make each of these handbags utterly timeless.

The bags: Chanel 2.55; Mulberry Alexa; Givenchy Antigona; Anya Hindmarch I’m NOT A Plastic Bag; Roberta di Camerino Bagonghi Bag; Fendi Baguette; Gucci Bamboo; Issey Miyake Bao Bao; Hermès Birkin; Chanel Boy; Bottega Veneta Cassette; Jacquemus Chiquito; Balenciaga City Bag; Alexander McQueen Knuckle Clutch; Gucci Dyonysus; Stella McCartney Falabella; Prada Galleria; Louis Vuitton Graffiti Keepall Bag; Gucci Jackie; Hermès Kelly; Dior Lady; Céline Luggage Bag; Lulu Guinness Florist’s Basket; Prada Nylon Vela Backpack; Chloé Paddington; Loewe Puzzle Bag; Dior Saddle; Louis Vuitton Speedy; Judith Leiber Handbags; Cupcake Bag; Launer Traviata

Pablo Picasso’s artistic output is astonishing in its ambition and variety. This handsome new publication examines a particular aspect of his legendary capacity for invention: his imaginative and original use of paper.

He used it as a support for autonomous works, including etchings, prints and drawings, as well as for his papier-collé experiments of the 1910s and his revolutionary three-dimensional ‘constructions’, made of cardboard, paper and string. Sometimes, his use of paper was simply determined by circumstance: in occupied Paris, where art supplies were hard to come by, he ripped up paper tablecloths to make works of art. And, of course, his works on paper comprise the preparatory stages of some of his very greatest paintings, among them Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937).

With reproductions of more than 300 works of art and additional texts by Violette Andres, Stephen Coppel, Emmanuelle Hincelin, Christopher Lloyd, Johan Popelard and Claustre Rafart Planas, this sumptuous study reveals the myriad ways in which Picasso’s genius seized the potential of paper at different stages throughout his career.

This historic wine nation at the heart of Europe produces a diverse range of wines – Riesling above all, but also compelling Spätburgunder, aka Pinot Noir, and Silvaner, amongst others. Yet in the minds of many it is still associated with mass-produced sweetish plonk. But following a bruising twentieth century, German wine over the past thirty years has experienced a renaissance. In The Wines of Germany, Master of Wine Anne Krebiehl takes us with her on a journey through vineyards clustered along the country’s many winding rivers to uncover this new world of German wine.

She begins with a thorough explanation of German wine law – a subject so complicated that it can alienate all but the most dedicated wine enthusiast – taking a historical perspective and showing how current moves to review the law could considerably simplify it. It is only right that Riesling, the light and aromatic grape synonymous with this country, gets a chapter all to itself, as does Spätburgunder. Plantings of this grape doubled between 1990 and 2010 to make Germany the third-largest grower worldwide. As an enthusiast for Sekt, Krebiehl is keen to explain how far from the tank-produced wines of past decades this sparkling wine has come, with artisan winemakers across the regions returning to the old methods to create bottle-fermented Sekts of quality.

Taking the thirteen regions in turn, Krebiehl explains the unique history, geography and climate of each, presenting a selection of some of her favourite producers. From the famed steep slopes of the Mosel, where Riesling reaches its pinnacle of expression, through the largest region, Rheinhessen, home of the infamous Liebfraumilch, to less well-known regions such as Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen, Krebiehl paints a vivid picture of each region’s unique offering, inspiring readers to begin their own explorations.