If ceramics, glass, and metals are inextricably linked to earth and fire, textiles are arguably linked with wind and water. In truth, craft practices are all deeply connected to the elements and to nature. Seven distinguished writers and thinkers living in the Nordic region endeavour to flesh out concepts such as material interaction and material agency, Posthumanism, site-responsiveness, and symbiotic thinking in the field of crafts. How do artists explore the potential of materials and the four natural elements? What does a human-material interaction look like, and how might one approach a material, not from the position of a master but from that of a collaborator?
Features essays by Randi Grov Berger, Nicolas Cheng, Camilla Groth, Jessica Hemmings, Jenni Nurmenniemi, Æsa Sigurjónsdóttir and Nina Wöhlk.
Text in English and Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Icelandic, and Northern Sámi.
Thorvald Hellesen (1888-1937) was a Norwegian avant-garde artist who lived and worked in Paris in the 1910s and 1920s. He and his wife, the French artist Hélène Perdriat, were part of a circle of artists that included Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Constantin Brâncuși, Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, and many others. In his short yet intense life, Thorvald Hellesen created an impressive unique oeuvre, oriented on Modernism, consisting of oil paintings, watercolours, gouaches, drawings, design projects, and textiles. Nevertheless, even in Norway he is only known to a few. With this publication the authors Dag Blakkisrud, Matthew Drutt, and Hilde Mørch have created a written portrait of Hellesen. In addition to classifying him within the history of art, they try to find explanations as to why his artistic practice is only now being considered important and interesting for Norwegian and international art history.
Text in Norwegian.
In addition to her life’s work in ceramic art, the artist, gallerist and collector Lotte Reimers (b. 1932) has compiled a fascinating collection of applied art from other disciplines. With 132 objects, Die Sprache der Dinge (The Language of Things) presents jewellery, metal and textile design, leather- and woodwork, paper art, and one-offs in glass. The collection, which has grown over decades, reflects Lotte Reimers’ own unique collecting style: aside from personal taste, quality in form and craftsmanship is an essential criterion for inclusion. The things themselves enter a polyphonic and exciting dialogue in their multiplicity and individuality.
Die Sprache der Dinge is an invitation to all aficionados of applied art to enter Lotte Reimers’ world of collecting.
Text in German.
Anatolian Tribal Rugs 1050-1750: The Orient Stars Collection, a limited-edition companion to Orient Stars: A Carpet Collection (Stuttgart and London, 1993), presents 33 early rugs and textiles acquired between 1993-2006 by Heinrich and Waltraut Kirchheim. In this volume, Michael Franses discusses these exceedingly rare unpublished carpets with reference to their carbon-14 dating as well as comparative examples, and offers new commentary and dating for 43 of the carpets from the original book. Other contributors include: Anna Beselin, Walter Denny, Eberhart Herrmann, Klaus Kirchheim, Garry Muse and Friedrich Spuhler.
Thorvald Hellesen (1888-1937) was a Norwegian avant-garde artist who lived and worked in Paris in the 1910s and 1920s. He and his wife, the French artist Hélène Perdriat, were part of a circle of artists that included Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Constantin Brâncuși, Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, and many others. In his short yet intense life, Thorvald Hellesen created an impressive unique oeuvre, oriented on Modernism, consisting of oil paintings, watercolours, gouaches, drawings, design projects, and textiles. Nevertheless, even in Norway he is only known to a few. With this publication the authors Dag Blakkisrud, Matthew Drutt, and Hilde Mørch have created a written portrait of Hellesen. In addition to classifying him within the history of art, they try to find explanations as to why his artistic practice is only now being considered important and interesting for Norwegian and international art history.
Renowned American textile artist and sculptor Gyöngy Laky (b. 1944) was once described as a ‘wood whisperer’. Her highly individual, puzzle-like assemblages of timber and textiles helped to significantly propel the growth of the contemporary fiber-arts movement. Laky’s art traverses an extraordinary personal story: Born amid the bombings of World War II, she escaped from post-war, Soviet-dominated Hungary; was sponsored by a family in Ohio, went to grade school in Oklahoma, and went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley. She followed this by founding the Fiberworks Center for Textile Arts in the 1970s and fostering innovations as a professor at the University of California, Davis. This book provides insight into her studio practice, activism, and teaching philosophy, which champions sustainable art and design, original thinking, and the value of the unexpected.
Suzanis, the exquisite hand-embroidered panels from Central Asia, have captured the hearts and minds of collectors and decorators for many years. Joyful and exuberant, they are a bridge to a past way of life in which textiles permeated every facet of existence. While today they adorn the walls of museums and can be spotted in homes designed by interior designers such as Robert Kime and Beata Heuman, not much is known about their history. This book sets out to change that.
Through the lens of one of the best collections of suzanis in the world, we delve into the history of Central Asia and understand more about the women who painstakingly stitched these works of art. A true delight for all who have experienced the magic of the suzani, this publication pairs beautiful visuals with engaging new research.
Under the label Atelier Zanolli, a fantastic world of silk fabrics that were painted and imprinted with patterns, opulently embroidered cushions, colourful pearl creations, as well as finely crafted leather and wood articles, was created between 1905 and 1939 in Zurich. The Zanollis had immigrated from Italy in 1905. Their family business was entirely women-run by mother Antonietta and her daughters Pia, Lea, and Zoe Zanolli. The cultural and stylistic influences manifested in the Zanollis’ visually appealing product world range from the avant-garde to a typically Swiss aesthetic forged by a national spirit of defence against the increasingly felt threat that Nazi Germany posed to the country in the 1930s. Driven by a striving for artistic self-realisation, the atelier defied the many economic challenges of the period and carried out many commissions for Zurich’s leading textile businesses and department stores.
This book traces the history of Atelier Zanolli, places its work in the context of the development of Zurich and the Swiss textile industry in the first half of the 20th century, and for the first time also positions the “Zanolli style” internationally. More than 600 images show the wealth of colours and shapes of the cosmos of textiles and crafted objects, as well as templates, sketches, private photographs, business cards, and letters. The essays illuminate the techniques and work processes used, discuss entire motif families and unique designs, and grant a rare comprehensive insight into the tastes of the time.
This first monograph on Phillip Lai (b.1969, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) charts the artist’s sculptural development over the course of the last two decades. From a basement soy-sauce factory to the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, the publication surveys several of the artist’s exhibitions across London, Wakefield, Turin, Berlin and Hong Kong. The nine chapters explore an evolving oeuvre that finds form in materials like aluminium, pewter, concrete, resin, rice, cooking pots, textiles and film. It is through these technologies that Lai broaches the material limits of the everyday world, often working with casting processes that see the abstraction and changing stability of materials as they transition from fluid to solid. What comes into focus is a fascination with how objects can relieve or modulate primal human urges to food and water and how, by extension, a material world might be re-envisioned around concerns of depletion and survival. This publication includes an essay by critic and writer Jan Verwoert, with bilingual text in English and Chinese throughout.
The Buddhist monument of Borobudur was built in the eighth and ninth centuries on the island of Java. It is one of the most famous and studied religious buildings in the world, but it is also one of the most enigmatic. Since it was rediscovered by the West at the start of the nineteenth century, its ruins – swallowed up by the tropical jungle, suggestive of an ancient civilisation with a glorious past – have constantly been a source of fascination. Its unusual structure in the form of a tiered pyramid, its huge size, and the delicacy of its low reliefs, which include some 1,300 carved narrative panels, have ensured that Borobudur has taken its rightful place among the masterpieces of the world’s architectural heritage. However, given the absence of reliable historical documentation, a wide variety of hypotheses have been advanced to shed light on the secrets of its form, iconographic repertoire, and symbolism.
Text in French.
Welcome to Leeds; a great northern powerhouse of a city that has reinvented itself from an industrial centre of wool, textiles and coal to one of the country’s biggest financial and commercial cities outside of London. Leeds is famous for its beautiful Victorian arcades, its magnificent architectural landmarks, its eclectic mix of shops and bars and its sporting venues. But scrape its bare bones and you will find it is a city rich in history, heritage and culture with a plethora of hidden places and talents.
Can you really sit in Her Majesty’s seat, catch a Dutch water taxi, go otter spotting in the centre of town or get married on a tiny island in the city?
Leeds offers so much to locals and visitors alike and you can discover the answers to these questions and much, much more in this guide to 111 places in the great city of Leeds.
First retrospective book of the artist Jot Fau, in the collection L’Impatient, a collection that welcomes the first books of artists, which anchor them in the present and the impatience of a future.
“They are broken, they still work’. The title of this recent work by Jot Fau could in itself sum up her practice. In her work there is a taste for things that remain, for nostalgic states and buried wounds. There is also strength and vulnerability, gentleness and resistance, and a soul that surrounds the bodies.” – Coline Davenne, Montrouge Art fair
Jot Fau explores the theme of identity, in its most shifting form.
She gathers memories, snippets, images, thanks to which she composes narratives, clothes, installations of real or fictitious identities intersect, assemble and settle. In this way, the artist reveals the fragility of our constructions, as much as she reassures us thanks to the care she attaches to each element, with a protective softness.
Text in English and French.
Dallas-based architecture firm Droese Raney approaches each project with a generosity of spirit and sense of enthusiasm that encompasses not only client and design but also the physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being of the greater community. The result is a series of buildings and interiors that uses the principles of modern architecture to create comfortable, informal settings; attends to small details and to complex urban contents; highlights the contributions of artists and artisans; and above all tells a story of a specific time and place.
The 16 projects in Droese Raney x Design include retail outlets for Billy Reid, the Conservatory, and Neighborhood Goods, each highlighting a distinct, individualised brand; urban redevelopments such as Good-E and 2800 Main, which transform dilapidated historic structures into lively commercial and entertainment zones; and restaurants including José and Mi Cocina, which bring artisanal traditions to contemporary venues. Especially notable are Forty Five Ten, a four-story department store appointed entirely in Knoll furniture and textiles, and the Warehouse, a 31,000-square-foot space for art exhibition and storage. Interspersed between the projects are five first-person narratives from Droese Raney’s noted clients and collaborators as well as a sixth with the “insider view” from the firm itself.
A pioneer of the Nouvelle Tapisserie (New Tapestry) movement, Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930–2017) revolutionised the practice of weaving in the 1960s. She elevated this craft to the status of sculptural expression, using the possibilities of organic fibers such as wool, sisal, and linen as living, malleable materials to realise her artistic vision based on the observation of nature and man. Her spectacular wall-mounted and spatial woven works made her name internationally and marked several editions of the Biennale of Tapestry, held in the Swiss city of Lausanne between 1962 and 1995.
This French-language book illuminates the crucial role that Lausanne played at the beginning of Abakanowicz’s international career and in her artistic explorations. Her reflections and creative paths are juxtaposed with places and encounters in Lausanne and the rest of Switzerland: the Bienniale of Tapestry and the Alice Pauli Gallery, local patrons and collectors of art, scholars, and friends.
Text in French.
“The RSN has worked on regalia for every Coronation since 1902, when Edward VII was crowned, and most recently designed and embroidered the robes of state for their Coronation last year. Its patron, Queen Camilla, has written a charming foreword to this beautifully illustrated book.” — The Lady
“Bees, butterflies, beetles and 24 different plants – the astonishing sewing secrets behind the gorgeous Coronation robes of the King and Queen.” — The Mail Online
Many initiatives to support women were begun in the late 1800s, but the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is one of the few that remain. This initiative was born from the desire of three women – Princess Helena, Lady Victoria Welby and Lady Marian Alford – to popularise the lost art of ornamental needlework and place it on a par with other decorative arts, such as painting and sculpture. Their other, yet no less important goal was to provide employment for women compelled to earn their own livelihood. Though women are no longer so limited in occupational options, the RSN has been keeping traditional embroidery techniques alive for a century and a half.
An Unbroken Thread tells the story from the RSN’s founding in 1872 to the current day. It highlights key people, royal and other special commissions, the changing fortunes of the school as fashions changed and the approach to teaching hand embroidery, as well as bringing attention to the role and position of the RSN historically and today, associating with everyone from society ladies and theatre impresarios in the late 19th century to working with fashion designers Patrick Grant, Nicholas Oakwell and Alexander McQueen, and architects in the 21st century.
First published to coincide with the RSN’s 150th anniversary, this revised edition details the most recent projects worked by the RSN, showcasing their skilful work on regalia for the coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla – The King’s Robe of State, The Queen’s Robe of Estate, The Anointing Screen, The Stole Royal and Girdle, The Chairs of Estate and The Chairs of State.
Kilims from Mazandaran are true masterpieces of woven minimalism. From stripes to fields of pure and deep colour, these textiles represent a singular kind of artistic abstraction.
The women who authored these pieces made them for their own use. In wool and silk, they created works of textile art using the basic building blocks of all hand weaving: warp and weft. The grid thus created is at the same time rigid and flexible; it lends itself to geometric pattern, but also allows for feathery ikat-like effects and multidimensional colour expression.
This book is a sumptuous visual celebration of a largely unknown modern art form. Expert writers add context to the pieces by contemplating subjects such as 20th-century minimalism, materiality and the nature of colour.
From minimal to traditional, from whimsical to Scandi, this book presents various styles of Christmas decors, inspiring home stories from around the world, decorating tips and mood boards on everything holiday-inspired from lighting and textiles to Christmas trees and ornaments. Home for Christmas is a true treasure trove to get inspiration for your own festive home.
A century and a half ago, extravagant costume balls and skating carnivals were the pinnacle of society’s entertainment, bringing forth a kaleidoscopic array of characters, most drawn from history. The opportunity to reimagine oneself as a noble hero or heroine from the past was no less than the chance of a lifetime. Participants acquired extravagant costumes and flocked to the photographer’s studio, as witnessed by the sheer abundance of mementos of these occasions in the McCord Stewart Museum’s collections.
The book accompanies the exhibition Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 at the McCord Stewart Museum, Montreal. A lead essay presents an overall view of the fancy dress phenomenon, and the major events in Canada with their colonial underpinnings. Other essays look in turn at the commemoration of these balls in art, photography, and publications, a decolonising perspective on the representation of Indigenous and other marginalised peoples in fancy dress, and the ephemeral nature of the extant objects.
A section consists of detailed profiles of astounding garments, with several images to show views of each that cannot be seen in the exhibition: interior construction and labels, closeup views of textiles and materials, and comparisons of archival photographs of ball guests in costume.
The book is unique amongst historical fashion publications as it is the first to be devoted to fancy dress in such detail.
Marylène Madou was established in Belgium early 2017, launching the brand with a successful collection of printed scarves and today print still is the ultimate starting point in each collection. Every textile print is created in-house by the designer herself, exclusively using her own original paintings and digital illustrations.
Marylène Madou: Prints & Patterns provides an overview of Marylène’s most distinguishing print designs and patterns, a treat for print admirers and textile enthusiasts worldwide with Italy, the UK, and the Benelux being the largest sourcing countries for the materials. For the manufacturing of her ready-to-wear, she is in a unique position, working with a local atelier in Belgium. A collection of both highly detailed and more stylized prints, highlighting Marylène’s multidisciplinary design process, covering more than 190 pages, divided into 5 chapters. Marylène Madou: Prints & Patterns is printed on high-end paper, with a recognisable print all over the cover. The holographic pink foil makes the title stand out among the crowd.
Text in English and French.
Essentiel Antwerp celebrates its 25 years. Going off-piste since 1999, the label was founded as an antidote to the minimalistic and monochromatic fashion scene. With an extensive ready-to-wear, every collection articulates the brand’s unapologetic, down-to earth DNA. Expect an abundance of maximalist designs that merge unabashed femininity with comfort and wearability. Designed in Antwerp, Essentiel Antwerp is an ode to play. Life’s too short for minimalism. Vibrant colours, bold prints and unexpected juxtapositions that raise smiles, that’s the Essentiel Antwerp signature. This stunning volume contains an ornamental clothes peg, nestled within the pages of the book.
The immense popularity of the teddy bear, now in every child’s bedroom, hides a paradox: how did this ferocious, wild animal came to symbolize childhood?
The teddy bear was born at the same time in two different places. In 1902, the toy was invented in the United States in reference to Theodore Roosevelt – hence its Anglo-Saxon name, Teddy’s bear, which became teddy-bear. In Germany the same year, Margarete Steiff marketed her first teddy bear created from needle cushions. It was a resounding success in Europe and America. The first examples in mohair and wood straw were heavy and rigid. However, the teddy bear has softened and mellowed. It has incorporated bright or pastel colours, in order to become a cuddly toy, the transitional object studied and theorised by pediatrician Donald Winnicott. Thanks to Winnie the Pooh, Michka and Paddington, the bear now reigns over a whole menagerie of stuffed animals as well as children’s fiction. More surprisingly, the bear is also a favourite of fashion designers who do not hesitate to revisit him. Today, through the figures of the panda and the polar bear, the bear is the symbol of climate change and endangered species.
Through five essays and three thematic notebooks, this catalogue traces the history of the teddy bear, from its first steps to its transformations and successes. It also questions our relationship with bears since Antiquity. Finally, the rich iconography offers a wide range of old and more recent teddy bears, compared with man’s representations of bears over the centuries.
The exhibition Splendours of the Atlas: A Voyage through Morocco’s Heritage seeks to capture the essence and celebrate the unique identity of Morocco by showcasing its history, wisdom and crafts, alongside its unique colours and sounds.
By bringing together collections from Morocco and Qatar, the exhibition – and its accompanying catalogue – aims to inspire visitors and readers to appreciate the beauty and complexity of its cultural and artistic legacy. Its heritage is not just a static collection of artefacts and traditions: it is a living, breathing testament to the resilience and adaptability of its people. The syncretism between the converging cultures of Morocco has given rise to a unique blend of traditions and practices that continue to evolve into creative artistic expressions of the modern world.
Morocco has one of the richest and most vibrant medieval heritages, distinguished by the perpetuation of traditions through transmission and innovation. Positioned at the crossroads of Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe, Morocco has forged an exceptionally diverse culture. The traces left by successive civilisations, both tangible and intangible, attest to the technical and ideal development of the Moroccan population, highlighting the ingenuity of a society influenced by various cultural streams. Moreover, their achievements in architectural decoration, textiles, ceramics and calligraphy provide a key to understanding modern-day Morocco and are a perpetual source of inspiration for contemporary artistic expression.
Sandra Mujinga’s work might offer an indication of the impact of the events of past and present on the future. Although disturbing, this power to ‘sess’, however speculative it might be, should be be treasured as a route to greater insight into the here and now. For every new work, standing on the shoulders of its forebears, Mujinga opens up uncharted vistas of understanding and new routes to reflection.
Paper scraps, metal filings, wool shearings… dismantled sets, spoiled rags, animal blood…
How did these ostensibly worthless by-products of art and industry avoid the flames of the kitchen hearth or the sweep of the apprentice’s broom to spark ingenuity, generate new forms, and propel further acts of creation? Wastework moves beyond the well-researched category of spoliation, foregrounding waste as a material expression of the practices of ordering and classification by which people adjudicated between collection and disposal, wanted and unwanted, salvation and loss. Authors follow the afterlives of spent books and soiled textiles, peek behind the curtain of machine theatre, and venture into the smith’s foundry and the chemist’s laboratory.
Bringing together research from historians of art, architecture, science, and the environment, this volume examines acts of disposal and reuse and the consequences these carry for the study of early modern material culture. Drawing from the fields of discard studies and Eco materialism, contributors test the usefulness of contemporary formulations—secondary product cycles, material fatigue, metabolic flows, sustainability, recycling—while also proposing new categories with which to re-imagine the discarded past.