Calouste Gulbenkian amassed a remarkable collection of Japanese art. This lesser known facet of the collector’s activity was explored in the exhibition Floating world: ‘ukiyo-e’ Japanese prints, which presented a large number of Japanese prints produced between the 17th and 19th centuries that belong entirely to the Museum’s collection. The exhibition focused on the concept of ukiyo, which means ‘floating world’ and refers to the fleeting pleasures of everyday life.
The catalogue is divided into two parts. The first is a set of four essays, including three by the exhibition curators. In the first text, Jorge Rodrigues explores the set of prints acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian for his collection. Francesca Neglia then looks at two of the most popular iconographic themes in ukiyo-e: the figure of the courtesan and landscapes. In the third essay, Hannah Sigur discusses the literary network associated with ukiyo-e. Finally, Rui Xavier, Preventive Conservation Coordinator at the Gulbenkian Museum and curator of the Gulbenkian Collection’s lacquerware, writes about the damage sustained by the collection of Japanese prints after the 1967 Lisbon’s floods and the remarkable restoration process that followed.
The second part of the publication is similar in structure to the accompanying exhibition sections and includes texts on specific works or groups of works. The first chapter, ‘Different views of nature and landscape’, deals with landscape painting as an autonomous genre of ukiyo-e; in ‘Uki-e’: perspective images, the focus is on uki-e, a genre of prints made by adopting Western geometric perspective; Yoshiwara’s ‘floating world’ revolves around the authorised leisure district of Edo (present-day Tokyo) and its influence on the production of prints depicting women; ‘Ukiyo-e’s literary web’ deals with the unique and contradictory relationship between scholarly literature and poetry and the main protagonists in the ‘floating world’, such as kabuki theatre actors and the so-called ‘women for play’; finally, ‘The Tōkaidō Stations’ covers the famous print series of the same name, comprising prints on various themes related to the Tōkaidō route, which ran from Edo to the imperial city of Kyoto.
Image Credits: Panorama
Another Chance Encounter celebrates Lubaina Himid’s first UK museum exhibition since 2018. Beautifully designed in collaboration with the artist, this fully illustrated book documents three new bodies of paintings and installations created for the exhibition at Kettle’s Yard, one made in collaboration with artist and master printmaker Magda Stawarska. Inspired by the unique Kettle’s Yard house and collection, Himid’s new work illuminates figures and histories often considered marginal. Himid will populate the Kettle’s Yard house with paintings in cupboards and drawers, and display a new collection of found and made objects and in the galleries. The publication follows Himid as she brilliantly crafts alternative histories with her distinctive bold colours and characters. The book will include new texts by Amy Tobin, Amelia Groom and Aneta Krzemien in conversation with Magda Stawarska, as well as Himid’s own writing.
The German Football Museum in Dortmund offers a unique exhibition experience of over 140 years of German football history and a special brand of national memorial culture. With its ultra-modern forms of presentation, it forms a new medium that builds a bridge between people, football, society and contemporary history.
Text in English and German.
Campi Flegrei, near Naples, is a seismically active landscape that attracts, stimulates, and challenges. It seduces the soul, engages perception, and demands to be interpreted rather than merely registered.
People have chosen to live amongst these unique geological and volcanic features, weaving the fabric of human occupation and taming a land in perpetual transformation, one of the harshest yet most enchanting environments. Mankind has matched its own impermanence against the earth’s inevitable and unrestrained convulsions, in the process hewing out some of the most glorious examples of human endeavour, such as Cumae, the oldest Greek colony in the Western Mediterranean, the bustling Roman port of Puteoli, and the “dolce vita” savoured in the baths and villas dotted around the Bay of Baiae.
Luigi Spina has been exploring this land since 2020, delving into the complex, stratified geography. Key landmarks include places of memory (archaeological sites, monuments, landscapes), which, like true benchmarks of perception, outline the path towards an understanding of a world that links nature, ancient ruins, and the overwhelming presence of mankind. Balanced between mimicry and contradiction, the Campi Flegrei landscape is now blanketed by a dense urban sprawl, where the ancient and the contemporary coexist in a kind of precarious equilibrium, generating a complex socio-cultural state of affairs that is challenging to govern.
Spina explores and photographs places such as the Dragonara Cave, the Piscina Mirabilis, the Theatre of Misenum, the Flavian Amphitheatre at Puteoli, the Temple of Apollo on the shores of Lake Avernus, and the Temples of Venus and Diana, as he wanders through the hills above Baiae, finally heading towards Cumae.
Since 2008, Gander has reinterpreted Degas’ sculpture Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans (1880-1881) and placed it in contemporary contexts. His sculptures free the 14-year-old dancer from her pedestal and show her in different scenarios. The book and the exhibition at Museum Beelden aan Zee (The Hague NL) present Gander’s series of 22 ballerinas, along with Degas’ famous work.
Brigitte Bloksma, director of Beelden aan Zee, stressed that the relationship between Degas’ original work and Gander’s approach offers a fascinating reflection on the perception of the ballerina and the boundaries between art and everyday life. It shows how artists treat themes of movement, youth and vulnerability through the era.
The book includes an introduction by Bloksma, an interview with Gander by Lydia Figes, and a chapter by Sandra Kisters on Degas’ work in contemporary sculpture.
In a world where data abounds, it’s all about valorisation: turning raw data into valuable insights, applications and innovations. This book shows how companies can turn data into competitive advantage, new products, more efficient processes, and stronger customer relationships. You’ll discover the strategic, technological and ethical building blocks of data valorisation – with real-world examples, concrete tools and clear insights.
Click, Bid, Collect offers a clear and insightful guide to the rapidly changing world of online art buying. With the online art market projected to exceed $13.5 billion in sales by 2027, Simone Falanca combines practical advice with thoughtful analysis to explore this exciting and growing space. From navigating online auctions to discovering digital galleries, this book provides readers with the tools to confidently engage with the art market from the comfort of their screens. Packed with expert insights and real-world examples, it is a valuable resource for both new and experienced collectors. An essential read for anyone looking to understand how technology is reshaping the way we discover, buy, and appreciate art.
A lavishly illustrated book on Bayt Al-Greiza from its historical roots during Oman’s Portuguese era through to being rebuilt in the 1970s according to the vision of HM Sultan Qaboos bin Sa’id, as realised by the renowned architect Mohamed Makiya. Bayt Al-Greiza, once used by Sultan Qaboos to house and greet visiting Heads of State, has been fully restored and opened to the public, and its objects – furniture, art, gifts from visitors – have been collected, renovated and returned to their original position within the mansion. Part I gives a detailed history of the building up to its 1970s reconstruction. Part II begins by looking in detail at the restoration efforts involved in preparing Bayt Al-Greiza to be opened to the public. This is followed by a room-by-room and object-by-object walk-through of the restored building. Part III covers all the various ways in which Bayt Al-Greiza will be put to use in the future.
This volume presents anew the influential 20th-century architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whose reputation has unfairly languished. Critics often see him as a chameleon who turned against the vibrant aesthetic culture of Berlin upon emigrating to Chicago and created instead the spare, tectonically obsessed, blank box stylism that looms over so many American downtowns. That prevailing interpretation ignores the aesthetic and conceptual coherence within his oeuvre.
Mies often spoke vaguely of a “great form” emerging within modernity. He spent his career seeking to express this condition in the spaces he designed. Through close analysis of over sixty of his buildings and projects, this study reveals that underlying essence. A formal dialectic of center/periphery threads throughout his production, which gives nascent form to the profound societal tensions he sensed. A peculiar interleafing of the centric and the peripheric dominates his shaping of space.
Rarely is Mies considered formally. Using nearly a hundred new analytical diagrams, this book unlocks fresh interrelations between his compositions and between his career’s phases. Unexpected parallels are struck with nineteenth-century Romantic artists like Caspar David Friedrich and with modernists like Piet Mondrian and Mark Rothko. The strands within Mies’s deep readings on philosophy are expanded by comparing him with regional thinkers. The outlines of the “great form” Mies sensed become clearer.
A new and integral Mies emerges, far different from previous interpretations and with enhanced relevance for our contemporary condition.
Forty international projects in six categories present the most innovative and forward-looking solutions, whose contribution to building culture development is clearly evident. The focus is on all the relevant themes of transformation development: use of resources, circular processes, biodiversity etc. The editors take a comprehensive look at current developments in the building sector and inspire novelty. With InteriorPark, they have been driving sustainable developments in the building sector forwards since 2010.
Text in English and German.
For The World’s Best Nature & Design Hotels, author Corynne Pless went on a search for hotels all around the world that are defined by the nature that surrounds them, and focus on eye-catching design. This journey leads the reader to unique locations, from unspoilt jungle to grand mountains and even desert landscapes. The hotels in the book let nature speak for itself. The architecture offers a window onto forests, rivers, and mountains. In addition, the hotels are respectful of the natural environment in their policies. Guests can immerse themselves in total tranquillity, while indulging in the design elements that surround them. Dream away with this book full of fantastic photos that will take you to places you didn’t even know existed.
Step into the world of tropical residential design with this beautifully curated book. Tropical Retreats is a visual trip along breathtaking projects that merge the tropical landscape with imaginative and groundbreaking architecture. Through the lens of 12 different designers, the book presents a broad spectrum of design philosophies, styles, and building methods. In doing so, Tropical Retreats offers a unique perspective on what makes Bali’s residential architecture so distinctive. Tropical Retreats is a source of inspiration for anyone who dreams of a tropical tinged home with a focus on a sense of freedom and soft luxury. Professionals are also sure to find inspiration in the work of designers such as Elora Hardy, Maximilian Jencquel, and Alexis Dornier.
Pioneers of Art in Oman: Rasheed Abdulrahman celebrates one of Oman’s most influential visual artists through a stunning bilingual presentation in English and Arabic. This definitive volume features over 60 meticulously curated paintings and sculptures that chronicle Rasheed’s remarkable artistic evolution and his pivotal role in shaping Oman’s cultural landscape.
Beyond showcasing his visionary work, this book offers intimate biographical insights into the artist who transformed raw materials into vibrant masterpieces and mentored countless emerging talents. Detailed analyses of selected artworks reveal the profound symbolism and philosophical depth that characterise his unique artistic vision.
As the inaugural edition in a prestigious series documenting Oman’s artistic heritage, this publication represents a collaboration between the National Museum of Oman and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth. For art enthusiasts, collectors, and cultural historians alike, this book provides unprecedented access to Rasheed Abdulrahman’s legacy – a testament to his enduring influence on contemporary Omani art and his ability to illuminate tradition while pioneering new artistic frontiers.
Text in English and Arabic.
“This is a place where different voices and ideas meet, inspiring visitors through the unexpected plurality of meanings and interactions presented in the different themes and the way they are displayed. Instead of proclaiming one truth, the museum invites and embraces a multitude of perspectives, allowing a dynamic discourse in narratives dealing with very topical issues.” – Jury EMYA (European Museum of the Year), special commendation 2022
In a world longing for certainty and clear-cut answers, the Museum of Doubt makes a powerful case for doubt, vulnerability, and complexity as driving forces of both science and citizenship. Professor Marjan Doom, director of the Ghent University Museum (GUM) & its neighbouring botanical garden, invites readers to reflect on the role of science museums today. Drawing on personal experience and curatorial case studies, she reveals how art and science enrich one another, how doubt is not a weakness but a necessity, and how museums can bridge the gap between science and society. A sharp and compelling ode to critical thinking.
This book by photographer Christophe Jacrot comprises a fascinating collection of winter and snow images. Jacrot, known for his unique ability to transform weather phenomena into poetic and atmospheric works of art, captures the quiet beauty of snowy landscapes and the melancholy of winter scenes.
The book is a journey through various wintry settings, from urban snowstorms to lonely, snow-covered landscapes. Jacrot’s focus on light and shadow, combined with his subtle colour palette, highlights the ephemeral magic of winter. Each photograph tells a story of stillness, cold and the unspoiled purity of nature.
The book not only celebrates the aesthetic beauty of winter, but also captures the different facets of the season, from isolation to contemplation.
This project aims to transport viewers into a dreamy winter world that reflects both the delicacy and harshness of nature. It is a visual masterpiece that brings together the fascination for winter landscapes and the artistic brilliance of Christophe Jacrot.
Xu Yong (b. 1954, Shanghai) was one of the first photographers to focus on everyday life in modern China, free from political romanticisation or ideological whitewashing. In Hutong 101 Photos, he traces the history of the traditional residential district of Beijing, with its centuries-old buildings complete with rear courtyards and myriad narrow alleyways, the “Hutongs.” Many of these neighbourhoods have since fallen victim to radical redevelopment and have been demolished. Xu Yong’s black-and-white images dating from 1989 bear witness to the rise and fall, the heyday and the decline, of the Hutongs — against the backdrop of the rapid societal change in China that followed the end of the Qing Dynasty. In this milestone of Chinese photography, which is now finally being published as a new edition in book form, Xu Yong has created an elegiac tribute to the old alleyways of Beijing, revealing both their poetic beauty and the sadness surrounding their demise.
Text in English and Chinese.
Rambusch: The First 100 Years, 1898–1998 chronicles the growth of an independent, workshop-based, family business now being run by a fourth generation. This book offers the definitive history of the company started by Danish-born Frode Christian Valdemar Rambusch (1859–1924) in New York. Beginning with his efforts in decorative painting and murals, the story expands into lighting design and continues with a study of subsequent generations building upon – and further expanding – these fields of work into other media. The narrative also provides focus on more than two dozen artisans responsible for making the objects and interiors often requested by well-known architects.
Few American firms have flourished as this company has in the United States. Now in the 21st century, the firm inspires similar collaborative efforts between architects, designers, and craft studios to work together for the decorative arts to regain their place in the finishing of our nation’s buildings.
Notable for its longevity and still going strong, the story of Rambusch needs to be told, especially while generations who have institutional memory can tell it.
Following ten regular issues and the special Anniversary Issue (2022), The Opéra Magazine for Classic & Contemporary Nude Photography – rising like a phoenix from the ashes – will feature a completely new layout and a contemporary design concept courtesy of renowned design agency Studio Tillack Knöll. With outstanding contributions from the likes of Malerie Marder, Barbara Probst, Rob Woodcox, Iness Rychlik, as well as Prue Stent & Honey Long, The Opéra showcases work at the forefront of international, artistic nude photography. Once again, the focus is on a predominantly female perspective on the human body, authentically and vividly manifested in The Phoenix Issue through the work and accompanying statements by numerous female photographic artists.
In his latest series of works, entitled 1.000 Odysseen, Winfried Muthesius (b. 1957) uses his photographs to explore the globally divisive topics of refugeeism and displacement. The artist, who lives and works in Berlin and Cape Verde, photographed items washed ashore on the remote beaches of the Cape Verde islands. These disturbingly poetic images for the most part show details of damaged or destroyed flip-flops — the simple footwear of people living in poverty. In the exhibition at the Stiftung Christliche Kunst Wittenberg, Muthesius enters into a dialogue with Oskar Kokoschka’s piece Rest on the Flight into Egypt, using this example to evoke humankind’s long history of flight and exile. This book features numerous images from the series, with hitherto unpublished drawings by the artist, images of works from his broken gold series, as well as texts by Pia Beckmann, Christhard-Georg Neubert, and an interview with Winfried Muthesius.
Text in English and German.
The rose is generally seen as the most romantic flower. No other plant blooms for so long and profusely, and comes in so many different shapes, scents and colours. Roses deserve a place in everyone’s home, outside – in the garden or on the balcony – but certainly also indoors on the table. The Joy of Roses answers every question you may have about roses: from the history of the rose to applications in the home. The different types of roses are discussed in detail with descriptions of the flower, the scent, the thorns, the inflorescence and information about the best place for this specific species. The book also provides information about cultivators, which flowers go well with roses and their care. Anneke Beemer’s beautiful photos complete the book.
From Jewellery to Contextual Art presents the work of the artist and professor Elisabeth Holder and showcases her unique evolution. Coming from a classical goldsmithing background, she placed jewellery in relation to ancient signs and the ornamentation that emerged from them, pursuing the examination of materials in the charged arena between mastery and dialogue, and posing the fundamental question of what jewellery is and can be. This led to a paradigm shift. Jewellery was recontextualised. Illustrated with examples from fields such as architecture and nature, it becomes clear that such jewellery forms are never excessive and are at once Contextual art.
Text in English and German.
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.
The landlocked country of Austria, at the centre of Europe, produces a great variety of quality wines. While the wine scandal of the mid-eighties caused a temporary setback, and put many blameless producers out of business, it also allowed serious winemakers a chance to focus and innovate. Stephen Brook has been fascinated by the country and its wines for more than 40 years, seeing it through its worst times to the multi-faceted wine producer it has become today. In this second edition of The Wines of Austria Brook takes readers on a vinous journey to explore the best Austria has to offer. Today, in a growing area less than half the size of Bordeaux, Austria is producing not only fabulous white and sweet wines but also reds, rosés, amber wines, Sekts and pétillants naturels. Nearly all the wine growing takes place in the east of the country, in four broad regions. In the largest, Niederösterreich, most of the vineyards lie along the Danube valley, where white wines that include Burgundy-beating Grüner Veltliners are produced, while the south-eastern part of the region specialises in reds from Austrian varieties. The eastern region of Burgenland is warm and humid, allowing the production of botrytized sweet wines. Green and bucolic Steiermark yields invigorating, refreshing whites as well as a unique rosé, Schilcher. The capital, Vienna, contains more than 600 hectares of vineyard, with much of the wine produced sold in the city’s many Heurigen, and is also the capital of Gemischter Satz. Brook provides a detailed account of the climate, terroir and winemaking in each of the 16 major wine regions. The producers selected in each have been thoroughly updated for this edition, with many wines tasted up to the 2018 vintage. Also included is a chapter on the major varieties and a summary of vintages from 1963 to 2018.
Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world because of its perfect blend of nature, environment, architecture and people. With almost complete preservation of architecture from all historical periods, Prague is second to none among other World Heritage cities for its richness, integrity and diversity. The city is like a European open-air museum of architectural art, and one of the indispensable destinations for architects and architecture lovers to travel in Europe.
Based on years of field and literature research by the authors, this book showcases the achievements of Prague’s thousand-year urban architectural changes and the protection of complete heritage.
Through the interpretation of 43 historic buildings from different periods, this book explores Prague’s urban characteristics and changes. Though priceless, most of these built heritages are beyond the focus of Western architectural history research, and their status and significance need to be readdressed and reassessed.
Text in English and Chinese.