This book traces the history of tin boxes in Italy from their origins to their spread across the various industry sectors. We present a selection of over 500 boxes produced between 1885 and the post-war period. Alongside anonymous designers whose decorations draw on the most diverse sources for inspiration and references, we find the names of great poster artists such as Cappiello, Mauzan, Dudovich, Golia and Sepo, who transpose their creations onto the surface of tins, marking the early history of this style of product packaging.

Text in English and Italian.

When Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec moved to Paris, he soon became a real chronicler of Parisian life. He was a painter who captured the exhilarating society of le demi-monde and its establishments: racecourses, circus tents, theatres and opera houses, cabarets and brothels that became his ateliers.

In only ten years, up to his death in 1901, he produced 368 prints and litograph posters, which he considered of equal importance to his paintings and drawings. When Toulouse-Lautrec started to experiment with lithography, his contemporaries, well-known artists like Alfons Mucha and Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen did so as well, and they too succeeded in creating true masterpieces. During their lifetimes, and because of their work, lithographs and posters were elevated from the status of mere mass advertising media to an accepted artistic genre.

Text in English and Italian.

The illustrated stories published in the Christmas issues of the youth magazines have left lasting memories with Finnish children. Translated in French for the first time, these charming stories take us into landscapes of forests and lakes, squirrels and tits, leprechauns and trolls – more facetious than worrisome.

Text in French.

In her latest work, Aisha in Wonderland, artist Maïmouna Guerresi invites viewers – through the languages of photography, video and installation – to enter an inner, hidden universe. An excuse to portray moods, feelings and existential thoughts on an incessant quest to find oneself and a new identity. Maïmouna Guerresi is an Italian-Senegalese multi-media artist working with photography, sculpture, video and installation. Her work presents an intimate perspective on the spiritual ideas of human beings in relation to their inner mystical dimensions. Maïmouna’s images become an appreciation of a shared humanity beyond psychological, cultural and political boundaries. The hybrid embrace of her work towards the spirituality and ancestry of African, Asian and European cultures mirrors her own embrace of globalisation in art and life. Recurring metaphors – milk, light, the hijab, trees and contrasting black and white – create an awareness of the vital unifying qualities of Islamic spirituality. The figures and scenes presented by the artist take on a new light – that of a universal truth about community and the soul – wherein the person becomes a sacred dwelling, or a meeting place for humanity to rediscover our shared mystical body.

Text in English and Spanish, with texts in Italian and Catalan in the appendix.

Enrico Coveri was to Andy Warhol what Francesco Martini Coveri is to Maurizio Galimberti. Complicity with a very high rate of creativity. Unlike Warhol, Maurizio Galimberti never had a chance to meet Enrico. But, he’s meeting him today, thanks to Francesco’s powerful intuition, in a remake of the creative universe through that unmistakable language, which propelled Galimberti to reach the world’s top in photography.

Text in English and Italian.

A one-of-a-kind work in the history of photography, for its technique and difficulty, begun in 2010 and continued even after the earthquake of 2016. Text in English, Italian and French.

Published to accompany an exhibition in 2014, curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath of Art Reoriented, the book’s premise builds on the artist’s topical work Turbulence (2012), a 4 x 4 metre square composed of thousands of glass marbles laid directly onto the floor. Placed exactly at the centre of the exhibition, this installation lies at the heart of a linear but non-chronological trajectory whereby a number of unexpected juxtapositions echo the complexity through which the artist (Beirut, Lebanon, 1952) has managed to challenge, and at times disturb, our experience of the ordinary. The choice of the notion of turbulence as a conceptual framework for the exhibition is derived from the thematic and formal dichotomies inherent within the artist’s work. These render it familiar yet perplexing, allowing for an intense aesthetic experience that is both inviting yet impenetrable, or, in other words, turbulent. Text in English and Arabic.

Considering the activity of the numerous foundations that contributed in spreading new expressive languages, today appears to be a fundamental operation in view of an interpretative widening of art history. Starting from this consideration, this publication – in two volumes – traces the path of the Murray and Isabella Rayburn Foundation, established in New York in 1982 with the aim of promoting Italian art in the United States.

‘Paparazzi’ is a photographic and cultural phenomenon born during the years in which Rome was considered ‘Hollywood on the Tiber River’. The 120 images portray the features of the protagonists of that season – especially the divas and stars of the silver screen, in addition to the photographs illustrating the wild nights in Via Veneto between the 1950s and 1960s. Photos by Tazio Secchiaroli, Marcello Geppetti, Elio Sorci, Ron Galella and many other prominent figures of the time make up (together with pages out of the magazines in which they were published) a fresco of popular communication from back then. Once the heroic season of paparazzi came to an end, that language became a sort of code used in different artistic and commercial contexts, as demonstrated in the final part of the volume by the images of the leading names in today’s photography scene such as Alison Jackson, Armin Linke and Ellen von Unwerth. Text in English and Italian.

These pages are intended as a compact up-to-date guide for readers wishing to find out more about one of the greatest artistic geniuses of all times, an artist epitomising the highest ideals of the age of Humanism whose complex personality challenges even the experts in this field of studies.

Deus Swank Rally is an international event, bizarre, eccentric and highly amusing. The name says it all: elegance, swank, but it’s still a rally, so motorbikes and riders inevitably douse themselves in mud and dust. All the motorbikes are welcomed: studded specials, enduros with carburettors, even the most inappropriate.

During the day gentlemanly competitions are held, self-timed, no cheating; in the evening there is a party among friends. What happens at a Swank Rally? It’s all been captured in the beautiful pictures of this book.

Text in English and Italian.

Now in its sixth edition, the prestigious Swiss Architectural Award, aimed at young architects reported by internationally renowned consultants, was awarded this year to the Spanish architect Elisa Valero. The catalogue of the award, which accompanied an exhibition at the Theater of Architecture in Mendrisio (16 November-23 December 2018), collects the works of all the architects who participated in the competition, focusing in particular on those of the winner.

Text in English and Italian.

For more than seven years, Syria has been undergoing one of the worst human tragedies worldwide. This once proud and splendid country, with its fabled cities of Damascus and Aleppo, has been largely destroyed. Great parts of its population have been forced to leave, which has led to one of the major refugee migrations of recent history. Syria’s fate affects everyone, especially its neighbours in the Middle East. It is for this reason that the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha has chosen to draw attention to Syria’s unique cultural heritage, illuminating its key role in artistic and intellectual world history and, at the same time, seeking to safeguard the irreplaceable legacy that is in such danger.

Featuring over 100 black-and-white photographs, this collection of Bischof’s images conveys his sense of empathy and humanity.

Text in English, Italian and French.

The world is in transition. Established ideas and lifestyles are under pressure: everything is in flux. This volatility and ambivalence can lead to uncertainty and even fear. The 2018 Bruges Triennial: Liquid City offers a beacon of hope, presenting a fluid, open and engaged city; Bruges as an engine of social, cultural and political change; a creative melting pot for encounters of all kinds; and a breeding ground for urban innovation. The liquid city of Bruges – literally ringed by the water that once brought it prosperity and fame – becomes a metaphorical Liquid City, characterised by fluidity, transition, influx and exchange: a continuous artistic dynamism that at times flows gently and at others turbulently through the city. The 2018 Bruges Triennial: Liquid City invites internationally acclaimed artists and architects from around the world to interpret the ‘Liquid City’ theme. They create an art trail dotted with temporary hospitable spaces, conceptual representations and unexpected places for encounters within the historic city centre.

Text in English and Dutch.

Florist Lut Verkinderen grew up on a farm, to the rhythm of nature and the seasons. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that this love of the outdoors and a passion for floral and interior design has culminated in a career of professional floristry. Lut Verkinderen, who is happy to share her insights and love for floral arrangements, gives workshops and demonstrations at major floral events, but has, since 2007, also run her own flower school, where she teaches different techniques (weaving, stringing, clamping, stacking, bundling), introducing new materials to her students with the aim of creating harmonious colours and beautiful structures. It is in this light that About Flowers should be used, as it offers not only inspiration but is, above all, a workbook for all seasons and occasions. Accessible creations in a contemporary style with colourful detail that are Lut Verkinderen’s unique trademark. Text in English and Dutch.

In recent decades, the University of Antwerp has brought together a unique collection of visual art of Belgian and international origin and style. With great care, these works of art are given a specific, selected and discussed place in and around the buildings on the various university campuses. Students, professors, research and supporting staff are thus connected to fragments from the collection in their daily work environment. The percentage rule for art integration is also consistently applied to newly constructed buildings. Recently, a scaled history of Belgian art since 1950 has been added, spanning over a hundred museum ‘rooms’ to scale 1/7. This book deals thematically and visually with the many interactions between architecture, visual art, residents and passers-by. Sophisticated and subtle photography underlines the many possible connections that come about. The width and depth of Art on Campus is presented by means of about forty spatial situations.

Angelo Turconi has spent fifty years roaming the Democratic Republic of Congo. This passionate, curious and compassionate photographer continues to this day to document the daily life of the Congolese, with a particular focus on their cultural heritage and artisanal and artistic traditions. His photographs capture the power of ancestral ceremonies and the joy of popular celebrations, presided over by the traditional chiefs who still occupy a prestigious position. They reveal the social structure of this central African community by observing the work of artisans, farmers, conveyors of goods (riding their impressive cargo bikes) and market traders. More than just a witness, Angelo Turconi calls himself an emissary of memory. It is the subject of memory that seems to haunt the pages of this book. By drawing on the power of customs that have not yet been dulled by globalisation, his photographs take us on a journey to a world apart: one that is recognisably contemporary and yet connected to references and traditions that seem to come from outside of our world. Text in English and French.

Surrounded by flowers from a very young age, the decision to become a floral designer was an obvious one for Japanese Hideyuki Niwa. At the age of 20 he graduated from Tokyo’s flower college and in the same year he was employed by Kamon Flower Gate Co Ltd; a great and fruitful environment for an artist eager to learn and develop. Botanical Metamorphosis is Hideyuki Niwa’s second book and focuses on the design process that brings out and attracts attention to special features of plants and flowers that would otherwise go unnoticed. This process of ‘botanical metamorphosis’ developed over time, as the artist grew more aware of the presence of flowers and plants. Hideyuki Niwa tries to capture the expression in flower heads, the movement – the ‘breathing’ – of leaves, the heart beating in the stems and the will of branches… but in order to bring out these characteristics and to enhance the charm of nature, it is necessary to ‘dismantle’ the original shapes, reconstruct them and awaken their new beauty. As always Niwa’s execution of the design and the placement of materials is flawless, bordering on perfection. The aim of his powerful designs and his mission as an artist is to create floral designs that tug at the heartstrings, inspire and enchant the viewer and create a lasting impression.

Also available: Hideyuki Niwa: Japanese Contemporary Floral Art ISBN 9789058564375

Text in English and Japanese

Surrounded by flowers from a very young age, the decision to become a floral designer was anoabvious one for Hideyuki Niwa. To keep on challenging himself, Niwa often takes part in competitions and tries creating and photographing a new design every day to get a thorough understanding of the characteristics of flowers and their possibilities. His classic, linear style and minimalist expression with careful placement of plant materials, quintessential characteristics of the Japanese aesthetic concent wabi sabi, rightfully won him a Bronze Leaf in the 2010/2011 editio and he Gold Leaf in the 2012/2013 edition of Stichting Kunstboek’s prestigious International Floral Art. Text in English and Japanese. Also available: Ryusaku Matsuda, Contemporary Floral Art ISBN: 9789058562999 Naoki Sasaki, Japanese Contemporary Floral Art ISBN: 9789058562647