In this new book, Frank Ames concludes a trilogy of works, in which his sharp and revealing studies of the origins of the Sikh Kashmir shawl patterns under Maharaja Ranjit Singh not only remind us of their uniqueness and originality, but also, through their striking visuals, transport us through previously unknown ethereal and mystical dimensions of time and space.

From the tumultuous history of Punjab, the Sikhs rose to great power, commanding enough influence to draw the attention of the mighty British Raj. Ames guides us through the political, cultural, religious, and artistic events of the Punjab that gave rise to these transformative Sikh designs.

Pashmina Jewels emerges from the shared dedication of collector, Dr. Parvinderjit Singh Khanuja, and the author, both driven by a single purpose: to bring to light an art form long neglected by Indian historians.

Inferno & Paradiso is a powerful photographic and editorial project that confronts the fragile tension between horror and joy, pain and hope. Conceived by artist Alfredo Jaar and featuring works by 20 leading photojournalists, each contributor presents two images: one depicting the darkest aspects of human suffering, the other capturing a moment of pure, often unexpected joy. Originally created in response to Jaar’s experience of the Rwandan genocide, the project resists apathy and indifference, challenging the spectator to engage with the complex emotional spectrum of our contemporary condition. With an immersive slide installation and a richly layered book, the work explores how images bear witness to reality while also asking fundamental questions about the possibility of happiness in a fractured world. Drawing inspiration from Dante and humanist theology, Inferno & Paradiso becomes a secular pilgrimage through human experience, paying homage to the moral courage of those who testify through images.

POLICE STATE documents Nadya Tolokonnikova’s 10-day performance exhibition at MOCA in Los Angeles (June 2025), featuring photographs, prison letters, etchings, artwork by fellow Russian political prisoners, and documentation of the ICE and No Kings Day protests held outside the museum during her exhibit, all woven into the narrative of resistance.

Three and a half years after the international success of World’s Finest Homes comes World’s Finest Homes II – a new journey through 29 extraordinary residences that redefine contemporary living across the globe. Bound in natural linen and crafted with the same care as the homes it celebrates, this second volume offers an intimate looks into architecture and interior design at their most refined – where luxury speaks softly and beauty endures.

From the urban sophistication of penthouse in Miami to the serene elegance of a beach-side retreat in Maui, each home tells a story of places, personality, and purpose. Throughout the book, readers will discover homes in Toronto, Los Angeles, Sydney, São Paulo, Sun Valley, Austin, Dubai, The Hamptons, Ireland, and beyond – each designed by some of today’s most inspiring architects and interior designers. 

More than 40 years ago, two friends, united by a passion for the decorative arts, embarked on an exploration of the unique jewels of India. They were motivated by the everyday jewels of the people in the villages—to discover the sources of their inspiration and to unravel the complex ritual of adornment that resulted in ornaments being fabricated for every part of the body, from the top of the head to the toes. The result was the creation of the Amrapali Collection of Indian Jewellery, one of the largest collections of pastoral silver jewellery in the world. 

The manifold communities that this collection represents come from different religions, with linguistic differences and diverse cultural sensibilities, but the land that the jewels encompass is geographically contiguous. They exhibit the amazing technical expertise of simple gold- and silversmiths. This volume presents the jewels in all their glory, and as a visual language communicating design, aesthetics, tradition and, above all, the artistic expression of adorning the body. 

Globally recognized photographer Russell James is known for a singular artistic vision that unites technical mastery, fashion, celebrity, cultural storytelling, and humanitarian purpose, driven by an uncompromising commitment to authenticity.

It’s About Time is James’s definitive legacy publication and the first book to present a complete, curated journey through his three-decade career. Spanning continents, cultures, and genres, this book features James’s early work with Indigenous communities, intimate portraits of some of the world’s most influential figures, and groundbreaking imagery that helped redefine modern fashion and supermodel culture. The book comprises a compelling mix of never-before-published images, newly created portraits of global figures, and James’s most iconic works. Candid behind-the-scenes moments reveal a rarely seen insider’s view of the industry.

Across its pages, It’s About Time traces James’s artistic evolution, technical innovation, and enduring focus on human connection. More than a retrospective, the book offers readers an extraordinary visual odyssey—following a young Australian photographer as his work carries him onto the global stage. This is an essential volume for collectors, photography enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to powerful visual storytelling.

China, nearly half a century after economic transformation and development, is changing not just itself, but the world around it. The BRI (Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure and economic development program initiated by the Chinese government) promises investments in countries along the ancient overland trading routes between China and the West, with maritime arcs around Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian peninsula, down the eastern coast of Africa and through the Mediterranean. These distinctive images from 21 countries participating in China’s BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) are taken by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Liu Heung Shing, described by Newsweek as “the Henri Cartier-Bresson of China”. Unfolding across Asia, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, the book covers a distance of over 267,000 kilometers, documented from early 2023 to late 2025. A compelling new perspective on the reality of China today.

Stories of Home is an exploration of the idea of living and how Hacin—the award-winning architecture, interiors, and visual identity firm based in Boston—creates spaces that foster a true sense of belonging and connection.

This expressive and evocative publication presents a curated selection of Hacin’s projects and explores the emotional and conceptual threads of each residence, highlighting what’s most important to the people who live there. Together, these homes tell a larger story of life, and reveal how every aspect of a design, down to the finest detail, can embody memory and meaning. Interwoven throughout are narratives that reflect on Hacin’s commitment to concept-driven design, skilled craftsmanship, community, and the historic character of Boston’s neighborhoods—the setting of much of Hacin’s work.

Richly illustrated and beautifully presented, Stories of Home reflects on Hacin’s decades-long private residential practice and the firm’s narrative approach to design and place-making for contemporary residences in Boston and across the United States.

World’s Best Offices & Private Workspaces invites you into a world where architecture, design, and creativity converge to shape the modern workspace.

Across its pages, readers will journey through an inspiring collection of offices and private work environments from cities as diverse as London, Stockholm, Athens, Copenhagen, Berlin, Sydney, and Los Angeles. Each project reflects a unique dialog between culture, identity, and contemporary design thinking.

From boutique law firms and creative studios to real estate agencies, fashion headquarters, architecture practices, and executive penthouses, the featured spaces reveal how different professional branches interpret the idea of “work” through form, material, and atmosphere.

In the fourth edition of World’s Best – Interiors From Around the Globe series the journey continues through some of the most remarkable residential projects created by leading architects and interior designers across the world.

This new addition to the series brings together around 80 carefully selected features, each offering a unique perspective on contemporary living. From serene urban apartments to expansive countryside homes, the projects presented here reflect a rich diversity of styles, cultures, and design philosophies. A range of inspiring interiors is explored: a refined residence in São Paulo shaped by natural materials and quiet restraint, a sculptural villa in Amman where art and architecture intertwine, a light-filled San Francisco Pied-à-terre blending heritage and modernity, a relaxed Californian home in Los Angeles, a carefully restored Edwardian town home, and many more distinctive spaces across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and beyond. 

Photographs taken during Grierson’s wanderings in Mexico and Guatemala in the late Eighties, and Nineties. While continuing his preoccupations, from where he’d left off several years earlier (his RCA work), Grierson was now met with a different reality, and a fresh challenge. Would the post modernist, formalist playfulness, in his earlier work, continue within this new third world environment? We are always ultimately shaped by our environment, but within the work, the environment is also shaped by both the photographer’s own subjectivity and the medium itself. ‘Grierson indeed is a particular kind of witness and his work is as much about the medium as the world’, (Gerry Badger).
Putting away his flash gun (which had characterized much of his earlier work), in respect for the indigenous people, he wanders through Central America, recording his interactions on b/w film. The resulting emotive images, have a strong sence of humanity, but they are never sentimental, and their power still owes much to Grierson’s formalist eye, and the subtle, yet visceral connections between the objects and people, within each frame. 

The World’s Best Ski & Design Hotels is the third volume in a series of travel books that highlight design-forward destinations offering distinct experiences for their guests. The World’s Best Ski & Design Hotels features around 30 retreats for ski-enthusiasts who appreciate great architecture, intimate interiors and unforgettable adventures among the world’s greatest mountain ranges. This collection of hotels provides the perfect escape for design devotees looking for a relaxing winter retreat, showcasing hotels that blend luxury with the pristine beauty of the snow-covered landscapes. Dream away with this book full of fantastic photos that will take you to places you didn’t even know existed.

Long considered anonymous, a striking portrait of an old man in the Kunsthistorisches Museum is now attributed to the Baroque genius Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a rare and remarkable discovery. Almost life-size, the bust grips viewers with its piercing gaze and palpable presence. Bernini, famed creator of Apollo and Daphne and architect of St. Peter’s Square, is known to have painted only for his own pleasure, and fewer than twenty works survive as autograph paintings. This book traces the thrilling investigation behind the attribution and reveals how Bernini infused paint with sculptural force, redefining the boundaries between painting and sculpture.

Stax Records: Making Soul and Breaking Boundaries | The Artists and Music Behind the Memphis Sound tells the story of the origins and early years of Stax Records through the archive of photographer Bill Carrier Jr, featuring 30 Stax superstars and the moments that made the label famous.

Founded by visionary Jim Stewart as a country music label in a Black neighborhood in segregated Memphis, and co-owned with his sister, Estelle Axton, Stax would become a beacon for the unifying force of music, transcending racial divides. The label’s legendary in-house bands, with their basslines, organs and horn sections, backed up a roster of headliners that included Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes and Booker T. & The M.G.’s, producing a string of anthems that changed American music and soundtracked the era of civil rights and social revolution.

From the ground-breaking Stax/Volt Revue European Tour to the tragic deaths of Otis Redding and members of the Bar-Kays in 1967, this volume covers the highs and lows of the label’s historic rise, showcasing the people behind one of the most important eras in popular music and American cultural history.

Written by Billboard’s executive director of R&B/hip-hop, Gail Mitchell, with a foreword by award-winning songwriter and former Stax publicity director Deanie Parker.

1000 piece puzzle featuring the artwork of acclaimed New York based contemporary artist Larissa Bates.

This visually rich monograph explores the ceramic practice of Jane Yang D’Haene, whose work bridges memory, material, and identity through clay. Accompanied by immersive photography throughout, the book traces Yang D’Haene’s journey from architecture and interior design to ceramics, revealing an artistic language shaped by Korean heritage, diasporic experience, and deeply personal transformation.

Structured through a series of poetic and critical chapters—including reflections on moon jars, glaze, painting, transition, and studio practice—the book moves between intimate autobiography and broader cultural inquiry. Yang D’Haene writes with lyrical sensitivity about loss, displacement, ritual, and the search for balance between past and present. Her vessels emerge not simply as objects, but as emotional and psychological landscapes that hold both remembrance and reinvention.

Essays by Glenn Adamson and Hyeyoung Cho situate her work within contemporary ceramic discourse, abstraction, and the evolving condition of diasporic identity. Together, the texts illuminate a practice rooted equally in disciplined craftsmanship and conceptual openness.

More than a survey of ceramic works, this book is a meditation on endurance, material memory, and the quiet possibilities of making. Through clay, Yang D’Haene creates a space where Korea and America, grief and beauty, silence and expression coexist in delicate equilibrium.

Tales in Ink by Rob Walbers and Bart Luijten is a visually and conceptually rich exploration of identity, creativity, and self-expression through the art of tattooing. This loose-leaf publication brings together a series of intimate portraits and conversations with renowned figures from the creative world from Tokyo to Los Angeles, who share personal stories about how their tattoos have become integral to whom they are. Each interview delves into the symbolic meaning behind their ink, revealing how body art can reflect transformation, personality, memory, or artistic philosophy. Beyond documentation, the book’s graphic design introduces a new visual dialogue, merging photography, typography, and illustration into a layered aesthetic that treats each page as a living canvas — a “new tattoo” in itself. By intertwining word, image, and design, Tales in Ink transcends the boundaries of traditional portraiture and celebrates tattoo culture as a profound expression of creative identity and individuality.

Text in English and Japanese.

Cécile Plaisance is a French contemporary artist renowned for her pop, glamorous, and provocative visual universe. Her monumental lenticular works play with movement, revelation, and transformation depending on the viewing angle. She explores themes of femininity, desire, and women’s freedom. Her creations combine humor, sensuality, and social critique while maintaining a strong aesthetic dimension. In particular, she questions the hyper-sexualisation of the female body and the contradictions of contemporary society. Cécile Plaisance exhibits internationally, from Paris to Miami, London to Las Vegas, Venice to Los Angeles.

Text in English and French.

Nicola Samorì (Forlì, 1977) is one of the most innovative contemporary artists, known for his profound dialog with Western visual tradition. Through a process of excavation and rewriting, Samorì transforms the classical into a field of tension, challenging the apparent immutability of art. Classical Collapse is a unique exhibition project connecting Milan and Naples, bringing together the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in a journey through more than fifty works by the artist, displayed alongside masterpieces from the permanent collections. The exhibition explores themes such as matter and illusion, creation and ruin, body and spirit, investigating the continuous metamorphosis of classical art and the vitality of cultural heritage. The accompanying volume includes essays by Demetrio Paparoni, Alberto Rocca and Eike Schmidt, directors of the hosting institutions, as well as contributions by writer Antonio Moresco and theologian and art critic Friedhelm Mennekes, offering an in-depth reflection on Samorì’s practice and his ability to inspire a renewed vision of art.

1000 piece puzzle featuring the artwork of acclaimed New York based artist Tomokazu Matsuyama.

Micronesia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Bora Bora, Seychelles, Maldives, Australia – where does the mind go when imagining such places. Drawn from the best travel blogs and Instagram images, this book brings together the most beautiful locations near, on, or under water. From eco resorts to remote, pristine islands; from sailing on ultra-blue oceans to diving in translucent waters; in aerial and underwater photography, the focus is on finding paradise. Whether thinking about a trip or longing for sun and sand, this book is where those daydreams begin.

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Visit Portugal’s second city in the footsteps of the sisters Joana and Sofia de Lacerda. They were born and raised in Porto. Through their website they share their pick of places to stay, and places to visit in their hometown, and the rest of Portugal.

In this guide, they have compiled their local expertise for visitors who want to discover the lesser-known spots of Porto, and for locals who want to get to know their city even better. 500 addresses and facts in total, presented in original lists of 5.

Includes maps and an index.

Hidden Malta gives visitors an opportunity to explore the hidden gems of the Maltese archipelago. Beyond the thriving main streets that attract the tourist crowds, there are so many other places waiting to be discovered, including churches, small museums, and places to eat, where you can meet and connect with locals. The guide also covers Malta’s many annual festivals and traditions, with historical re-enactments, wine, beer and music festivals, as well as food fairs held in various parts of the islands throughout the year.
In this alternative guide to Malta, licensed tourist guide Vincent Zammit pays tribute to the islands that he knows intimately, choosing to highlight places that are not well-known or frequented by visitors to Malta, giving them the opportunity to discover these well-kept secrets and the Malta that he loves.
Also available: Hidden Belgium, Hidden Scotland, Hidden Holland, Hidden Brooklyn, Hidden Tenerife. Discover the series: the500hiddensecrets.com