How do you portray sin, evil and foolishness in humans? Religious and political tensions and even the weather – we are talking about the depths of the Little Ice Age – contributed to a boom in representations of the Seven Deadly Sins in the Low Countries and immediate surroundings in the long sixteenth century. In this publication, four accessibly written essays highlight different sides of the pictorial tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, with the renowned print series of the same name designed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder at its center. A fifth, literary essay describes the feverish visions of one of the victims of a true 16th-century series of murders permeated by the deadly sins.

During the German occupation, a Jewish Dutch couple had to sell a painting to go into hiding. Their daughters were placed in a children’s home, but were rounded up in early 1944 and deported to Auschwitz, where they died. The parents survived the war and did not discover their children’s fate until 1946. The search for the painting also remained fruitless for a long time, until Origins Unknown Agency discovered that it had ended up in a German museum. The museum had previously tried unsuccessfully to trace its provenance. Thanks to the Origins Unknown Agency, the heirs of the original owner were found. The German museum and the heirs agreed that the painting, an 1882 work by Camille Pissarro, would remain at the museum. As part of the compensation, the painting will be kept on display from November 2024 to February 2025 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Contemporary Living presents 20 new residential projects – houses and apartments – in the Middle East designed by renowned architects and interior designers. Packed full of inspiration and stunning photography, this coffee table book also includes a profile of each architect and designer, along with a presentation of each photographer specializing in the Middle East whose work is showcased.

Includes the work of Giacuzzo Design Studio – H+A Architects – Neeshay Nouman The Niche Corner – Tristan Du Plessis – HiProjects Melissa Charlier – Studio M Abboud Malak – VSHD – Leila Khalil – XO Atelier with Augustine Wong – ArchiSense – Leila Khalil, JMDA, NAQSH, Hana Hakim.

Building on her experience following a several-week trip to Taliesin West, Kora Bürgi investigates Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and traces his work in the USA and Switzerland. The result of the field research is a presentation of his influence on the Central Swiss architectural landscape – a theme that has not been studied before. That influence ranges from partial copies of elements of Wright’s architecture to own interpretations of his architectural ideas.
This publication analyzes 14 buildings in Central Switzerland – from the Heimbach school and the Villa Schnyder (both in Lucerne) to the residential buildings in Brodhubl (Canton of Obwalden) – including Wright’s influence on various architects, such as Josef Gasser, Lisbeth Sachs and Otto von Deschwanden. The author also sheds light on the distribution of Wright’s urban-planning principles and the future of his architecture in Switzerland.

Text in German.

In an era of rapid technological and social change Trends in the Transformation Economy offers insights into a new economic landscape. It explores how companies can navigate a world where customers seek not just products, but meaning. The book offers strategies to meet these new customer aspirations and thereby it makes a positive impact on the planet, society and individuals.

“This book is a fascinating look at a history rarely told.” —The Guardian

“a fascinating look at a history rarely told” — The Observer

“In his new book “Around the World in 200 Globes” (Luster), he spot-lights some of the most significant and interesting, shpwing that a globe is more than a map on a ball.” — Wall Street Journal

“…a superb illustrator of changing boundaries and national self-regard” — Strong Words

“…exquisite examples that speak to our species’ ever-shifting ideas of who we are and where we live” — National Geographic Traveler

“…beautifully put together – and the photographs of the globes are straightforward but show off the magnificence of the collection admirably” — Amateur Photographer

The Dutch architect Willem Jan Neutelings (co-founder of Neutelings Riedijk Architects) is known as the architect of, among other things, the MAS in Antwerp and the Gare Maritime in Brussels’ Tour & Taxis district. Few people know, however, that Neutelings is also an avid collector who, over the years, has built up a very extensive and also very specific collection of hundreds of globes, made between 1900 and 2000. In this book, he presents his collection to the public for the first time. He selected 200 globes, each telling a very individual and interesting story about the time and place when and where they were created. Some globes bear witness to technological innovations by the way they were made, some show how advanced people’s knowledge of space was at the time, some were intended as navigational aids. Neutelings’ collection includes globes in cast iron, steel, wood and even paper; some look very old and fragile, others are very colorful, and some even give off light. Each one is a beautiful and intriguing object that teaches us a lot about the ever-changing world view of mankind. This beautiful and skillfully crafted book is an ode to these stories, to the unique objects often anonymous craftsmen produced in the last century, and to the special dedication of collectors.

In a world where Photoshop creates the stereotype of perfect and flawless images, Steve Dean Mendes decided to row against the tide and do just the opposite as a photographer. By deciding not to retouch his images and to not use makeup for his models, only using natural light in the studio, Steve Dean Mendes created a safe environment for his protagonists, initiating a process of removing all masks. In this series he worked predominantly with women and attempted, through art, to facilitate the experience for self-discovery and acceptance.

His aim? To capture raw and unaltered emotions and to present a story of love, joy, but also of pain, suffering and abandonment. Inspired by the great Flemish Old masters and the Pre-Raphaelite movement, Steve Dean Mendes wanted to show the real human beings behind these protagonists, with all their natural fragility and beauty of their soul.

Text in English and Dutch.

The Viennese gallery Slavik has been exhibiting international contemporary jewelry art of the highest quality for 20 years. The rotating bronze disc above the entrance beckons the visitor to enter into a unique universe and into a singular architectonic design concept. As a meeting place for artists, collectors and museum professionals from all over the world, it is the goal of the gallery owner Renate Slavik to provide a deeper understanding of the fascinating nature of contemporary jewelry art. Since 1990 the former antique dealer has supported unique, handcrafted jewelry with her enthusiasm and vision. “Art on the body” made of paper, synthetic material, tin as well as traditional “ingredients” like gold, pearls and diamonds are displayed in her changing exhibitions. In the gallery artistic impetus has been provided by Annelies Planteydt and Gijs Bakker from Holland; from international masters of studio jewelry such as Giampaolo Babetto or from the Padua School of Francesco Pavan. The gallery’s repertoire includes avant-garde jewelry by Annamaria Zanella, Jacqueline Ryan, Stefano Marchetti and Giovanni Corvaja as well as the geometrical creations of David Watkins or the golden bracelet discs by Okinari Kurokawa. The Catalan Massana School of Joaquim Capdevila and Ramon Puig Cuyas with their colorful, narrative style; Helfried Kodré’s brooches and ring sculptures as a three-dimensional, spatially-extended implementation of geometry; Michael Becker’s clear, architectonic language of form; or the works with moving surfaces by Yasuki Hiramatsu represent different expressions of contemporary jewelry work. The doors stand wide open to the up-and-coming generation of craftsmen – one of the gallery owner’s favorite tasks is to scout out young talent such as Miriam Hiller or Isabell Schaupp. Features 60 artists including Gijs Bakker, Anna Heindl, Miriam Hiller, Helfried Kodré, Elisabeth J. Defner, Michael Becker, Anneliese Planteydt, Francesco Pavan, David Watkins, Stefano Marchetti, Daniel Kruger, Annamaria Zanella, Giovanni Corvaja, Jacqueline Ryan, Renzo Pasquale. Text in English & German.

From its foundation in 1948, the state of Israel has felt isolated and under threat from enemies. This collective siege mentality manifests itself with over 1 million public and private shelters. The Israelis have integrated these ‘Doomsday spaces’ into their everyday life and transformed them into spaces that look like normal dance studios, bars or temples. For many people in Israel who live with a personal history of exile and persecution, these shelters are the architecture of an existential threat both real and perceived. Adam Reynolds shot the images in this book over the course of three years, from 2013 to 2015. The photographs offer a broad cultural and geographical typology of the shelter spaces by documenting them on either side of the Green Line, throughout Israel and the Occupied Territories, in an effort to offer the broadest survey possible. They straddle the distinct worlds of fine art and reportage. “Working in a country like Israel, it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate art from social reality,” says Adam Reynolds.

Media architecture has evolved from illuminating iconic building façades at night to characterizing all life in cities. This compendium draws on academic research and global studies to present an evolutionary account of concepts that have defined the field and inspired practice, alongside methods for bringing media architecture thinking into projects. Thirty media architecture installations that were nominated for the Media Architecture Awards in 2018 and 2020 illustrate the breadth and trends in the field, including a shift towards more-than-human futures. Through its three parts, capturing concepts, methods and practice, the compendium offers an accessible guide to media architecture for designers, architects, artists, scholars, educators and learners. Several of the authors are board members of the Media Architecture Institute, a non-profit organization with offices in Vienna, Sydney, Beijing and Toronto.

Based in Vienna and Munich, AllesWirdGut was founded in 1999 by Andreas Marth, Friedrich Passler, Herwig Spiegl and Christian Waldner. The name is the office’s motto: in addition to high-quality housing, which also offers considerable flexibility and adaptability, the internationally operative office focuses on added social value. For instance, this is evident in the case of the widely appreciated social project magdas Hotel, a meeting place in Vienna. The most renowned projects among the office’s oeuvre of over 70 buildings include the Hanhoopsfeld campus in Hamburg and the Bruckner Tower in Linz, which was completed in 2021.

Text in English and German.

From its foundation in 1948, the state of Israel has felt isolated and under threat from enemies. This collective siege mentality manifests itself with over 1 million public and private shelters. The Israelis have integrated these ‘Doomsday spaces’ into their everyday life and transformed them into spaces that look like normal dance studios, bars or temples. For many people in Israel who live with a personal history of exile and persecution, these shelters are the architecture of an existential threat both real and perceived. Adam Reynolds shot the images in this book over the course of three years, from 2013 to 2015. The photographs offer a broad cultural and geographical typology of the shelter spaces by documenting them on either side of the Green Line, throughout Israel and the Occupied Territories, in an effort to offer the broadest survey possible. They straddle the distinct worlds of fine art and reportage. “Working in a country like Israel, it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate art from social reality,” says Adam Reynolds.

This book accompanies a major exhibition in the Ashmolean Museum on the early work of internationally acclaimed German artist Anselm Kiefer. It focuses on his paintings, drawings, photographs and artist books created between 1969 and 1982, in the private collections of the Hall Art Foundation. Anselm Kiefer: Early Works is the first institutional show and publication in the UK dedicated to Kiefer’s early practice. The book introduces themes, subjects and styles that have become signature to Kiefer’s work, while providing a more intimate and complementary context for his large-scale installations that he is best known for today. The early works are accompanied by three recent paintings from the artist’s own collections and White Cube, chosen by the artist himself.

Art historians, artists, curators and experts of Kiefer’s art from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Britain and the US have contributed 46 original texts on individual works, organized in a chronological structure. An illustrated chronology at the end of the book compiled by Stephanie Biron from the Hall Art Foundation provides an overview of the artist’s early practice and life, to contextualize the works.

The book begins with Kiefer’s iconic Occupations and Heroische Sinnbilder series, created in 1969 and 1970, which Kiefer views as his first serious works. Kiefer was among the first generation of German post-war artists to directly confront the country’s troubled past and identity. Full of complex references to German socio-political history but also to culture, literature and his personal life, Kiefer’s early works carry a unique iconography, linking classic ideas of great art with a distinctive understanding of concrete artistic materiality. The landscapes in his watercolors are historically charged; hand-written words on paintings are closely linked with poetry well known to most German viewers; motifs and symbols point at Nazi ideologies and a collective feeling of guilt.

If we understand “transcendence” as a multidimensional experience, can light as a medium grant us access to invisible realms? The artist Fabian Gatermann uses light as the key material for his installations, objects, and multiples in order to investigate new dimensions. Over the course of his work, Gatermann disengages himself from the classic scientific engineering system of testing; instead his works can be seen as open-ended unconventional experiments. During this creative process, light oscillates between amorphous and crystalline states, taking the viewer on a transcendental voyage of discovery. The central reference throughout remains the human being: the works provoke active participation and invite the viewer to become part of a multi-perspective game of light and space.

Text in English and German.

Where’s the best place to go out on a Saturday night in Barcelona? What off-beat museums can be discovered after Sunday brunch (and where to have it)? Which locations offer the best viewpoints of the Catalan capital? What Gaudí buildings are essential? Where does Barcelona’s modernizm reach its zenith? Where to take the children? What’s the best place to buy wine? And where do the locals hang out?

The 500 Hidden Secrets of Barcelona reveals hundreds of good-to-know addresses, avoiding the touristy places and pointing out the urban details you are likely to miss. Mark Cloostermans, a Belgian journalist living in Barcelona, unlocks the various districts, pointing out historical details in the streets of the old town, taking you from green Montjuïc hill to the beach and back. The best places to eat halal, the must-visits for Barça fans and the various festivals you can plan your visit around: The 500 Hidden Secrets of Barcelona reveals it all.

Edited by Carl Brandon Strehlke and Machtelt Brüggen Israëls, The Bernard and Mary Berenson Collection of European Paintings at I Tatti surveys the 149 works assembled by the Berensons for their home in Florence from the late 1890s through the first decades of the twentieth century at the time that they were making their mark on the world as connoisseurs. The catalogue presents a privileged window on the Berensons’ intellectual interests through the objects they owned. The entries, written by an international team of art historians, take full advantage of the extensive correspondence from the Berensons’ friends, family, and colleagues at I Tatti as well as the couple’s diaries and notations on the backs of their vast gathering of photographs. All the entries are lavishly illustrated with full scholarly and technical accountings of the objects. There are also 17 illustrated reconstructions of the original contexts of panel paintings. The catalogue includes essays on the progress of the Berensons’ collecting, their love for Siena, the Sienese forger Icilio Federico Joni, the critic Roger Fry, and René Piot’s murals at I Tatti, as well as a listing of 94 pictures that were once at I Tatti including donations made to museums in Europe and America.

Contents:
Preface Lino Pertile; Acknowledgments – Carl Brandon Strehlke and Machtelt Israëls; Note to the Use of the Catalogue; Abbreviations; Glossary of People in the Berenson Circle Mentioned in the Text; Section I: Introductory Essays and Entries 0 to 111; Essay I: “Bernard and Mary Collect: Pictures Come to I Tatti” – Carl Brandon Strehlke; Essay II: “The Berensons and Siena” (working title) – Machtelt Israëls; Essay III: “Passions Intertwined: Art and Photography at I Tatti” – Giovanni Pagliarulo; Entries: Paintings from the 14th to 18th century – Plates 0 to 111; Section II: Fakes; Essay IV: The Berensons and the Sienese Forger Federico Ioni – Gianni Mazzoni; Entries: Fakes – Plates 112 to 116; Section III: Roger Fry; Essay V: “Roger Fry and Bernard Berenson” – Caroline Elam; Entry: Fry – Plate 117; Section IV: René Piot; Essay VI: “A Failure: René Piot and the Berensons” – Claudio Pizzorusso; Entries: Piot – Plates 118 to 131; Section V: The Berensons, Family and Friends; Entries: Portraits – Plates 132 to 138; Entries: Miscellanea – Plates 139 to 148; Appendix: Paintings Formerly Owned by the Berensons – Carl Brandon Strehlke and Machtelt Israëls; Bibliography; Photo Credits; Index.

Jewelry and the universe are bound together not just in the Ancient Greek sense of the word ‘cosmos’; the sun, moon and stars invariably also found their way into representative forms of art jewelry around the world. While magical, mythological and religious references stood mainly at the forefront of ancient and non-European cultures, over the course of recent history it was on decorative grounds that jewelry pieces with cosmic motifs became so coveted. Whether Köchert in Vienna, Fabergé in St Petersburg or Lalique in Paris, the great jewelers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were all inspired by heavenly forms. Today, interest in celestial bodies remains unbroken among contemporary internationally celebrated jewelry artists. With his new, richly illustrated book, the long-standing head of the Jewellery Museum Pforzheim presents for the first time a comprehensive review on the star motif in jewelry – from Ancient Egypt to the present day.

Text in English and German.

In the 1930s Grigory Barkhin became particularly interested in theater architecture, and this culminated in the publication in 1947 of a two-volume work, Architecture of the Theatre. This was the most comprehensive and deeply researched study of theater architecture of the time. The first volume follows a historical timeline, from early classical theaters to some of Europe’s national treasures – La Scala, Opéra Garnier, Vienna State Opera – and the development of theater architecture in the Russian Empire. The second half of the book is devoted entirely to Soviet theater architecture of the pre-war period, in particular the five-star design of the Red Army theater in Moscow, and competition projects for theaters in Rostov-on-Don, Sverdlovsk and Minsk, which Barkhin himself designed with his son Mikhail. These projects can be seen as the cornerstone of the development of Soviet architecture of the time. In this remarkable book, published here in English for the first time, Barkhin sets out a blueprint for architecture that combines an understanding of the subject with a bold and uncompromising vision.

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.”– The Independent
Discover the city’s best-kept secrets, with this practical guide to Antwerp’s most beautiful, interesting and often unknown places. This book takes you off the beaten track to discover the city’s hidden gardens, small museums and intimate coffee bars. On its pages you will find the 5 best places to eat frites, the 5 most secret courtyards and the 5 best independent record shops in town. It also guides you to some of the more unusual experiences that you can track down in Antwerp. So you can find out where to eat the best dim sum in Chinatown, sample a chocolate flavored with fried bacon, or dance the night away. The aim of this book is not to cover the city from A to Z, but to inspire; it is a guide to the places the author would recommend to a friend who wants to discover the real Antwerp.
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Antwerp offers a practical way to explore Antwerp’s finest places, and Derek Blyth covers all bases to ensure no visitor to the city is ever anything short of captivated. Packed with accessible, easy-to-read information summarized in handy lists, maps, itineraries, sections on food & drink, accommodation, green spaces, museums, galleries and shops; this guide is an essential resource for the inquisitive traveler.

Gertrude Jekyll was perhaps the most important British garden designer of the 20th century. She famously argued that gardening ought to be considered a Fine Art, highlighting that it becomes a point of honor to be always striving for the best. This volume examines Jekyll’s work at Manor House, Upton Grey in Hampshire, offering an insight into her eclectic, imaginative, and inspiring art. Designed between 1908 and 1909, and once maintained by as many as nine gardeners, the garden fell into disrepair by the second half of the twentieth century, before a full and accurate restoration was carried out in the early 1980s. Gertrude Jekyll: Her Art Restored at Upton Grey presents a visual record of the garden’s plants and layout, with original plans and photographs, as well as beautiful images of the garden taken since its restoration. There is also a fascinating chapter about Miss Jekyll’s discovery, admiration and use of Mediterranean plants. The book succeeds in illustrating exactly why Jekyll was so admired in her lifetime and why she continues to inspire and influence gardeners today. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: The Garden from 1902 to the Start of its Restoration in 1984 Chapter 2: The Rose Garden Chapter 3: The Dry-Stone Walls Chapter 4: The Main Herbaceous Borders Chapter 5: The Pergola, the Rose Arbour and Surrounding Garden Chapter 6: Miss Gertrude Jekyll’s mediterranean travels and plant discoveries and their use at Upton Grey Chapter 7: The Wild Garden Chapter 8: The Art Completed Also available: The English Garden Through the Twentieth Century ISBN: 9781870673297

“Building in Lebanon is my way of taking a position with regard to the war.” This statement by the French-Lebanese architect Youssef Tohme is key to getting into and grasping Intensive Beirut.

This illustrated essay blends reflections on the urban development of the Lebanese capital with the experience gained on the projects of this architect-contractor, engaged in the effort to reopen the debate on architecture in his country. In a place where every situation is never more than a temporary state, the analysis of space is fundamental. The first part of the book examines Youssef Tohme’s ideas, illustrated with 25 photos by Ziad Antar, a Lebanese visual artist-photographer. Equipped with a Holga and a Rollefleix, Antar has captured the architect’s key projects – St. Joseph University in Beirut (designed with the office of 109 architects), the Villa T and the Villa M in Kornet Chehouane, and the Villa SC in Akoura. The second part, authored by Karine Dana, facilitated exchanges of ideas between Youssef Tohme and important figures of the Lebanese cultural scene such as the architect Tony Chakar, the artist Ziad Abilama and the singer Ahmed de Maschrou.

Text in English and French.