All too often the digital revolution is depicted as a global nightmare: companies are shut down, jobs are cut, and the future is looking grim. Others try to take action and are bracing themselves for the giant disruption that is looming around the corner. In his thought-provoking book, Thierry Geerts proposes to replace the word ‘disruption’ with ‘reinvention’. Take the car, for instance. The way we have been driving around for the past 50 years no longer has a future: we are constantly stuck in traffic, thousands of people die each year as a result of road traffic accidents, and cars are major contributors to air pollution. Electric, self-driving cars offer a safer and more efficient solution. People can share them and park outside the city. Perhaps we don’t even need a car of our own anymore? This book is a wake-up call. Europe has been at the forefront of the industrial and the computer revolution, so what stops us from becoming the capital of Digitalis?

When you think of Ibiza, you think of sun, sea, sand, and the Mediterranean way of life. But that’s not all: you think of gorgeous design, funky interiors, scrumptious food and breathtaking nature. With that in mind, it’s time for an ode to good taste, La Pura Vida. This magnificent book will bring the summer vibe into your home with the most beautiful interiors, imposing architecture and pictures that will have you imagining you are standing amidst the azure bays yourself. Two hundred and forty pages filled with joy and good taste, interiors, architecture, and scenery.

In today’s economy, everything has changed. In order to survive, managers and organizational leaders will have to address the need to connect to the largest possible audience without losing touch with the individual. But how does this work? How can managers look ahead? How can they imagine how their company will be doing in thirty years from now, and do so in an environment where predictions have become all but impossible, and then at the same time successfully imprint their vision into a strategy for the next three months from now? What makes today’s customers tick? Why does everything have to be easy, fast, fun and simple? Why is data the new gold, and why is AI a blessing? The answer is plain. To keep evolving, leaders should be inspired by the outside world. They should have the guts to read the signals all around them. They should meet the needs of their customers and, above all, they should focus on every possibility. In short, they should never stop experimenting.

Apart from a handful of art historians no one has ever heard of the Brussels painter Hendrick De Clerck (1560-1630). Nevertheless, De Clerck was a contemporary of Peter Paul Rubens – the latter having gone down in history as an artistic trailblazer and painting powerhouse, while Hendrick De Clerck has quietly faded into oblivion. Yet the subtly coded, vibrantly colored pictures that De Clerck painted for Archduke Albert of Austria and his wife Isabella are political propaganda of the highest order. In creating a mode of archducal representation that could help to gain an empire, the sky is quite literally the limit. De Clerck represents Isabella as wise Minerva, chaste Diana, the Virgin Mary. And that’s nothing compared to her husband, for in De Clerck’s paintings Albert is transformed into the sun god Apollo or even into Jesus Christ himself. Hendrick De Clerck’s mastery of ingenious pictorial strategy made him a leading player in one of the most ambitious projects history has ever seen. For those who know how to read them, his paintings tell a story of power, political promises, and grandiose ambition. Most of all, they are supreme examples of image-building; for as the Archdukes were well aware, even as a monarch you’re only as important as you make yourself. Text in English and Dutch.

The diversity of flavors and colors of rum is as rich as the history and culture that surrounds this alcoholic beverage. This guide provides an overview of more than 300 different types of rum and then categorizes them using an innovative taste model. For every rum, you receive a clear overview of its origins, taste and aroma. In addition, you can read all about the different types of rum, the production and maturing process, the perfect way to serve, and the best cocktails. Also available: Gin & Tonic ISBN 9789401425605 Tequila & Mezcal ISBN 9789401434645

By means of the ambitious We Drift-concept, an exhibition of 1,000,000 m², Wim Tellier wants to confront us with our vulnerability as a human on an endangered planet Earth. Through this book, the author shows us the origin of the project, the challenges and the various unique locations. Impressive images illustrate the result of this exciting project. It is the first art installation in the world that is driven by nature.

On 22nd February 2015, Syed Haider Raza turns 93. Widely acknowledged as a master of modern Indian art, for nearly six decades his work, vision and life have attracted critical attention from various points of view. Raza returned to India, his home country, after spending 60 years in France and now lives in Delhi and continues to paint.

Raza has created nearly 50 new paintings in past six months. Raza’s art has been analysed, explored and evaluated in many books and continues to evoke new responses, also because he is still painting significantly and passionately. Collectors of his paintings exist worldwide.

This fresh collection of essays offers new insights into the artistic career and life of a truly dynamic visionary of our times.

The DVD accompanying this volume is an invaluable recording of Raza creating his collection Aarambh. Thus, this fresh perspective on his art is enriched by the knowledge of how that art came to be.

Raqib Shaw is one of the most extraordinary and sought-after artists working in the world today. Born in Calcutta in 1974 and raised in Kashmir, he came to London to study in 1998 and has lived there ever since. Inspired by a broad range of influences, including the old masters, Indian miniatures, Persian carpets and the Pre-Raphaelites, his paintings are infused with memories and longing for his homeland in Kashmir. His technique constitutes a completely unique kind of enamel painting. Spending months on preparatory drawings, tracings and photographic studies, he then transfers the composition onto prepared wooden panels, establishing an intricate design with acrylic liner, which leaves a slightly raised line. He adds the enamel paint using needle-fine syringes and a porcupine quill, with which he manoeuvres the paint. The finished works are intricate, magical and breathtaking in their color and complexity. This book accompanies an exhibition of eight paintings by Raqib Shaw at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, alongside two paintings which have long obsessed him and have influenced specific works: Sir Joseph Noel Paton’s The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania, 1849 (National Gallery of Scotland) and Lucas Cranach’s An Allegory of Melancholy, 1528 (private collection). The book includes the first full-length biographical study of the artist.

This book is a delightful collection of introspective essays on the Garhwal Himalaya and life around it. The author draws from his memories of being brought up in the mountains, pictures that linger like a waft of sweet perfume on a breezy afternoon. With affection, Ganesh Saili writes of his many journeys through these valleys wrapped in the mist, travelogues that evoke details of natural history interwoven into the delicate social fabric of mountain life. The book is a living tribute to the large-hearted sons of the soil, who, down the ages, have yoked the hills together, through thick and thin, good times and bad times, have laughed at the thunder and mocked the skies, have left for the plains only to return, again and again, to the call of the mountains. The Garhwal Himalaya have always been much more than lumps of rock and ice – an enigma, a constant companion for travelers and explorers.

Wanderings Through the Garhwal Himalaya is gripping study of this incredible part of the Himalaya which will make you want to be out there in the mountains amid sleet, snow, rain and wind.

Assembly of the Exalted presents some 50 pieces from the remarkable collection of Alice S. Kandell. The works, dating from the late 13th century to the early 20th, include great masterpieces and emblematic examples of Tibetan Buddhist art. They are all presented here as the constituents of a Tibetan Buddhist shrine. Shrines, both modest and grand, are the primary sites of Tibetan Buddhist practice, whether it be reciting scriptures, performing rituals, saying prayers, or engaging in meditation. The introductory essays thus focus on the Tibetan Buddhist shrine, describing its evolution over the history of Buddhism, its special role in Tibet, and how the pieces in the Kandell Collection came to be assembled and displayed in shrines at institutions across America. Illustrated with vivid photography, forty short essays, each centered on a single work or set of objects, describe the pieces in terms of their importance for the practice of Buddhism, highlighting the many essential functions of Tibetan Buddhist art within the space of a shrine.

In 1917 Pablo Picasso traveled to Rome and Naples with Jean Cocteau and Igor Stravinskij. During this trip, for the first time, he could admire directly Hellenistic and Roman sculpture, that of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, but also the Roman frescoes of Pompei. The first exhibition dedicated to Picasso’s sculpture to be held in Rome, and its accompanying catalogue, were conceived as a journey through the centuries that chronologically follows the interpretation of forms and different themes – stories and myths, bodies and figures, objects and fragments – in sculpture. The exhibition of masterpieces of the great Spanish master is accompanied by previously unpublished images of his sculpture studios (by Edward Quinn) that narrate the context in which these works were born. The catalogue includes essays that explore the visual and conceptual dialogue between the works of Picasso and works of the past, illustrating and examining over fifty works, some of which have never been exhibited before.

In 1917 Pablo Picasso traveled to Rome and Naples with Jean Cocteau and Igor Stravinskij. During this trip, for the first time, he could admire directly Hellenistic and Roman sculpture, that of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, but also the Roman frescoes of Pompei. The first exhibition dedicated to Picasso’s sculpture to be held in Rome, and its accompanying catalogue, are conceived as a journey through the centuries that chronologically follows the interpretation of forms and different themes – stories and myths, bodies and figures, objects and fragments – in sculpture. The exhibition of masterpieces of the great Spanish master is accompanied by previously unpublished images of his sculpture studios (by Edward Quinn) that narrate the context in which these works were born. The catalogue includes essays that explore the visual and conceptual dialogue between the works of Picasso and works of the past, illustrating and examining over fifty works, some of which have never been exhibited before.

In 2010, the two Lausanne architects Eric Frei and Kaveh Rezakhanlou produced an exceptional school facility in Chermignon, Lower Valais. Like a Greek temple, it has the power to combine the landscape, topography, urban morphology and building type. The architects have also designed further projects with great architectural qualities.

Text in English and German.

Sandra Giraudi and Felix Wettstein, another architect couple from Lugano, became renowned with the construction of a residential building in Cadro (1997), the laboratory building on the university campus in Lugano (2002) and the new concourse in Basel station (2003, with Cruz-Ortis, Sevilla). Sharply defined, finely shaped structures respectfully and yet pointedly combine with the evolved surrounding environment. Text in English and German.

The artist Emma Stibbon is fascinated by environments in flux. Her work often explores the impact of natural forces: the shifting tectonic plates, volcanic activity and powerful glaciers that shape and transform the Earth’s surface.

Stibbon has accompanied research expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, lived and worked among volcanoes in Hawai’i, and has made several visits to Stromboli, off the coast of northern Sicily, Iceland and Norway. This book presents the sketches she made during her travels. They have the immediacy that results from an artist working at speed and often in difficult circumstances. Readers will discover the unexpected visual effect of ink that has frozen on contact with the paper.

The book is introduced by the artist who, informed by her discussions with vulcanologists and glaciologists, explains why she is drawn to depict nature’s extremes.

Bombay Art Deco Architecture presents a treasury of Art Deco buildings comprising residential, commercial and civic architecture. These monuments were created during the mid ’30s and ’40s, a glamorous and optimistic era that predated the official end of the British Raj. The architects, a small list of first-generation Indian architects and builders, were mostly educated in English schools and trained in western architectural traditionst. Impatient with the British reluctance to shed the Gothic and Indo-Saracenic architectural styles that had dominated Imperial Bombay’s urban landscape, these visionaries were determined to imbue the city with a new modern style. That style shares its provenance with the Art Deco architecture of Miami Beach, termed ‘Tropical Deco’ by author Laura Cerwinske in her seminal 1981 book. Built in the same era, the Art Deco architecture of the two cities exhibits similar scale, geometry, tropical vocabulary, and love of romance.

A premium lifestyle food superstore for people who understand and enjoy the finer nuances and aspects of food, Foodhall presents its first cookbook. Curated by one of the finest food and ingredients stores in India, this book presents 75 recipes from around the world shared by star chefs – from modern European to Asian, contemporary Indian to Mediterranean, and not-to-be-missed dream desserts – as well as the food philosophy of each region. It is a celebration of the never-ending love for food that defines Foodhall’s mission. Contents: Modern European; Asian; Contemporary India; Mediterranean; Desserts; About the Chefs.

Sikh Heritage, with a foreword by Hardeep Sigh Puri, is a succinct and delightfully photographed glimpse into the community’s religion, its ten gurus, its temples, traditional systems of governance, history, architecture, and the famous Golden Temple. This book traces the history of the valor and devotion of the Sikh community, which forms less than 1 per cent of India’s one billion population, yet produces over 50 per cent of the country’s food reserves. Despite the brutal assaults of history faced by the Sikh community – such as the partition of Punjab – they still maintain the merit of their heritage. Looks at how the thriving Sikh diaspora has spread across the globe; and how they always took the words of the gurus with them wherever they went. This work has captured the relics that have borne witness to the establishment of the Sikh community and identity. Most of these heritage objects associated with the gurus are in private collections or in gurdwaras. A photographic documentation of the Sikh historicity through objects both in time and space, such as the beautifully captured images of Takhats or temporal seats of the Sikhs, portray a unique relationship between the edifice and the Sikhs – thus, each photograph is a story in itself. This new approach aims at the conception of Sikh heritage not only as the sacred masterpieces of the past to be valued and conserved, but also as emblematic and living spaces to be appropriated by the local communities who are the bearers of a rich and active collective memory.

In 1947 and 1948, Van Johnson was MGM’s top male box office draw. “On screen he was the Pied Piper; Elizabeth Taylor’s lover, he was a war pilot with Spencer Tracy,” writes his friend and decorator Carleton Varney in the introduction for Van Johnson’s Hollywood: A Family Album.
Along the way, his wife, Evie Wynn Johnson, an amateur shutterbug captured behind- the-scenes images of their friends, some of Hollywood’s most famous stars, such as Gary Cooper, Judy Garland, and Humphrey Bogart on the road, on the set, around the pool, and at their Hollywood home. She put together these casual and candid images in a family album that has never been published before. Their daughter, Schuyler adds her memories to this unique document of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

With an impressive career of over 40 years that has resulted in the installation of large-scale art projects in numerous public spaces, artist/sculptor Luk Van Soom needs no further introduction in Belgium and the Netherlands. This beautifully designed art book is a first retrospective on his life and career. In a series of discussions and interviews with the artist, author Johan Pas sheds some light on the influences, philosophy, thinking and themes that have been vital for Van Soom’s artistic development: the relation between life and passion, travel and art, etc. Together, these texts present a kaleidoscopic image of Luk Van Soom’s life and work that is just as multifaceted and compelling as his art. At the age of seventeen Van Soom took his first tentative steps as an artist. Now 40 years later, he has an impressive curriculum including many exhibitions, commissions and projects both in his home country and abroad. Moreover, he created more than 50 monumental works for the public space in Belgium and the Netherlands, among which some very well know sights, such as Walhalla (1993, Antwerp), The Man from Atlantis (2003, Brussels), The Wharfinger (2005, Zwolle) and Walking to Magdalena (2012, Ostend). Text in English and Dutch.

Xavier Lust is certainly one of the most relevant characters on the contemporary design scene. His distinct and essential approach to design, his ingenious and refined touch, and his ability to synthesise clearly imply a special talent. The great John Keats wrote: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever; its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness”. For Xavier Lust, dedication to beauty is the answer to eternity and this forever is actually built everyday through constant work, research and curiosity. Always focused on innovation and research, specifically tension and induced motion, he likes to experiment, explore and discover the natural transformations of materials. On the strength of his experience with metal, he confronts all kind of materials, challenging himself too in the process. Xavier Lust pushes the boundaries of technical possibilities while making a statement with each of his pieces and overriding preconceived ideas. Design Stories aims to give a wide sense of Lust’s work in the different fields of design from creation to production to final destination. Text in English and French. Also available: Xavier Lust ISBN 9789058562111