a+u’s March issue features Heatherwick Studio. Founded in 1994 by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, the studio works on projects of various typologies and scales through investigating the possibilities of materials while focusing on their 3-dimensional design. Their work is consistent with their principles of having “empathy for materials,” to understand the soul of the materials by touching and feeling them sincerely. Heatherwick’s belief that buildings should be approached with the same attitude he treats fine craftsmanship is evident in the 18 projects featured in this issue. His ideas, which shift between the scale of the hand and the building, manifest themselves in many of his designs, most notably the UK Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, which looks like a plant seed resting on the riverbank, and Little Island in New York where flowerpots form a landscape.
Text in English and Japanese.
Clay is the most widely used industrial plasticine in the world. The automotive industry, in particular, depends on 3D-clay models. Now, the first ever practical textbook on working professionally with industrial styling clay has arrived (in partnership with the manufacturer STAEDTLER). In this book, the author, a former design modeller in the automotive industry and current teacher at Selb Technical College, compiles his extensive knowledge on the topic of clay. The book not only sets out core theoretical and practical principles to support and encourage beginner modellers as they start out, with illustrated descriptions, workshops, tips and glossaries, it is also an invaluable resource for experienced design modelers, product designers and clay enthusiasts, offering exclusive behind-the-scenes insights.
Text in English and German.
Great food culture starts at home—especially when it’s from the chef’s home kitchen and garden! Be inspired by this unique and visually stunning book, which takes a behind-the-scenes look into the home kitchens (and gardens) of 22 celebrity chefs. Each chef is interviewed by renowned architecture and design writer Stephen Crafti, and each profile is captured through gorgeous, intimate imagery by celebrated photographer Catherine Sutherland. Featuring fabulous, inspiring conversations with each chef in their personal living spaces, while they are preparing a meal in their stunning kitchen, and with a close look at their kitchen’s architectural design, and garden style, this book celebrates not only a large group of fine chefs, but also the architects and interior designers who make these chefs’ kitchens a pleasure to work in. This beautifully illustrated book is filled with inspiration for foodies (included are delicious recipes from each cook), gardeners, and design aficionados, and offers a unique peek into the kitchens, homes, and—often very private—lives of these amazing artisans.
Cosmograph Daytona… a legendary name among watch aficionados, is one that conjures up montages of speed, engines and sound, but is also a symbol of prestige and admiration. The origin of the myth is linked to a city in Florida, Daytona Beach, famous for its motorcycle and automobile races on the beach. In 1959, the Daytona 500 race was born and three years later, Rolex became the official timekeeper of the Daytona International Speedway – hence, the start of the story of the legendary “Cosmograph Daytona”.
The chronograph complication and the history of Rolex have always been inextricably linked. Rolex’s first foray into measuring time began in the 1930s with the manufacture’s very first Oyster chronograph model. In 1963, Rolex launched the Cosmograph Daytona, a sports chronograph that has never stopped evolving in respect to the spirit of the brand, and which has always strived to improve existing technology by pushing the boundaries of what is technically possible.
The history and diversity of this chronograph is such that two (independent) volumes have been devoted to it. This first volume is dedicated to hand-wound Daytonas, manufactured between 1963 and 1988. It is a celebration of its illustrious history, which has been forged by many people, but if we had to choose one person in particular, it would be Paul Newman.
Often referred to as Canada’s ‘Evergreen Playground’ Vancouver is a unique and breathtakingly beautiful city nestled between the ocean, mountains and forests. Its pristine fresh surroundings and mild laid back climate has always attracted artists, writers, thinkers and tinkers, and dreamers of every variety; over time they have left their indelible creative mark on this relatively young city. The outcome is a treasure trove of hidden sculptures, secret tree forts, quirky coffee shops, undiscovered galleries, eclectic stores, totem poles and bike lanes that wind around floatplanes and houseboats. From the glistening new glass and chrome towers of Downtown, to the worn cobblestone streets of Gastown, and the red pagodas of Chinatown, each neighborhood in the city contributes to a rich cultural mosaic. Diversity is not only celebrated in Vancouver, but it’s as widespread as the city’s frequent rain showers. Just as the seawall, which winds its way around Vancouver’s iconic Stanley Park presents a new and fresh attraction around every corner, 111 Places Vancouver puts you on a path to discover new insights and perspectives on Canada’s beloved west coast gem.
Stephen Ellcock’s Book of Textiles is a unique collaboration between bestselling author Stephen Ellcock and textile expert Karun Thakar. Together, they share an inspiring vision of the world through the medium of textiles, leading the reader on a journey into the splendors of nature and the infinite complexities of the human condition.
A social-media sensation, Ellcock is widely known for his online curation of artworks, while Thakar owns one of the world’s most important and varied textile collections. Through a spellbinding selection of more than 200 of the most significant, extraordinary and distinctive pieces in Thakar’s collection, these pages cover everything from fashion, costume and adornment to pattern and design, rituals and magic, pure abstraction and the sublime.
Combining Ellcock’s singular vision with Thakar’s expert eye, Stephen Ellcock’s Book of Textiles is a ground-breaking compendium of wonders and a must-read for anybody with an interest in art and visual culture, as well as textile devotees, experts and enthusiasts.
Pio Abad’s artistic practice is concerned with the personal and political entanglements of objects. His wide-ranging body of work, encompassing drawing, painting, textiles, installation and text, mines alternative or repressed historical events and offers counternarratives that draw out threads of complicity between incidents, ideologies and people. Deeply informed by unfolding events in the Philippines, where the artist was born and raised, his work emanates from a family narrative woven into the nation’s story. Abad’s parents were at the forefront of the anti-dictatorship struggle in the Philippines during the 1970s and 80s and it is the need to remember this history that has shaped the foundations of his work.
This beautifully designed book accompanies the Ashmolean Museum’s second exhibition of its new Ashmolean NOW series, featuring the work of Pio Abad. Abad’s artistic practice is concerned with the personal and political entanglements of objects. His wide-ranging body of work, which includes drawing, painting, installation, textiles and text, mines alternative or repressed historical events, offering counternarratives. Abad’s new works link narratives found in the Museum’s collections and Oxford with his personal life in the UK and Philippines, where the artist was born and raised. The book features a new text by Abad and contributions by art historical experts including Dan Hicks.
“The RSN has worked on regalia for every Coronation since 1902, when Edward VII was crowned, and most recently designed and embroidered the robes of state for their Coronation last year. Its patron, Queen Camilla, has written a charming foreword to this beautifully illustrated book.” — The Lady
“Bees, butterflies, beetles and 24 different plants – the astonishing sewing secrets behind the gorgeous Coronation robes of the King and Queen.” — The Mail Online
Many initiatives to support women were begun in the late 1800s, but the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is one of the few that remain. This initiative was born from the desire of three women – Princess Helena, Lady Victoria Welby and Lady Marian Alford – to popularize the lost art of ornamental needlework and place it on a par with other decorative arts, such as painting and sculpture. Their other, yet no less important goal was to provide employment for women compelled to earn their own livelihood. Though women are no longer so limited in occupational options, the RSN has been keeping traditional embroidery techniques alive for a century and a half.
An Unbroken Thread tells the story from the RSN’s founding in 1872 to the current day. It highlights key people, royal and other special commissions, the changing fortunes of the school as fashions changed and the approach to teaching hand embroidery, as well as bringing attention to the role and position of the RSN historically and today, associating with everyone from society ladies and theater impresarios in the late 19th century to working with fashion designers Patrick Grant, Nicholas Oakwell and Alexander McQueen, and architects in the 21st century.
First published to coincide with the RSN’s 150th anniversary, this revised edition details the most recent projects worked by the RSN, showcasing their skilful work on regalia for the coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla – The King’s Robe of State, The Queen’s Robe of Estate, The Anointing Screen, The Stole Royal and Girdle, The Chairs of Estate and The Chairs of State.
For the past twelve years, Stephan Vanfleteren (b. 1969) has been working intense hours in his daylight studio at home. Atelier is a collection of that work. Vanfleteren is searching for beauty and meaning, both in daylight and under artificial light. Grey stage curtains are everywhere as a constantly repeating background. The photographer embraces well-known personalities and anonymous people. He inspects and captures the grooves in the face of an old fisherman and the hand of Nick Cave on the same terms as he does a beachcombed bottle. He focuses an adoring gaze on his own children coming of age as well as on impassioned artists in their old age. He sees the frozen corpse of a kingfisher and the body of a twisting dancer, and watches as the sunlight slowly shifts across his stage curtain.
Vanfleteren connects to the traditions of old and contemporary masters but remains faithful to his characteristic style. His craftsmanship and artistic nature make us both witness and party to the splash of incoming light.
With a text contribution by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer.
Photographer Scott Mead (b.1954) revisits his formative years spent documenting New England, USA, in Rites of Passage for the first time. Shot over a five-year period between 1971 and 1976, we follow Mead through early adulthood and explore scenes of discovery, ritual, rural beauty and urban metropolis.
At a junction between an American road trip and a personal visual diary, Mead’s images depict a world as it was then, shaped by political upheaval, profound civil changes and the Cold War. The cloth-bound hardback book features 100 large-format prints of Mead’s poignant photographs to be considered in a new context.
Rites of Passage shows Mead with a camera always at hand and presents his delicate, often amusing and sometimes uneasy portraits alongside cityscapes, landscapes and snapshots of the lives of friends and strangers. All of the artist’s proceeds from Rites of Passage benefit Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London.
As an emerging contemporary art discipline, installation art, with its characteristics of creation materials and forms, brings artists great creative freedom. In recent years, installation works have appeared frequently in various exhibitions and are an important part of contemporary art history that cannot be ignored.
In response to the call of the times, Contemporary Installation Art is a collection of excellent installation artworks from all over the world, with both panoramic complete form drawings and detailed displays, as well as graphic designs or hand-drawn drawings, aiming at conquering the readers with the charms of the artworks themselves and conveying the artistic concept that “real artworks originate from life and are higher than life”.
My first books collection box with four exciting and educational books for children, covering numbers, shapes, colors and opposites, all inspired by Edvard Munch.
Circle? Or Oval? And a diamond shape on the bedspread! My first book of shapes. Yellow hats, purple forest – and what is the colour of the moon? My first book of colors. Day and night, light and …? My first book of opposites. I, 2, 7, 9! How many people do you see on the bridge? My first book of numbers.
Ages 3-5.
Also available: Boxed-set, ISBN 9788293560906; Opposites, ISBN 9788293560982; Shapes, ISBN 9788284620008; Numbers, ISBN 9788293560869.
My first books collection box with four exciting and educational books for children, covering numbers, shapes, colors and opposites, all inspired by Edvard Munch.
Circle? Or Oval? And a diamond shape on the bedspread! My first book of shapes. Yellow hats, purple forest – and what is the color of the moon? My first book of colors. Day and night, light and …? My first book of opposites. I, 2, 7, 9! How many people do you see on the bridge? My first book of numbers.
Ages 3-5.
Available separately: Colours, ISBN 9788293560944; Opposites, ISBN 9788293560982; Shapes, ISBN 9788284620008; Numbers, ISBN 9788293560869.
My first books collection box with four exciting and educational books for children, covering numbers, shapes, colors and opposites, all inspired by Edvard Munch.
Circle? Or Oval? And a diamond shape on the bedspread! My first book of shapes. Yellow hats, purple forest – and what is the colour of the moon? My first book of colors. Day and night, light and …? My first book of opposites. I, 2, 7, 9! How many people do you see on the bridge? My first book of numbers.
Ages 3-5.
Also available: Boxed-set, ISBN 9788293560906; Colours, ISBN 9788293560944; Opposites, ISBN 9788293560982; Shapes, ISBN 9788284620008.
Edvard Munch wrote his whole life, but most of his texts remained in the drawer. In only an instant, significant voices from a range of different fields – from visual art to music, critique and astrophysics – enter into dialogue with one of these unpublished texts. Through the contributors’ diverse reactions to Munch’s text, the book explores the potential of the sketch-like and unfinished. With contributions by Sumaya Jirde Ali, Arif, Hilde Bøe, Øystein Elgarøy, Marit Grøtta, Nils-Øivind Haagensen, Jeanine El Khawand, Mette Henriette, Felipe ‘Fela’ Orellana, Manuel Pelmus, Morten Strøksnes, Constance Tenvik, Ahmed Umar, and Gunnhild Øyehaug.
My first books collection box with four exciting and educational books for children, covering numbers, shapes, colors and opposites, all inspired by Edvard Munch.
Circle? Or Oval? And a diamond shape on the bedspread! My first book of shapes. Yellow hats, purple forest – and what is the color of the moon? My first book of colors. Day and night, light and …? My first book of opposites. I, 2, 7, 9! How many people do you see on the bridge? My first book of numbers.
Ages 3-5
Also available: Boxed-set, ISBN 9788293560906; Colours, ISBN 9788293560944; Shapes, ISBN 9788284620008; Numbers, ISBN 9788293560869.
Morten Andersen’s photo book follows the development of a collaborative project between Satyricon’s Sigurd Wongraven and MUNCH. The project explores the intersection between images and music, and so does the photo book. In Andersen’s characteristic visual language, the book documents the visuality of Wongraven’s work process as well as the musicality of Edvard Munch’s images. The Norwegian band Satyricon was formed in 1991 and is today one of the world’s most famous black metal bands. They have produced work straddling many genres throughout their career and collaborated with well-known artists and ensembles such as Anja Garbarek, Trondheimsolistene, and The Norwegian National Opera Chorus. Now you can experience the band in relation to Norway’s most famous artist – Edvard Munch. The selected works of art draw on existential themes, but also rhythms and waves, which are features we recognize from the world of music. The intersection of Munch’s expressive motifs and Satyricon’s baseline-heavy music creates room for thought and reflection that goes beyond the realm of black metal alone. Just like Munch, Satyricon’s approach is open and inquisitive, constantly evolving.
My first books collection box with four exciting and educational books for children, covering numbers, shapes, colors and opposites, all inspired by Edvard Munch.
Circle? Or Oval? And a diamond shape on the bedspread! My first book of shapes. Yellow hats, purple forest – and what is the color of the moon? My first book of colors. Day and night, light and …? My first book of opposites. I, 2, 7, 9! How many people do you see on the bridge? My first book of numbers.
Ages 3-5.
Also available: Boxed-set, ISBN 9788293560906; Colours, ISBN 9788293560944; Opposites, ISBN 9788293560982; Numbers, ISBN 9788293560869.
“Bram Demunter is a visual artist and a master of allusion. Visual intertextuality is one of the key elements of his pictures and one that is impossible to control.” – Till-Holger Borchert
The work of Bram Demunter (b. 1993) is intentionally associative in character. Drawing inspiration from the work of Flemish Primitives and contemporary artists, as well as from legends and myths, Demunter effortlessly combines a panoply of people, animals, flowers, rivers, hills and mountains in detailed compositions for his colorful paintings and drawings. This book offers an insight into Demunter’s vibrant oeuvre and his innovative visual language of color, shape and meaning. With text contributions by Till-Holger Borchert, Bram Demunter and Tom Van Laere.
Text in English and Dutch.
Kilims from Mazandaran are true masterpieces of woven minimalism. From stripes to fields of pure and deep color, these textiles represent a singular kind of artistic abstraction.
The women who authored these pieces made them for their own use. In wool and silk, they created works of textile art using the basic building blocks of all hand weaving: warp and weft. The grid thus created is at the same time rigid and flexible; it lends itself to geometric pattern, but also allows for feathery ikat-like effects and multidimensional color expression.
This book is a sumptuous visual celebration of a largely unknown modern art form. Expert writers add context to the pieces by contemplating subjects such as 20th-century minimalism, materiality and the nature of color.
Wines are generally defined in one of three ways: by their country or region of origin, by their color (red, white, pink) or by their style (still, sparkling, fortified). Only recently have wines begun to be defined by how their grapes have been grown and the wine made, with a clear distinction between modern ‘chemical’ wine-growing on one hand, and the chemical-free organic or natural approach on the other. Now the world’s most respected wine producers, from Bordeaux to the Barossa, and Chablis to California, increasingly see biodynamics as the method of choice for blue-chip winemaking. Biodynamic Wine explains concisely and clearly the theory behind biodynamics, how biodynamics differs from organics, and how the world’s winemakers – from high-end Bordeaux chateaux to under-the-radar family estates – use biodynamics in practice, often with significant and captivating variations according to wine style, local terroir, weather and even lunar cycles. Biodynamic wine is a comprehensive and absorbing guide to the most argued-about green winemaking phenomenon of recent years. It is both an ideal how-to manual for growers and a fascinating guide for wine professionals and wine enthusiasts.
A visit to a museum is an extraordinary opportunity for imagination, liberation from the mundane routines of daily life, and opening the door to a world of diversified perspectives. In the last two decades, an artistic network has flourished along the scenic banks of Shanghai’s Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, both prominent waterways in the city. As of 2023, the 6.3-kilometer waterfront along Suzhou Creek has been transformed into an awe-inspiring canvas housing more than 100 vibrant art spaces. Meanwhile, the Huangpu River has become a hub of artistic expression, featuring renowned cultural areas like the Bund, the “West Bund Cultural Corridor” project, initiated in 2010, and the post-Expo venues.
Roaming Shanghai’s Art Museums guides readers through every path that leads to the most important 15 art museums in Shanghai. This book unveils a comprehensive treasure trove of art museum insights, accompanied by precious photographs, and engaging dialogues with directors and architects. From industrial relics to architectural masterpieces by Pritzker Award winning architects like David Chipperfield, Jean Nouvel, and Tadao Ando, it takes readers to a world of art. Embrace the journey of artistic exploration, where each museum visit becomes a transformative and enriching encounter with creativity and human expression.
Text in English and Chinese.
This is a beautifully produced catalog accompanying the Holburne Museum’s groundbreaking retrospective of Henry Moore’s sculptures that could fit in the hand. At the heart of Moore’s practice was the directness of working on a small scale, whether carving small stones or pieces of wood, casting lead, modeling in clay or, in later years, modeling in plasticine around a found stone or bone to be cast in bronze.
The exhibition will include sculptures in stone, wood, terracotta, plaster, lead, plasticine and bronze, and span themes recurrent in his work: the reclining female figure, the mother and child, the human head, and the fallen warrior. It will include maquettes for some of his best-known, public sculptures alongside lesser-known works, including the display for the very first time in a museum exhibition of a recently discovered early lead cast of Mother & Child.
The catalog presents 85 illustrations with an introduction by Chris Stephens.
Hunks of crusty sourdough, cinnamon dusted buns, glossy plaits of challah and hand-stretched pizza: Britain’s dough game is changing, and who doesn’t want to feast (visually and literally) on the results? A plethora of exciting new bakeries are rising up, from London bread royalty E5 and Toad (both pioneering sustainable farming practices with UK-grown grain) to Manchester-based fermentation experts Pollen, whose croissants take four days to produce from start to finish. Look no further for Britain’s finest bakes.