In the misty highlands of the Andes, Sandra Velasco Jordan first encountered the gentle creatures that would one day become her life’s passion and purpose. From these childhood moments among Peru’s verdant mountains to establishing her acclaimed textile business in California, Jordan’s journey with alpacas weaves a story as rich and textured as the fabrics she creates. Loving Alpaca, with a preface by the acclaimed interior designer Holly Hunt, chronicles a life lived between worlds—from Peru to Chile, India to the Philippines—as Jordan draws upon her multicultural experiences to build a business that honors tradition while embracing innovation. With unwavering dedication, she works alongside Peruvian herdsmen and women weavers, preserving ancient crafts while introducing their exceptional artistry to global markets. More than a memoir, this impressionistic portrait reveals how alpaca fiber became the thread connecting Jordan’s past to her present, her heritage to her home. Through her story, we discover the profound relationship between craft and identity, sustainability and beauty, nature and creative expression. Journey with Jordan as she transforms her love for these remarkable animals into a mission that celebrates cultural heritage, champions ethical practices, and creates spaces of harmony and beauty wherever her path leads.
Horses of Iceland is photographer Guadalupe Laiz’s first book celebrating her love for Iceland, its people, and its horses. Taken over a period of five years, Laiz’s photographs are a portrait of the beauty and gentleness of the Icelandic horses in their natural habitat.
In this superb large-format volume, first published in 2019, Laiz captures the beauty and strength of the Icelandic horses in a compelling pictorial journey. Her sensitive photography showcases the inherent nature of the horses in intimate portraits and against Iceland’s dramatic landscapes. The magnificent color and black-and-white images present the horses in fine detail, bringing the majestic animals to life.
Laiz invites readers to share her love for Iceland, its people, and the horses. She has since returned to Iceland numerous times to photograph the horses for her follow-up publication.
The chance discovery of letters from Hester Thrale (1741–1821) to her daughter Sophia provides an opportunity to rethink our understanding of one of the key people in the life of the dictionary-maker and moralist Dr Samuel Johnson. Much-maligned after the death of her first husband for her decision to marry Gabriel Piozzi, an Italian musician and Catholic, Hester has often been portrayed as cold-hearted and lacking in the essentials of motherhood. These letters shed new light on her relations with her four surviving daughters (she gave birth to 12 children in 14 years). They also reveal her desire for recognition as a scholar and poet, and her keen awareness of her shortcomings. They provide a fascinating portrait of a complex woman, determining her independence and that of her daughters, in spite of family tragedy and vicious criticism in the press.
Leaving behind a comprehensive archive, Alfred Buckham wrote in detail about his exploits, including his nine crashes and how, to get the best images, he would stand up while flying in an open biplane, tying his right leg to the seat with a scarf, in order to loop the loop in ‘perfect safety’.
But dive a little deeper and there is an even more interesting story – how he created these unbelievable photographs. Using a combination of different negatives, Buckham used his skills in the darkroom to craft stunning images that capture the experience of flight but with a little extra drama.
Published to accompany the first major exhibition of Alfred Buckham’s work, this book draws on the photographer’s archive, held by his grandsons, and exciting new acquisitions made by the National Galleries of Scotland including the camera he took to the skies and a selection of the negatives used to craft his most celebrated images.
Issue 13 opens with a Serafini show, “Madcappery and Genius,” at Masone Labyrinth. “Sweertsmania” reigns with art by Sweert, by Simone Facchinetti. In “Modern Baroque,” Giorgio Villani explores Catalan muralist Josep Maria Sert and a client list ranging from Rockefellers to French princesses: lavish abundance in stunning grisaille. In “Crystals, Castles, Seas, and Stars” Ezio Godoli explores the visionary work of Bohemian Wenzel Hablik. In “When Knighthood Was in Flower,” Eduardo Barba Gómez describe the floral codes implicit in a painting by Vittore Carpaccio, pride of the Prado. In “Portrait of Botero as a Young Man,” Giorgio Antei recalls an artist he once knew in nine parables: how the underfed young Botero invented an esthetic of plumpness. In “His Terrible Swift Brush,” Amy Durrell tells how, long before “Gone with the Wind,” Atlanta adopted its own big-screen epic of the Civil War. In “Notes from Underground, Caterina Napoleone recalls how Giuseppe Barberi told Rome a tale of its own history.
The exhibition and catalogue retrace the extraordinary career of Paul Troubetzoky (1866-1938), an Italian sculptor, a Russian prince by birth and Parisian by adoption, who at the same time enjoyed a brilliant career in the United States. Driven by his talent as a portraitist, he was sought after by a cosmopolitan elite, celebrities, in particular of Paris, and even the first American film stars. His life was punctuated by decisive encounters and friendships with men of letters, Tolstoj in Russia, George Bernard Shaw in Paris, with whom he shared a vegetarian lifestyle, quite unusual for the time. In addition to the portraits that made his reputation, the exhibition will also highlight his animal sculpture, as well as his astonishing works relating to the animal cause, of which he was, before his time, a fervent defender. Thanks to prestigious loans, visitors will discover a sensitive and modern artist, particularly subtle in his ability to render the fluidity of bodies, the energy of movement and the strength of character.
Text in French.
It was a shock when Erwin Olaf passed away unexpectedly in 2023 while recovering from a lung transplant. In the 1980s and 1990s, he gained fame for his extravagant, sometimes sexually explicit photographs. Inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe, Hans van Manen, and Paul Blanca, he found his muses in Amsterdam’s Club RoXY. Over time, he evolved from a rebellious avant-gardist into a celebrated artist, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to his exhibitions, from The Hague to Shanghai. Throughout his career, he remained true to himself, creating his own universe while tirelessly advocating for the rights of the queer community.
A progressive lung disease prompted Erwin Olaf to put his legacy in order and contribute to this book about his life and work. “I don’t need to come out looking great. But I do want it to be accurate.” Mischa Cohen followed Erwin Olaf for years, gaining access to his archives and his life. He spoke with lovers, friends, colleagues, gallerists, curators, muses, and family, and was present at photoshoots. Together, they selected images from his body of work and personal life. And finally, there were the last, emotional encounters in a sterile hospital room.
In the precious garland of the Loire castles, where the art of the Renaissance found its most beautiful French expression, served by landscapes sung by all the poets, Chenonceau is probably the most admired jewel, the most appreciated. The human scale of the château’s proportions, the ingenuity of its arrangements, the unique poetry of the place, a river that a castle seems to cross with great strides to pass from one bank to another… so much beauty attracts lovers from all over the world.
In 2019, Generation Next – Architects & Interior Designers Defining Tomorrow was published. It became an absolute bestseller and has been reprinted three times over the past three years. In 2023, its successor, Designer’s Next, was released, featuring a carefully curated selection of 22 promising architects, interior architects, and designers. Following the tradition of the previous editions, this new book, Young Visionaries – A New Generation of Interior Designers, showcases a highly international group: 44 interior designers and (interior) architects from around the world. Each designer presents a recent private project through an extensive report, complete with a portrait and biography. We wholeheartedly recommend all these designers to guide your home or interior design projects.