WK has proved himself to be one of the truly original and innovative street artists in his ability to marry the movement of the street to the dynamism imbued in his work. WK Act 4 explores 25 years of WK’s work on the street, producing everything from small scale stencil work and throw ups to huge wall paintings and murals – featuring graffiti graphics, illustration, art objects and supplies – all beautifully complementing the perpetual motion of urban life. The book features an extensive collection of some of the artist’s most famous works including his 17-painting installation at the Colette Gallery in Paris, the iconic decorations of building facades in downtown Manhattan and Project Brave, a moving 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center. Complete with an in-depth introduction and biography with contributions from several contemporaries, the book presents a fascinating journey into the world of WK. “WK Interact’s iconic black and white street art – human figures engaged in some type of extreme motion or emotion, running, jumping, screaming, struggling to escape – has forever pierced our memory of the Lower East Side and SOHO streets.” Isabel Kirsch continues to write in the introduction, “the impermanent, multi-dimensional surfaces of the ever-hustling and bustling inner city are the ideal backdrop to bring his images to life.”

Ex Animo represents the most complete and exhaustive collection of artist Faith XLVII’s works, both from the streets and her studio. The book contains critical texts by Kristin Farr (Deputy Editor at Juxtapoz Magazine), Carlo Mc Cormick (famous critic and curator from New York) and Jaqueline Flint. Ex Animo is a monograph exploring the artist’s greatest projects from The Psychic Power of Animals, in which Faith represents in full scale the strength and power of alpha animals, to The Long Wait, a series of murals representing Johannesburg men waiting. “I want to hear the voice that is silenced; the quieter but profound comments on living”, says the artist in an interview. “Turning a blind eye to injustice is not an option in a country like South Africa, whose cruel history still permeates the present.”

Published for JonOne’s solo exhibition at the Magda Danysz Gallery in Paris, the pieces featured in JonOne Rock stunningly capture New York’s dynamic lifestyle and the magic that he felt when he painted there. The book is a testament to how JonOne never fails to produce a piece that is powerful, harmonious, dynamic, and multidimensional. “Jonone’s style is an innovation for street art. He is famous for working outside conventions and not following the “rules” of graffiti. What sets JonOne apart from other artists is his focus on the excitement and movement of colour as opposed to the typical associations of character drawing and insignias. Evolving from his early days tagging the streets of New York his style now goes beyond traditional codes of graffiti and finds its roots in American abstract expressionism.” – Magda Danysz

“People just have to accept me the way I am. And I actually love myself now. I have learned to appreciate inner beauty more, even in other people. So I am trying to be proud of what is in my heart.” Flavia, Uganda.

Ann-Christine Woehrl visited survivors of fire and acid attacks in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda. In her portraits she does not present them as tragic victims, but as the personalities they have always been and still are despite their unimaginable suffering. The result is an insightful ‘almost private’ album that challenges and most of all inspires. It is an homage to women that master their unique lives with humility and heroic strength.

After the photographer had accompanied the 25-year-old Neehaari in India for ten days, Neehaari took off her veil, which she was wearing constantly to protect herself from being stared at in the streets, and said: “Today is my personal day of independence. I will stop hiding myself.”

By choosing a neutral black background for the portraits in the first part of the book, the photographer left out any reference to the social environment of these women and provided them with a safe and also special – even solemn – frame. In the second part of the book she takes a closer look at one survivor in each of the six countries capturing her everyday life, her will to survive, moments of hopelessness and despair as well as those of joy and happiness. The photographic work is framed by an essay and six interviews with the six women.

Text in English and German.

Contents: In/Visible; We Are Visible; My Name Is Farida; My Name Is Neehaari; My Name Is Chantheoun; My Name Is Renuka; My Name Is Nusrat; My Name Is Flavia.

The 1960s and 1970s marked a sharp turning point in the history of decoration and furniture. Until that point, the world was confined to national and elitist forms of expression. At the beginning of the 1960s, the sector took its inspiration from Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Italian and French decoration. Genres were combined in a frenzied desire to live in symbiosis with one’s time. The progress of technology strengthened the conviction that the individual had unlimited freedom and aroused the desire to inhabit in a new manner. Forms became rounder, furniture was in sync with a warm, playful, and anticonformist universe. Colors and decorative motifs took on the brilliance and fantasies of Pop Art and psychedelia. The living environment was transformed into a waking dream in which luxurious furniture in original materials and surprising objects were mixed, associated, for the first time, with early furniture. The end of the 1970s marked the advent of a period in which beauty and classic elegance gave way to a host of expressions that were unclassifiable and rejected any hierarchy. The postmodern period had arrived. Composed of a long introduction that provides a synoptic view and 32 monographs that describe its many faces, this book invites the reader to discover an exceptionally creative period and revels in an abundant iconography.

Must form still follow function, as Martin Gropius, Le Corbusier, and their followers proclaimed? Dysfunctional invites a reconsideration of the conventional relationship between artistic expression and functionality. In an exhibition organized by the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in the stunning setting of the Ca’d’Oro in Venice, site-specific works by 17 established and emerging artists explore the boundaries of art, architecture, and design. These contemporary artists draw on the rich heritage of Venetian craftsmanship and the museum’s exceptional collection of Italian masterpieces to create a meaningful dialogue about the 20th century mantra of form following function. With work located in the realm between craft and art, each of the artists in the show challenges preconceptions about what is beautiful and what is useful, what is historical, and what is modern. Included here are site-specific installations and furniture-sculpture by Nacho Carbonell, Studio Drift, Vincent Dubourg and Virgil Abloh, organic benches by Wendell Castle and Mathieu Lehanneur, and inhabited clocks by Maarten Baas, among others.

Born into the American aristocracy, Elizabeth Eyre de Lanux abandoned high society to pursue an artistic career. Starting her training with Constantin Brancusi, she then arrived in Paris in 1919, following her marriage to French diplomat and writer Pierre de Lanux. She soon met the designer Eileen Gray. Eyre took over Gray’s research on laquer and continued experimenting with innovative materials not previously used in furniture, namely cork, amber and linoleum. With Evelyn Wyld, she created a literary universe in which the poetry of her rugs, blended with furniture and lamps in totally new ways, all in an environment of muted shades and modern comfort.

An ambitious artist in the Surrealist Paris of the interwar years she wanted to believe in a peaceful future. But the crash of 1929 and World War II sounded the death knell for the career of this fresh new talent, ensuring that her creations became the rarest of objects. A bridge between the pioneering Eileen Gray and the rational Charlotte Perriand, like them, Eyre de Lanux drew inspiration from Japonism. Neither poor, nor stripped bare, her rare architectured interiors have remained secret until now.

Elizabeth Eyre de Lanux is a recognised name but a forgotten talent. With Eileen Gray, Eyre de Lanux, Charlotte Perriand and Maria Pergay, the four cardinal points have now been identified.

From the white plastic bed for the Prisunic catalogue (1966) to the Culbuto armchair issued by Knoll, and from the Lip watch to the private apartments of the Élysée Palace, Paris, (1983), the furniture and objects conceived by Marc Held have been emblematic of the renewal of French design, following the line of Scandinavians such as Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen… With his gallery L’Échoppe on the rue de Seine, Paris, and then with his agency, the designer and architect Marc Held also took part in major projects for IBM and Renault.

This book traces fifty years of design, whose success with the public at large has contributed to a great liberation in our style of life. The generosity of his vision has remained faithful to the humanist values that guided his childhood in Bagnolet, where he was born in 1932. Having settled in Greece, on the island of Skopelos, over twenty years ago, Marc Held still continues to build houses and furnish them with his creations, working closely with Greek craftsmen.

Text in English and French.

Many of Gauguin’s portraits of Breton and Polynesian sitters, as well as his self-portraits, include inanimate objects. Intriguing as these are, the works in Paul Gauguin’s portrait gallery have never really been the subject of a thorough study. This book, first published in English in 2005, fills a gap in the scholarly literature on Gauguin, one of the leading figures in post-Impressionist art, with an in-depth, well-illustrated examination of his portraits. An array of experts on Gauguin’s art reflect on the symbolic attributes his models were endowed with, and the meaning behind the evocative settings he chose for them. The authors explore the many aspects of the artist’s portraits, often in light of the remarks he made about his models, and focus on their importance in relation to his larger oeuvre. This book, which is intended as a standard text in this field, includes essays written by experts in Gauguin’s work, all established scholars and researchers.

Text in French.

French painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) is one of the most popular artists of all time. His paintings of water lilies, haystacks, cathedrals, and much more are all celebrated and beloved. For the first time, this book explores a new aspect of Monet’s work: his fascination, during the 1870s, with bridges. After moving to Argenteuil, a small town on the outskirts of Paris, Monet was drawn to the local footbridge near his house on the banks of the Seine. His painting of it, The Wooden Bridge, 1872, is a composition of startling modernity. The book begins with this work and explores Monet’s use of the bridge motif from 1872 to 1877 in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war and beyond. Beautifully illustrated and published to accompany a major exhibition, the book explores how Monet sought to establish himself as a leader of the avant-garde and how his paintings of bridges played a pivotal role in this context. Focusing on twelve major paintings by Monet, the catalogue further examines the Impressionists’ response to their ever-changing environment and the late nineteenth-century transformation of Paris and its suburbs. The publication consists of three sections featuring three essays followed by an illustrated chronology: Monet’s use of the bridge as a testing ground for his innovative ideas, the role of photography, illustrations, and contemporary influences; the expansion of Paris and the urban cityscape; the role of Impressionism in the context of the Franco-Prussian war. Text in English and French.

An impressively tattooed but unnamed Easter Island (Rapa Nui) man appears often in the pages of Pacific Island histories and museum catalogs. The Swedish ethnographer Dr. Knut Hjalmar Stolpe knew him only as Tepano, the Tahitian version of the Christian name Stephen. But what was his real Rapanui identity, and what can his life story tell us about the history of Easter Island?

This book reveals his identity, who illustrated him, and how he transcended the tragic events of 19th-century Rapa Nui to become one of the most iconic faces of the Polynesian past. The authors summarize the history of tattoo as practiced by Rapanui artisans, link that history to island geography, and present rare barkcloth sculptures as a visual record of tattoo patterns.

This title is the first in a new series on Polynesian Arts & Culture by Mana Press, in partnership with Floating World Editions.

For a list of future titles, visit: www.FloatingWorldEditions.com. For more on Rapa Nui, the Mana Gallery and Mana Books, visit: www.eisp.org.

This is the catalog of the exhibition held at the Opera Gallery in Paris, dedicated to the Sardinian artist Pino Manos. Manos is renowned for founding the movement called Rigorismo (Rigourism) in 2010, in the wake of Transpatialism and beyond, with the involvement of Enrico Castellani, Agostino Bonalumi, Giuseppe Amadio, Cesare Berlingeri, Alberto Loro, Pino Manos, Vanna Nicolotti, Turi Simeti, Paolo Scheggi, Paolo Bazzocchi, Umberto Mariani and Pino Pinelli, organized and curated by Flavio Lattuada at the Galleria Lattuada, following the spatial poetics of Lucio Fontana. The group of artists were presented by the philosopher, Massimo Donà. Spatialism is expressed in a more radical way and the canons are made more rigorous with the superseding of the bidimensional limitations, the inclusion of new forms of figuration and its openness to new means of expression. A critical essay by Sergio Risaliti, director of the Museo Novecento in Florence, can be seen as an in-depth iconographic apparatus that narrates the vast and transversal artistic activity of a great protagonist of contemporary Italian art.

Text in English and Italian.

“Aydin Büyüktas’ photographs are a bit like the first plunge on a rollercoaster. The scene plummets away from you, leaving you disoriented yet giddy and just a bit unsettled as you try to make sense of just what you’re seeing” – WIRED “Büyüktas creates Inception-like scenes by warping Istanbul’s cityscapes” – Saatchi Gallery “Aydin Büyüktas bends brains with dizzyingly distorted views of American landscapes.” – Designboom An American football pitch as a skateboard ramp and the Aya Sofia as a rollercoaster: the images by Turkish photographer Aydin Büyüktas are literally mind-bending. After going viral, they are now finally also available in book format, including entirely new images and a making-of, which shows the photographer’s working methods with drone technology. His brainchild Flatland is named after Edwin Abbott Abbott’s satire book about a two-dimensional world populated by geometric figures, from which certain parts have been included in this book.

Geared towards young readers and families, Myths, Angels, and Masquerades explores themes including religious art, landscapes, still-life painting, and portraiture. It accesses these topics through forty-seven works of art, chosen from the collection of The San Diego Museum of Art. Interactive features provide opportunities for further investigation, while “Your Turn” activities invite you to try your own hand at creating art inspired by the work of past masters.

Choosing bronze as her favorite medium, Meera Mukherjee (1923-1998) formed her own simplistic, modernist, life-like world of sculptures. They possess a ‘lifeforce’ that speaks to the ordinary being instead of alienating them. Mukherjee’s commitment to her practice made her valiant enough to step out of her comfort zone and dedicate herself to visual arts. Her devotion to the craft traditions of India guided her to Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and South India. The artist’s language is similar to that of the quotidian life in her immediate surroundings, shedding light upon social issues.

This one of a kind volume offers an understanding of Mukherjee’s art through the most comprehensive collection of essays by writers who have known her personally and professionally, as well as from translated texts and excerpts from her diary and letters. Published in association with Akar Prakar Gallery, Kolkata, Emami Art, New Delhi, and supported by Raza Foundation.

Mohan Samant (1924-2004), among the earliest of the post-Independence modern Indian artists to train in India and settle as a successful mature artist in the West, has been called ‘one of the few artists who has successfully made the bridge between Eastern and Western traditions.’
Born in Mumbai, Samant received his diploma from the Sir JJ School of Art in 1952, where he had studied under S.B. Palsikar. That year he joined the Progressive Artists Group. Extended periods abroad – 1957-58 in Rome and travel in Europe and Egypt, 1959-64 in New York City – preceded his leaving Mumbai permanently for New York in 1968, where he lived until his death in 2004.
Published in association with Abraham Joel, New York, and Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. With an introduction by Ranjit Hoskote and additional contributions from Abhijeet Gondkar, Virginia Kaycoff, Sharad Ghamande, Barbara Bertieri, Abraham Joel, and Judith Wink.

Previously published as part of a set, this volume, which concentrates on Samant’s paintings, is now available separately.

Mohan Samant (1924-2004), among the earliest of the post-Independence modern Indian artists to train in India and settle as a successful mature artist in the West, has been called ‘one of the few artists who has successfully made the bridge between Eastern and Western traditions.’
Born in Mumbai, Samant received his diploma from the Sir JJ School of Art in 1952, where he had studied under S.B. Palsikar. That year he joined the Progressive Artists Group. Extended periods abroad – 1957-58 in Rome and travel in Europe and Egypt, 1959-64 in New York City – preceded his leaving Mumbai permanently for New York in 1968, where he lived until his death in 2004.
Published in association with Abraham Joel, New York, and Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. With an introduction by Ranjit Hoskote and additional contributions from Abhijeet Gondkar, Virginia Kaycoff, Sharad Ghamande, Barbara Bertieri, Abraham Joel, and Judith Wink.

Previously published as part of a set, this volume, which concentrates on Samant’s paintings, is now available separately.

Mohan Samant (1924-2004), among the earliest of the post-Independence modern Indian artists to train in India and settle as a successful mature artist in the West, has been called ‘one of the few artists who has successfully made the bridge between Eastern and Western traditions.’ Born in Mumbai, Samant received his diploma from the Sir JJ School of Art in 1952, where he had studied under S.B. Palsikar. That year he joined the Progressive Artists Group. Extended periods abroad – 1957-58 in Rome and travel in Europe and Egypt, 1959-64 in New York City – preceded his leaving Mumbai permanently for New York in 1968, where he lived until his death in 2004. This volume, the definitive work on the artist, presents a comprehensive overview of Samant’s life and work. Also included are essays on Samant’s place in the development of modernism in post-Independence India, a chronological survey of the styles, techniques and themes employed by the artist, and analyses of the media and techniques he utilized.

Published in association with Abraham Joel, New York, and Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. With an introduction by Ranjit Hoskote and additional contributions from Abhijeet Gondkar, Virginia Kaycoff, Sharad Ghamande, Barbara Bertieri, Abraham Joel, and Judith Wink.

This book highlights 55 outstanding masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, which were founded in 1850. The works range in date from the Renaissance to the twentieth century and include many of the most famous names in the history of Western art. Artists represented include Botticelli, El Greco, Velàzquez, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Watteau, Monet, Degas, Sargent, Picasso and Braque. In addition, the major figures of the national school, Ramsay, Raeburn and Wilkie, lend a distinctly Scottish flavor to this exceptional selection. All of the paintings are fully illustrated and described in this catalogue authored by the curatorial staff of the Galleries. Michael Clarke, director of the Scottish National Gallery, gives a unique insight into the history of the National Galleries of Scotland as he discusses the development of the Scottish national collection over the last 150 years.

Known today for his atmospheric views of the river Oise, Charles François Daubigny was a pioneer of modern landscape painting and an important precursor of French Impressionism. Although commercially highly successful he was often criticized for his broad, sketch-like handling and unembellished view of nature, and was dubbed the leader of ‘the school of the impression’. As a result he drew the attention of the next generation of artists, among them Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh, who were inspired by Daubigny’s frank naturalism, bold compositions and technical innovations. Theirs was an artistic dialogue which spanned thirty years, from the early 1860s to the end of Van Gogh’s short life.