This book brings together striking botanical art of Indian origin spanning a period of 300 years, focussing on the 18th and 19th centuries. Drawn mostly from original works held in the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, some of the paintings have never been published before. They showcase the richness and variety of art commissioned from talented, mostly unknown, Indian artists who made a substantial contribution to the documentation of the flora of the Indian subcontinent. A foreword written by Sita Reddy places the collections in contemporary context. The book concludes with works from a new generation of botanical artists in India, who excite interest today.
Roger Fry (1866–1934) and his role as critic, curator and member of the Bloomsbury Group are explored in this rich and vibrant biography. From his curation of one of the most important collections in New York and groundbreaking exhibitions in London, to his launch of the Omega Workshops with Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, Fry introduced post-impressionism, radicalized interiors and changed the landscape of 20th-century art. His introduction of Cézanne, Van Gogh and Matisse to the British audience played a significant role in a legacy that still inspires today.
Often overlooked, Fry was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century art in Britain, giving a generation of modern British artists their first exhibitions, while also creating art himself. Roger Fry: Bloomsbury and the Invention of Modern Art offers a compelling portrait of his extraordinary career and his pivotal role in redefining British art.
Bars are more than drinking spaces – they also provide a place to socialize. Interior design can make or break a bar; it has great influence over the establishment’s future prospects. Bars should be both functional and aesthetically striking, to leave a strong first impression on customers and guarantee their continued patronage.
This book is a trailblazer in the niche field of bar design. Over 40 award-winning international bar design projects are included. Each case study is presented alongside a concept brief, photos, plans, and concise analysis, so the reader can understand how the bar’s design suits its function.
Manhattan Project is a collection of photographs that capture the evolving landscape of Manhattan’s West Side over the past decade. Exploiting the revelatory power of photography, these images explore a city’s architectural transformation.
While Jan Staller’s earlier work focused on industrial decay, these new photographs explore the rise of high-rise construction. By isolating and zooming in on building materials, Staller elevates the ordinary to the extraordinary. The resulting images, reminiscent of drawings or abstract paintings, reveal the hidden beauty and formal qualities of these often-overlooked elements.
This project reimagines the city not as a monolithic entity, but as a composition of intricate details. It celebrates the interplay of light, form and texture, inviting viewers to rethink the familiar and discover the artistic potential of the urban environment.
Text in English and French.
Designed for both layman and scholar, its simplified approach allows users to find and identify over 11,000 names of Japanese artists and craftspeople, from all periods and in all media. Includes a sections on reading dates, a list of 300 modified and debased characters, and an index of provinces and place names, plus reproductions of date and censor seals on woodblock prints, publishers’ trademarks and seals, and actors’ and Genji mon. Indispensable for the scholar or collector of Japanese art. In English and Japanese.
The Khalili Anīs al-Hujjāj (Pilgrims’ Companion) presents a ground-breaking new exploration of Safi ibn Vali Qazwini’s richly illustrated manuscript dating from 1676-77. This beautifully produced volume, with a scholarly introduction by Qaisra M. Khan and translation by Michael Burns, documents the author’s year-long journey to Mecca and Medina from Mughal India via the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
Commissioned by Zeb un-Nisa, the daughter of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, this delightfully vivid account belongs to a long-established tradition of guides to the Holy Sanctuaries. It gives comprehensive advice to prospective pilgrims on every aspect of the maritime journey, such as which ships to select, the best foods to consume, rituals to observe, significant places to visit and the people one might encounter.
This volume extensively explores the original manuscript’s detailed illustrations and text, providing an invaluable window into 17th-century religious practices, maritime travel, and the cultural landscape of the Indian Ocean world.
The male body plays a glorious leading role in the work of Michelangelo. Known for his strong and muscular nudes, his precise anatomical drawings and beautiful androgynous figures, it is well known that Michelangelo also expressed interest in the male body on a more personal level.
This book is the first to carefully explore the male body in the work and life of Michelangelo. Renowned art historians address the topic from different angles: from the influence of anatomical studies and Classical Antiquity on his work, his adoration of the body of Christ, his adherence to Neoplatonic ideas of perfection and beauty, to his personal preference for the young male body and the exceptional artworks this resulted in.
Samuel John Peploe, John Duncan Fergusson, George Leslie Hunter and Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell – a set of radical artists who enlivened the a set of radical artists who enlivened the Scottish art scene with the fresh vibrancy of French Fauvist colors. Despite only exhibiting together on three occasions in their lifetimes, and the term ‘The Scottish Colourists’ being coined retrospectively, the four shared much common ground. They were all born in Scotland in the 1870s, and at various different times each visited France to experience the burgeoning avant-garde scene, returning to Scotland brimming with new ideas. The influence of French painting – from Manet to the Impressionists, Matisse to Cezanne – stayed with them all.
Each of the Scottish Colourists achieved recognition during their lifetimes but fell out of favor by the Second World War, before being rediscovered in the 1950s. By the 1980s, they were widely recognized for their contribution to Scottish art, breathing new life into the scene, and leading the way for the next generation of artists.
This book brings together both popular and rarely seen imagery along with new research to take a fresh look at the fascinating and international lives of the four artists.
Francisco de Goya and Edvard Munch revolutionized art through their groundbreaking pairing of raw realism and unique imaginative power. Exploring inner worlds and existential questions, they had a formative impact on art history and our understanding of our times.
The book is published in conjunction with the exhibition Goya and Munch: Modern Prophecies, the first comprehensive presentation of these two artists in tandem. It is lavishly illustrated with reproductions of all the exhibited works and features texts by Trine Otte Bak Nielsen, Manuela B. Mena Marqués, Janis Tomlinson, Ute Kuhlemann Falck and Ask Salomon Selnes.
The Archetypal Artist, a collection of essays on the life and art of F.N. Souza, invites readers to the collective unconscious party; a high voltage zone consisting of stark art images and commentary. Be prepared to be shocked, bewildered, and amazed. Beware — since most of Souza’s art images overlap with your personal unconscious, you will be triggered. Everything you have repressed and rejected will stare back at you in full glory. As the shadows and multivalent archetypes come alive and begin dancing, be strong to hold aloft the light of your own consciousness. This is what Souza did when confronted by the collective unconscious. He began mining images from it, giving them form on his canvas, culminating in a journey towards individuation and wholesomeness.
This collection of 21 essays combining research in art history, Eastern – Western philosophy, classical literature, Jungian analysis, psychology, anthropology, religion and theater began as a personal quest by the author to seek answers to cultural constructs of life, body and sexuality. The conditioned and structured lives of men and women in society troubled her. Authoritarian narratives from religion and state thwarted attempts to attain autonomy at every step. The path to spiritual enlightenment was strewn with doubts and finding a synthesis of East and West was challenging. The tryst with Souza’s art began with questions, but the very first interlude was cathartic. Embark on a subjective journey into the world of F.N. Souza.
Contrary to the monochrome vision of Queen Victoria’s mourning dresses and the coal-polluted streets of Charles Dickens’ London, Victorian Britain was, in fact, a period of new and vivid colors. The Industrial Revolution had transformed the Victorians’ perception of color and, over the course of the second half of the 19th century, it became the key signifier of modern life. Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design charts the Victorians’ new attitudes to color through a multi-disciplinary exploration of culture, technology, art and literature. The catalogue explores key ‘chromatic’ moments that inspired Victorian artists and writers to think anew about the materiality of color. Rebelling against the bleakness of the industrial present, these figures learned from the sacred colors of the past, the sumptuous colors of the Middle East and Japan and looked forward towards the decadent colors that defined the end of the century.
Maria Lai always had a special relationship with fairy tales. She considered them a metaphor for art and a way of communicating with the public in a simple, straightforward way. Starting in the 1980s, fairy tales became central to her art. Tenendo per mano il sole, Tenendo per mano l’ombra, Curiosape and Maria Pietra, are her most famous “sewn fairy tales” – books created by the artist using castoff textiles.
Maria Lai’s fairy tales are not merely children’s stories, but profound reflections on life and what it means to be a human being. They are often inspired by Sardinian myths and legends, to which the artist gives a personal twist, adding autobiographical details and philosophical reflections.
This edition of Tenendo per mano l’ombra is a printed version of Maria Lai’s 1987 tale. The original consists of fabric pages sewn together and collages of dyed textiles, on which the artist has embroidered geometric figures, yarn and other materials. The fairy tale tells the story of a human being (and his double) who must learn to accept shadows, the dark part of the world and of himself. The figure’s shadow, in Maria Lai’s fairy tale, is not a negative element to be rejected, but an integral part of his personality. To live an untroubled and complete life, one must learn to accept and live with it.
Elena Pontiggia’s concluding essay accompanies the reader in a fascinating page by page interpretation of the fable, and discusses Lai’s artistic and stylistic approach in the context of an extensive network of philosophical, literary and artistic references: from Kant and Manzoni to Klee and Malevič.
Text in English and Italian.
Vinyl records and record stores are currently experiencing a revival, and this is also bringing the artistically designed covers of past decades back into our consciousness. They present us with real music and design history in an inspiring way.
Now, for the ninth time, the world’s first tear-off calendar is being published with 365 vinyl covers by well-known and unknown musicians from all genres. These include real classics, but also the unknown and the bizarre. In addition to the daily music inspiration and the graphic feast for the eyes, the names of the respective cover photographers, illustrators and art directors are also listed on each page. A must-have for all record lovers and graphic design nerds!
And the hit: with the printed Spotify codes, many albums can be played anywhere and immediately.
The exhibition Nasi Per L’Arte was born from the encounter between two curatorial noses belonging to Joanna De Vos and Melania Rossi. The nose is a navigator, guiding us through life; a delicate vehicle that detects and determines. It narrows and dilates at the same time, creating circular communication between the inner and the outer world. For this exhibition and book, a selection of contemporary artists such as Francis Alÿs, Michaël Borremans, Maurizio Cattelan, Laura de Coninck, Mariana Ferratto, Peter de Cupere, Jan Fabre, Mariana Ferratto, Sofie Muller, Luigi Ontani, Daniele Puppi and others, were in dialogue with artists of the permanent collection of Palazzo Merulana, Roma, and with loans of works by Oscar Jespers, René Magritte, George Minne, Constant Permeke, Léon Spilliaert, and others.
Text in English and Italian.
Despite its trademark transparency, the Corum Golden Bridge is a wristwatch full of mystery. This new book describes the iconic linear timepiece’s fascinating history including the innovative mechanical invention conceived by a nonconformist autodidact and the difficult technical breakthroughs by two like-minded personalities needed to achieve the dream wristwatch. This story, chock-full of narrative substance, begins in Switzerland of the late 1970s, at a time when electronic timekeeping was threatening to overtake the magical mastery of mechanical ticks and tocks. The Golden Bridge, spanning the gap between mechanics and art, is an integral part of this era as luxury watchmaking teetered on the brink of extinction. The Golden Bridge additionally helped usher in the era of the independent watchmaker, as its very creation was rooted in shedding light on the work of the watchmaker in a way that no other timepiece before or after it ever would.
Guillaume Bijl: Multiples & Editions, co-published with Walther Koening, shows the obscure yet fundamentally intriguing transformative installations by the Belgian artist Guillaume Bijl (°1946), who surprised the international art world of the early 1980s. Galleries, art spaces and museums were radically transformed into ordinary looking commercial or entertainment venues like carpet stores, supermarkets or TV-Quiz decors. Apart from these, Bijl presents slices of dead pan reality as ‘situation-installations’ and ‘compositions trouvées’. Lesser known, but widely distributed are the multiples Bijl created in the context of an installation or an exhibition. These objects seem extremely banal or kitschy but acquire a different meaning when seen as part of Bijl’s artistic strategy of staging and appropriation. Together with the posters and books Bijl designed, all of Bijl’s multiples are collected for the first time in this catalogue raisonné.
Text in English and Dutch.
James Wilson Morrice: Paintings and Drawings of Venice is the first comprehensive overview of the artist’s images of Venice, Italy. Living in Paris for most of his life, Morrice (1865–1924) was the first Canadian painter to make regular trips to Venice from the mid 1890s to about 1908. This book situates Morrice within the history of Venice and Venetian art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by looking carefully at his more than 100 modernist paintings and numerous drawings of “La Serenissima.” During his lifetime, Morrice’s Venetian pictures appeared in art exhibitions in Paris, London and other European countries, as well as in Montreal and the United States. Constantly cited in exhibition reviews, Morrice was praised for his modernity, and his Venice works have ensured his fame and importance for years to come.
Van Overstraeten is one of the oldest and most exclusive interior design companies in Belgium, started in 1891 and now with a worldwide reputation working with the best architects, interior designers and decorators for private and public projects. In this stunning debut monograph, beautifully presented with all new photography is a selection of more than 40 projects from recent years.
Text in English, French and Dutch.
Taking four themes as its starting point, this book reveals the strong interconnectedness of Ukraine’s turbulent history, the country’s permanent social and political unrest and the work of Ukrainian artists. Against Oppression, Forgotten Histories, Spaces of Freedom and Thoughts on the Future each reflect the dynamic between the drive for freedom and the mechanisms of oppression.
The iconic Dome of the Cathedral of Florence, the largest masonry vault in the world, was built by Filippo Brunelleschi between 1420 and 1436. More than 100 years later, between 1572 and 1579, the vault was decorated with frescos by the artists Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari depicting the Last Judgment. Working with advanced imaging technology, total access, and Italy’s leading art photographer, this book presents in never-before-seen detail and completeness the entire pictorial cycle of the Dome. Contributions by noted art historians Marco Bussagli, Mina Gregori, and Timothy Verdon illuminate the art historical significance of this magnificent symbol of Florence and the Renaissance.
Text in English and Italian.
A vibrant, colorful and beautiful book that introduces readers to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. It explains the difference between the two movements and the main artists associated with each. Illustrations are drawn from the renowned and outstanding collection of French art held by the National Galleries of Scotland and they include a number of rarely seen works.
This book tells the fascinating stories of how key paintings and drawings found their way into the collection.
Artists include Monet, Millet, Gauguin, Bastien-Lepage, Charles Jacque, Troyon, Corot, Degas, Seurat, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Vuillard, Bonnard, Derain, Matisse, Legros and Rodin.
No compromises! The new edition of the cult calendar now with 100% finest and pure punk!
After the success of Volume 1, it’s back – more radical, more raw and consistently punk orientated. This daily tear-off calendar presents 365 iconic punk vinyl covers from all over the world! But this time without a detour into the new wave scene. A piece of music history every day, with information on bands, labels and releases.
Perfect for punk fans, vinyl lovers and anyone who wants to live the rebellious spirit in every-day life. An indispensable highlight for your desk or wall!
This monograph on Susanna Bauer presents the artist’s work to an international audience for the first time in book form. The essential ingredients of Bauer’s artistic production are the ephemeral natural elements that she encounters during walks and hikes in the South-West of the UK where she lives and works. They are leaves, stones, twigs… elements that become the heart of more elaborate creations rendered with crochet – sometimes used conventionally as a decoration, other times as a sculptural means of communication. Bauer’s leaves are airy sculptures in which the artist pursues a balance between strength and fragility. Nature becomes a metaphor for humanity: the artfully interwoven threads remind us that we are all part of a vaster network and therefore generators of connections. But it also stands for life: viewing these works it is impossible not to reflect on the confluences of beauty and vulnerability, resistance and transformation.
The theme of the relationship between art and nature, and the ensuing interconnections, are investigated both through Bauer’s original work and in an introductory essay that analyses her œuvre within the broader context of the history of art.
Jane and Raphael Bernstein were early supporters of the innovative teaching practices of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth. This richly illustrated catalog traces the legacy of their gifts of art from 17th-century Japanese handscrolls to 18th-century English satirical prints, from 20th-century American landscape and portrait photography to contemporary art from the Canadian Arctic, plus an extraordinary collection of calligraphic prints and paintings by Japanese centenarian Toko Shinoda. Curatorial essays reveal how the depth and richness of the various collections the Bernsteins have entrusted to the museum increase the range of the work it can do. They have long conceived their gifts of art as part of an overriding project: object-based inquiry. This catalog celebrates the Bernsteins’ support for learning with art, inviting readers to join the museum’s faculty, staff, visitors, and – perhaps most importantly – students who will forever benefit from their generosity.