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In this book, Cristina Filipe offers a critical examination, from a social and art historical perspective, of some of the artists and contexts that contributed to the transformations in Portuguese jewelry from the vanguard of the 1960s to the early twenty-first century – a decisive period in which the term ‘jewelry’ itself was redefined. In addition, Contemporary Jewellery in Portugal contextualizes the international scene, reflecting on how Portuguese artists responded to these external influences. What jewelry was made? Who made it? What were the underlying trends and creative references? These are some of the questions that this book seeks to answer through the analysis of artist interviews and exhaustive factual research, accompanied by a visual narrative mirroring the changes in contemporary jewelry in Portugal.

The Norwegian Torbjørn Kvasbø (b. 1953) is considered a leading figure in the field of contemporary ceramic art. He exhibits regularly in Asia, Europe and the US and achieved a unique status as an artist and pioneer, and also as a teacher with widespread influence having been actively engaged in restructuring the art schools where he taught. The art historian Jorunn Veiteberg analyzes in this publication Kvasbø’s works from 1977 to the present day. Most critics have described his objects as forms inspired by nature, by lava eruptions or landscapes. Veiteberg is critical of this and sees them more as bodily expressions. Kerstin Wickmann, design historian and former professor at Konstfack in Stockholm, discusses Kvasbø’s twelve years as teacher in Stockholm and his influence on his students and the educational system.

Torbjørn Kvasbø’s work is represented in numerous international museums and private collections, such as the National Museum, Stockholm/SE, Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen/DK, The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo/NO, Auckland Institute and Museum/NZ, Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu Ceramics-Park Mino, Gifu/JP, World Ceramic Exposition/KOR, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia MO/US.

Text in English, Swedish & Norwegian.

Structural Packaging Art has it all wrapped up, literally! Presenting the most innovative and imaginative graphic designs and technical constructions using paper and cardboard to promote a range of products from snacks to stationery, to teabags and truffles. All are designed to create a unique identity and brand within a highly competitive consumer market, colorful and eye-catching, quirky and desirable these wrappings are about first impressions with the focus on presenting each item as a ‘gift’ to be purchased, then savoured and enjoyed as an essential feature of the whole product experience.

In The Thousands, an 18-year-old RJ Rushmore curates an extensive collection of some of the biggest names in Street Art including Faile, Banksy, KAWS, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Herakut, Jenny Holzer, Blek le Rat, Futura 2000 and Barry McGee. As the founder and editor-in-chief of Vandalog, Rushmore has achieved a reputation for “genuine reporting, insight and analysis” (Papermag). This quality and attention to detail shines through the compelling writing in his book. Many of the works featured have come from private collections and several pieces have been provided directly by the artists participating in the show and the book. Each artist or group of artists is explored in an immersive two-page spread with an insightful biography and intricate analysis of their work. This fascinating anthology is a must-have for Street Art followers and those simply interested in the movement.

At the turn of the twentieth century, in particular Gauguin, Picasso, Matisse, and later the Surrealists, then others right up till the present day, Western artists have drawn on the arts of Africa for inspiration. How can this constant impact ever be measured? The same is true for the arts in Africa. Every sculpture carries within it the heritage of a people, culture, and artistic tradition in the originality of its forms. West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa each has its own set of characteristics, within which the variety of the sculptures – always similar yet also always different – demonstrates the creativity of the ethnic group that created it. This book presents a remarkable collection amassed by a knowledgeable and impassioned art lover that combines sensitivity with quality – a quality of forms meticulously selected among different African cultures. It includes masks and reliquaries carved in Gabon, effigies and statuettes from Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa, and astonishing objects from West Africa, from Mali to Cameroon, the Koro and Mossi peoples, the Ejagham and Ekoi in Nigeria, and the Gouro in the Ivory Coast. An extraordinary collection of artistic forms that well merits its place in the universal patrimony of art.

Contents: Introduction; Le Gabon; Le royaume Kongo; Les Teke | Les Bembe | Les Zombo; Les Songye; Les Luba | Les Hemba | Les Bembe/Boyo; Les Chowke | Les Pende | Les Zande/Mangbetu; L’Afrique de l’Ouest: Les Guro | Les Senufo | Les Mossi | Les Koro | Les Fon | Les Bamileke | Les Oku | Les Mendakwe; Conclusion; English text.

Text in English and French

This book is dedicated to Godai, an installation by Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, who represents the fourth generation of a prestigious line of kagoshi (master wickerwork weavers) in Japan. Godai is a homage to nature and to a tradition of handcraftsmanship. This monumental work, six meters high and nearly as broad at its base, was installed in 2016 in the Rotunda of the Musée des Arts Asiatiques Guimet in Paris and presented to the public from April 12th through September 19th, when the artist still presented himself under the name of Tanabe Shouchiku III. The structure, composed of 8,000 small pieces of bamboo prepared in Japan, was extremely well received. It represents a world in which the five elements, godoi, that make up our world (wind, water, earth, void and fire, according to Japanese tradition) intertwine. Tanabe couldn’t find a more suitable material. Tough yet flexible, bamboo has been part of the lives of people in Asia since ancient times and used for numerous purposes. Because of its great significance (it represents ‘principles, integrity and constancy’), it has also been represented in many historic paintings and used as a design motif in stationery and furniture. Tanabe’s works are both historic and modern and invite a response from the viewer. His bamboo installations, presented in a form adapted to the space in which they are displayed, induce viewers to be aware of and appreciate that space. Each work is dismantled at the end of the exhibition to leave just its memory. And the same bamboo is used for new installations, giving a tangible sense to the concepts of ‘continuity’ and ‘rebirth’ and providing a sense of connection with space that transcends time. Godai is no exception: a monumental and ephemeral work, like a piece of organic architecture, it transmits positive energy. Text in English and French.

More than 130 works from the collection assembled by Drs Nicole and John Dintenfass over fifty years. The Dintenfass Collection serves as a model and a source of inspiration for new and seasoned collectors alike. A different slant on collecting which is not actually just buying from dealers. A lavishly illustrated book that traces the origin of a collector’s interest in African art and analyzes the psychological aspects driving the passions for collecting. The Nicole and John Dintenfass Collection is well known and based on aesthetics, and the works have been reproduced in many publications. They have collected with passion, diligence, depth and rigor monumental sculptures and wooden miniatures, from most regions of Africa. Focusing on pieces of the highest artistic quality, this book shares the collectors’ personal point of view about collecting and offers to readers anecdotes that provide an additional insight into this world to future and present collectors in their search for African art. Collecting is a passion that often leads to intimate inner conversations or to emotional experiences with the objects themselves. Moreover many collectors share their unique experience of joy and appreciation with twentieth-century artists who also collected African art and who generously imparted advice, suggestions and support in responding to the collectors’ enthusiasm. Thanks to the multiple beautiful and sensitive photographs of each object, the viewer has a chance to form an intimate conversation that creates a connection with those African master carvers that have strongly influenced modern realism, cubism and expressionism.

Maria Lai (Ulassai, September 27, 1919 – Cardedu, April 16, 2013) is without doubt one of the leading figures in the history of contemporary Italian art. Not only on account of the content of her works, but also thanks to the diversity of her artistic approach, ranging as it does across many media – public art, embroidery, weaving, sculpture, drawing, and writing: all are grist for her poetics. The book is published to coincide with the exhibition at the MAXXI Museum in Rome, which is presenting to the general public over one hundred works by the Sardinian artist, from the early 1960s to her very last works, and explores the various themes dear to the artist with the contributions of experts in their fields: the locations, the creation, and publication of art books, her public art events and her relationship with the written word and her own writing. Her entire oeuvre is distinguished by its powerful visual impact, revealing a ‘way of doing art’ that is nothing other than an instrument of thought. The book’s structure reflects the exhibition’s own sections, arranged by theme, whose titles are paradigmatic of Lai’s oeuvre as a whole: Essere è tessere. Cucire e ricucire; L’arte è il gioco degli adulti. Giocare e raccontare; Disseminare e condividere; Il viaggiatore astrale. Immaginare l’altrove; L’arte ci prende per mano. Incontrare e partecipare.

Published to accompany an exhibition at the MAXXI Museum, Rome, 19 June 2019-12 January 2020.

Text in English and Italian.