Through a decade of friendship, sharing the same environs and being active collectors, Sonja Graber and Christian Graber are inextricably connected to the photographer Annelies Strba, the jewelry and object artist Bernhard Schobinger and the painter Adrian Schiess. A far cry from thoughts of prestige and conjecture, one of the most extensive collections from all genres of the three Swiss artists has now emerged out of artistic and personal esteem. In the collectors, the artists and the Kunsthaus Zug, like-minded people have come together in the most indiscriminate appreciation of fine and applied art. To mark the occasion of the donation of the Graber collections to the museum, the three internationally renowned artists along with hitherto largely unpublished works are now united in one publication. Contents: Art is an Experiment for Us by Matthias Haldemann; Supporting the Artists: Building the Graber Collection by Marco Obrist; Things, Art … Art Things by Felix Philipp Ingold; Undine’s Song by Ildegarda Scheidegger; The Year’s Production from 1981, the Start of Painting by Ulrich Loock; The Graber Collection at Kunsthaus Zug; artists’ biographies. Text in English and German.
Ever since the 1970s, the Austrian couple Heidi and Karl Bollmann have been assembling a highly respected collection of international art jewelry. In this survey exciting artistic approaches as well as trends and developments of the genre are brought before our very eyes with the aid of selected works. The illustrations of the objects are complemented by a series of portraits, for it is only when worn by man that the pieces unfold their performative potential – and a subtle dialogue with the individual develops. Moreover, each piece is accompanied by a definition by the collector or the person who is being portrayed as to what jewelry is or could be, thereby stimulating thought about the meaning of art jewelry for the individual as well as for society as a whole. A particular focus lies in the work of the Austrian Fritz Maierhofer, one of the most significant jewelry artists in the world.
With her unmistakable signature and exuberant imagination, Beate Kuhn (1927-2015) is one of the most significant German ceramicists of the post-war era. She turned to the liberal arts as early as the end of the 1950s. In linking sculptural reasoning with the possibilities of the material and inherent pottery techniques, the internationally renowned artist conquered the frontiers of ceramics and created virtuosic works that went on to form their own contribution to the history of modern sculpture.
With around 190 works from all her periods of creativity, the Mannheim architect Klaus Freiberger was able to compile a collection unmatched anywhere else in the world. In honour of its foundation at the Neue Sammlung, the impressive oeuvre of Beate Kuhn is now being presented for the first time in this comprehensive publication.
This book accompanies an exhibition at Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich (DE), 13th July – 19th November 2017.
Text in English and German.
Kifwebe masks are ceremonial objects used by the Songye and Luba societies (Democratic Republic of Congo), where they are worn with costumes consisting of a long robe and a long beard made of plant fibres. As in other central African cultures, the same mask can be used in either magical and religious or festive ceremonies. In order to understand Kifwebe masks, it is essential to consider them within the cosmogony of the python rainbow, metalworking in the forge, and other plant and animal signs. Among the Songye, benevolent female masks reveal what is hidden and balance white and red energy associated with two subsequent initiations, the bukishi. Aggressive male masks were originally involved in social control and had a kind of policing role, carried out in accordance with the instructions of village elders. These two male and female forces acted in a balanced way to reinforce harmony within the village. Among the Luba, the masked figures are also benevolent and appear at the new moon, their role being to enhance fertility. Although the male and female masks fulfil functions that do not wholly overlap, they do have features in common: a frontal crest, round and excessively protruding eyes, flaring nostrils, a cube-shaped mouth and lips, stripes, and colours. Art historians and anthropologists have taken increasing interest in Kifwebe masks in recent years.
Kulango Figurines is designed to introduce various miniature works created by the Kulango in northeastern Côte d’Ivoire, who were formerly vassals of the two kingdoms that inhabited the country (Bouna and Gyaman). Their extraordinarily varied art, which can be both intriguing and disconcerting, is relatively unknown. Their metal sculptures in particular display a strikingly free expressiveness, breaking as they do with the iconographic codes that govern their works in wood. Doing away with immobile remoteness, bodies seem to reinvent movement, sometimes adopting almost choreographic gestures, an airy grace, sinuous lines. Or, in trembling tension, some display unexpected twists and provocative curves, while others stretch out impossibly or offer a chance for virtuoso foreshortening and stylized bodies. Still others are even stranger, like Siamese twins, inseparable triplets, headless figures or figures with one head on two torsos, with one leg or four, webbed feet, outsize arms and hooped bodies. Who are these enigmatic beings whose bulging eyes peer at the invisible? Is the sculpture confined to just these specimens? The range of styles is simply astonishing, the forms beyond imagination. The collection includes over 100 figurines, none of which is over 10cm tall: pendants, amulets, fortune tellers’ statuettes or weights for gold. Introduced into our world through the metamorphosis of photography, transfigured by lighting and framing effects, these resurrected works have been revitalized, like apparitions from another world. Text in English and French.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum houses an extraordinary collection of ‘prisoners’ objects’. These were made by prison inmates and presented to the ICRC delegates who visited them, as provided for by the Geneva Conventions. For over a century, these objects have borne mute witness to the numerous violent episodes that continue to ravage our planet, from Chile, Vietnam, Algeria and Yugoslavia, to Rwanda and Afghanistan. Made from simple materials – whatever comes to hand in a prison – these objects express the need to escape the world of the jailbird. As a Lebanese inmate puts it, ‘Creating is a way of acquiring freedom of expression, it gives us a means to say what we think while everything we see around urges us to keep quiet and to forget who we are.’ While some of these works touch us through their simplicity, others astonish us with their beauty or ingeniousness. Each bears the imprint of a personal story loaded with emotion, inviting us on a journey through time and collective history.
“One of the world’s most complete, resonant art mediums (which) submits to spectacular skill and structural concepts” – Roberta Smith, New York Times These are exciting times for Japanese bamboo art. May 2017 saw the opening of Japan House São Paulo, whose inaugural exhibition ‘Bamboo: The Material That Built Japan’ drew over 300,000 visitors. From June 2017 to February 2018 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York mounted another bamboo show that was seen by about 400,000. From 27 November, the Musée du quai Branly in Paris will present the largest-ever exhibition on the subject. This authoritative catalog of 323 works from the Naej Collection thus appears at a moment when a new global audience has emerged. The Naej Collection is especially strong in works by leading artists from 1850 to 1950, when great craft dynasties were established and first Osaka and then Tokyo emerged as major centers of artistic basketry. The catalog breaks new ground by combining dramatic photography with precious documentary information drawn from signatures and inscriptions, making it not merely the visual record of a great collection but the essential reference work for a developing field of connoisseurship.
Text in English, Japanese and simplified Chinese.
Since taking the helm of the National Galleries of Scotland in 1984, Sir Timothy Clifford has overseen the acquisition of some of the finest, and best-loved works in the national collection. This book chronicles the development of the collection under his directorship and casts light upon the wide range of acquisitions, including the fascinating stories behind their purchase. Lavishly illustrated, highlights of the book include The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child by Botticelli, The Three Graces by Canova (purchased jointly with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London), and the most recent major acquisition, Venus Anadyomene by Titian. Works from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s internationally renowned Surrealist collection are also featured, as well as paintings from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
This stunning book documents a collection of 66 extraordinary pieces of petrified wood, mainly from Western United States (Arizona, Oregon, Washington). Specially photographed they are shown in their entirety and in magnificent details.
Petrified wood is formed from fallen trees that in the absence of oxygen and microbes, and with water containing minerals, through a replacement process called permineralization, slowly transform into visually spectacular fossils. But Nature often uses a paintbrush in its preservation magic, splashing the wooden canvas with an array of colors and hues before fixing it in a matrix of hard durable quartz, thereby creating splendid works of art. Petrified wood has been found throughout the world, but actual petrified forests are truly noteworthy in the United States, the most famous being the Chinle Formation forest of Arizona.
“All the photos of David Bowie you could possibly ever need. The most noteworthy collection of David Bowie images ever accumulated. Whether you want to own the book as a collector’s item or display it on your coffee table, this definitive work is a tribute fit for an icon.” – Interview magazine
David Bowie: Icon gathers the greatest photographs of one of the greatest stars in history, into a single, luxurious volume. The result is the most important anthology of David Bowie images that has ever been compiled. With work by many of the most eminent names in photography, this book showcases a stunning portfolio of imagery, featuring the iconic, the awe inspiring, the candid and the surprising.
An astonishing 25 photographers from around the world have contributed to this celebration. Their images are accompanied by personal essays and reflections about working with this astonishing artist. From memories of the earliest days at the Arts Lab in Beckenham to what it was like touring the world with Bowie, each contributor shares their experiences of working with – and knowing – this most extraordinary figure.
From portraits and album covers, performances and rehearsals, to rarely seen private moments and candid snapshots, this collection is at once powerful, sentimental and inspiring. The thoughts and reminiscences of the photographers, many sharing their memories for the first time, give us an insight into this artist unlike any other.
Photography and text by: Fernando Aceves, Brian Aris, Philippe Auliac, Alec Byrne, Kevin Cummins, Chalkie Davies, Justin de Villeneuve, Vernon Dewhurst, Gavin Evans, Gerald Fearnley, Lynn Goldsmith, Greg Gorman, Andrew Kent, Markus Klinko, Geoff MacCormack, Janet Macoska, Terry O’Neill, Denis O’Regan, Norman Parkinson, Mick Rock, John Scarisbrick, Steve Schapiro, Barry Schultz, Masayoshi Sukita and Ray Stevenson.
Features an introduction by Bowie’s life-long friend, the artist George Underwood.
When David Bowie passed away on 10 January 2016, the world lost a musical hero. But his legacy lives on. While his sound and style evolved throughout his career – from Ziggy to the Thin White Duke – two facts never changed: he was an innovator; and photographers adored him. This book pays homage to this ultimate icon.
Ceramics designed by Gio Ponti for Italian firm Richard-Ginori are well known to collectors and design scholars around the world. The originality of Ponti’s designs and their flawless execution are among the notable aesthetic qualities of this body of work. This is a catalogue raisonné of Gio Ponti’s ceramics in the collection of the Museo Richard-Ginori della Manifattura di Doccia, one of the first company museums in Italy and the one of the oldest ceramic museums in Europe.
The book aims to give Ponti’s ceramic works a precise chronological order based on correspondence and documentation from the Museum’s archive. On the basis of verified data this volume reconstructs the detailed history of most of the decorations and forms belonging to the collection, certifying their attribution and investigating, on a case by case basis, the iconography of rich and fascinating imagery that informs Doccia’s ceramic art at the time of Ponti.
Text in English and Italian.
This catalog presents masterpieces of calligraphy, painting, sculpture, ceramics, lacquers, and textiles from two of America’s greatest Japanese art collections, which are featured in a landmark exhibition at the Asia Society in New York. Impermanence is a pervasive subject in Japanese philosophy and art, and recognizing the role of ephemerality is key to appreciating much of Japan’s artistic production. The dazzling range of art and objects in this beautifully photographed exhibition catalog show the broad, yet nuanced, ways that the notion of the ephemeral manifests itself in the arts of Japan throughout history. Insightful contributions from noted scholars explore the aesthetics of impermanence in religion, literature, artifacts, the tea ceremony, and popular culture in objects dating from the late Jomon period (ca. 1000-300 B.C.E.) to the 20th century.
Contents:
The Art of the Ephemeral;
Works in the Exhibition:
I. Retrieving Lost Worlds; II. Buddhism: Perpetual Impermanence; III. Tea: Choreographed Ephemerality; IV. Transforming Impermanence into Art.
Published to accompany an exhibition at the Asia Society Museum, New York, between 11 February and 26 April 2020.
“Extensive text, beautifully-written and well-researched, this book leads us through many historical and geographical adventures and towards a plethora of full-colour plates…These pages ground us by sharing a complex culture expressed through an object of practical simplicity.” —Ptolemy Mann, SelvedgeThe Michael and Amy Rothberg Collection of knotted-pile tribal and nomadic bags and other rare small format pile weavings, among them many pieces made for women’s dowries and other ceremonial functions, is recognized as the best of its kind anywhere in the world. The collection has been carefully and thoughtfully assembled over the past four decades. Michael Rothberg’s collections are above all distinguished by the collector’s acutely sensitive and perceptive eye for the best museum-quality material available on the international market. Specialists in the field and other collectors and tribal weaving enthusiasts have awaited the publication of this part of the Rothberg Collection for many years, ever since a selection of the material was shown at Sotheby’s in Los Angeles in a feature exhibition during the American Conference on Oriental Rugs in January 1996. The scope of the collection includes antique pile bags, from the Transcaucasus region, as well as from the Shahsavan, Kurdish, Varamin region, Qashqa’i, Khamseh, Luri, Bakhtiari, Afshar and Baluch tribes of Iran.
This volume brings together leading scholars of Sikhism and of Sikh art to assess and interpret the remarkable art resource known as the Kapany Collection, using it to introduce to a broad public the culture, history, and ethos of the Sikhs. Fifteen renowned scholars contributed essays describing the passion and vision of Narinder and Satinder Kapany in assembling this unparalleled assemblage of great Sikh art, some of which has been displayed in exhibitions around the globe. The Kapanys’ legacy of philanthropic work includes establishing the Sikh Foundation (now celebrating its 50th year) and university endowments for Sikh studies. Through this profusely illustrated book’s chapters, scholars examine the full range of Sikh artistic expression and of Sikh history and cultural life, using artworks from the Kapany Collection.
Ring Redux presents more than a hundred avant-garde rings by renowned international artists who explore this age-old jewelry form with great vitality and relevance to society today. In the essay “Riffs on Rings“, Ursula Ilse-Neuman provides valuable insights into the astonishing variations on one of the most intimate and enduring forms of body adornment, revealing the profound and subtle differences in how these artists evoke the ring’s potential to express ideas that extend beyond its ornamental role. The skill and audacity infused in these intimate sculptural forms is captured in stunning new color photographs. In the “Artists’ Voices” section, the jewelers provide valuable perspectives on the conception and execution of their works. The collection of rings presented here has been acquired over five decades by Susan Grant Lewin and will be exhibited at the SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia.
Ten more handscrolls from the series Collection of Ancient Calligraphy and Painting Handscrolls: Paintings have rich themes and diverse styles, such as vivid portraits, exquisite landscape paintings, and meticulous paintings of flowers and birds. The paintings are accompanied by texts written by experts, offering detailed analysis of the artists’ works. It is a powerful tribute to Chinese ancient paintings and provides original insight into the work itself. In this series (volumes 11-20), most of handscrolls are painted in Song Dynasty, in which painting became an art of high sophistication and reached a new level of sophistication with further development of landscape painting. The original paintings have been in the collection of the Palace Museum or the Taipei Palace Museum for many years.
The artworks are presented in the traditional format of a handscroll which can be extended indefinitely, so that the postscripts and observations of later generations can be directly followed by the end of the works.
Ten more handscrolls from the series Collection of Ancient Calligraphy and Painting Handscrolls: Paintings have rich themes and diverse styles, such as vivid portraits, exquisite landscape paintings, and meticulous paintings of flowers and birds. The paintings are accompanied by texts written by experts, offering detailed analysis of the artists’ works. It is a powerful tribute to Chinese ancient paintings and provides original insight into the work itself. In this series (volumes 11-20), most of handscrolls are painted in Song Dynasty, in which painting became an art of high sophistication and reached a new level of sophistication with further development of landscape painting. The original paintings have been in the collection of the Palace Museum or the Taipei Palace Museum for many years.
The artworks are presented in the traditional format of a handscroll which can be extended indefinitely, so that the postscripts and observations of later generations can be directly followed by the end of the works.
The series contains a collection of masterpieces by famous Chinese painters of all ages, with a rich variety of subjects and styles. It presents a selection of paintings from the Tang and Song dynasties, including figure and landscape paintings, showing the splendid charm of traditional Chinese painting at its peak from multiple perspectives. The volumes are accompanied by expert interpretations, analyzing the characteristics of the paintings and the key points of appreciation, and guiding the reader through the beauty of the paintings in an insightful text.
The Galleria Borghese brings together an extraordinary collection of ancient and modern sculpture within a beautifully decorated villa. This volume, dedicated to modern sculpture (Late Renaissance to Baroque to Neoclassical), marks the start of a new general catalogue of the collection.
The introduction narrates the history of the collection, from its creation by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 17th century to its sale to the Italian Republic at the end of the 19th century. The entries are full of chronological details, new attributions, information on restorations and account for the different historical settings thanks to an accurate study of the inventory records of the villa. They include world-famous masterpieces by Algardi, Bernini and Canova among others. The sale to Napoleon of many of its Antique works of art (now in the Louvre) was key to the Borghese’s commission works of ancient inspiration, the analysis of which animates the pages of another section, based on the concepts of copy and remake. The catalogue closes with a section on restoration, that gives an account of the fundamental role of 16- to 18th-century sculptors in the maintenance and transformation of the archaeological collection in relation to the villa’s display requirements.
Text in Italian.
This publication marks Anthea Hamilton Reimagines Kettle’s Yard – an installation by Turner Prize nominee Anthea Hamilton at The Hepworth Wakefield, exhibited during September 2016 – May 2017.
The ambitious installation included a series of new works, created by the artist in response to works from the Kettle’s Yard Collection. Hamilton is renowned for her art-pop, culture-inspired sculptures and installations that incorporate references from the worlds of art, fashion, design and cinema. Based on her research into the art and objects of the Kettle’s Yard Collection, Hamilton re-appropriated objects from the collection, using unexpected details as starting points for new works.
Hamilton invited several British and international artists, with whom she has either previously worked, or whose work is important to her, to contribute to the new installation. These include: French artist Laëtitia Badaut Haussmann; British artist Nicholas Byrne; German artist Daniel Sinsel and the celebrated American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
“It’s surely the ultimate coffee-table book…. “ — Daily Mail
“This exciting collection lends itself to significant discussion and interest, given coffee is such a large part of our daily culture around the globe.” — Travel by Entree
“… another brilliant document of an exciting epoch in coffee culture.” — We Heart
“Do you love coffee, traveling and design? Then this is a must-have for you! The addresses of 39 cafes, café clubs and coffee roasteries in 26 cities in different parts of the world can be found in a unique book and album in one “Café Cool: feel-good inspiring designs”. The author, Robert Schneider, presents an amazing collection of modern, designer places, designed to turn the coffee experience into an art.” — AD Poland
“This book is a homage to his belief that, particularly given the recent global pandemic, it is vital that we continue to support and appreciate quality coffee in cafes and coffee shops that exhibit great feel-good inspiring designs.” — Coffee T&I
Café Cool: feel-good inspiring designs is the much-anticipated third book in the series by Robert Schneider, and features 39 cafés and coffee shops and roasteries in 26 cities around the world, richly illustrated with full-color images. The curated selection shares a focus on modern contemporary designs, showcasing independent, local coffee hubs that sit at the heart of communities and are designed to foster a fantastic coffee experience. Insightful commentary by the owners and designers capture the feel and personality of each project. Schneider has once again served up an engaging and inspiring collection of modern cafés and coffee shops for lovers of coffee and good design. This book is a homage to his belief that, particularly given the recent global pandemic, it is vital that we continue to support and appreciate quality coffee in cafes and coffee shops that exhibit great feel-good inspiring designs.
Even though they belong to the mineral kingdom, the stones in the collection of the French writer Roger Caillois appear miraculously similar to works of art. Beginning from this mysterious but captivating link between two such apparently distant universes, the book collects a carefully curated selection of the finest stones in the collection and recounts the life of Caillois (sociologist, member of the surrealist movement…), reviewing and presenting his essays on stones. The persona and the personality of this atypical 20th-century intellectual emerge from the essay by Stefano Salis, who introduces us to Caillois’ world and that of Marguerite Yourcenar, who took his place in the Académie de France after his death with a speech reviewing his life and work. The literary critic Carlo Ossola traces the outlines of the cultural climate in which Caillois lived and operated, while François Farges, now in charge of the collection, illustrates it in the final essay.
The essays in this lavishly illustrated volume offer a multi-faceted portrait of American financier J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) as a collector of art. A riveting exploration of Morgan’s acquisitions from antiquities to medieval manuscripts to Old Master paintings and European decorative arts, Morgan—The Collector introduces the reader to how and why he amassed his vast collection. The lively essays also serve as a tribute to Linda Roth, curator at Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, who dedicated much of her forty-year career to researching Morgan and the over 1,500 works from his collection now in the museum. This much-needed publication focuses on Morgan as a collector and is directed at both a scholarly and more general audience that is interested in the history of collecting, America in the Gilded Age, Pierpont Morgan, and European art.
The volume accompanying an exhibition at Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne, from 8 December 2023 to 28 April 2024 invites us to reflect on the role a face can play in mediating communication through the gaze. We are all aware of how powerful it can be when eyes meet, as well as their crucial role in giving dignity to people through caring. But the face can also be considered from another, almost conflicting, point of view, as a visible surface masking the invisible aspects of the human being: it can either reveal or conceal feelings and emotions, thoughts and concerns…
The subject of faces deserves to be explored here in all its anthropological depth. In Art Brut, its production marked as it is by a powerful creative urge, this exploration takes on a singular dimension, with the presentation of works whose figurative content facilitates the encounter with this inalienable aspect of humanity, which becomes somehow inevitable, regardless of the marginality of the social and cultural acknowledgement of the artists.
These faces, whether withdrawn or seeking, with their attentive, questioning, communicative, absent, or empty expressions, reflect a manner of relating to the world that interrogates, through a mise en abyme of sorts, our very encounter with humanity.