Art & Photography Books
Hirmer Verlag Poetry of Light
Book SynopsisAlongside artists such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, Richard Pousette-Dart (19161992) was one of the most important pioneers of Abstract Expressionism. Sixty outstanding works from all creative phases allow us to immerse ourselves in the colourful and multifaceted oeuvre of this remarkable artist. The American avant-garde movement of Abstract Expressionism radically changed the course of modern painting. Like many of his fellow artists, Pousette-Dart was intensely preoccupied with themes such as myth, spirituality, and the archaic. His light-flooded works often evoke ideas of transcendental force through motifs reminiscent of the firmament or the charged energy of celestial bodies. This opulent volume impressively presents Pousette-Dart's art as a poetry of light.
£36.00
Hirmer Verlag Indigenous Identities
Book SynopsisIndigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always marks the largest curatorial endeavor in artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith's curatorial career and emphasizes her pivotal role in bringing forth a living Native Art history. Indigenous Identities, featuring over 100 works, is accompanied by a full-color catalog of the same title that is fully Indigenous-led.
£36.00
Hirmer Verlag Mack Face to Face
Book SynopsisMuch has been written about Heinz Mack, but this book truly stands out. Recounting his life through the pen of Robert Fleck, the artist himself gives us deep insights into the motivations and goals of his artistic work almost as if we were sitting in conversation with this fascinating and renowned figure. A world-class artist is at once simple and very complex. On the one hand, a human being, like all of us, on the other, permeated by a web of motifs and ideas that one can scarcely guess at. Based on numerous conversations since 2020, the present volume explores this charged duality in Heinz Mack. We follow the artist closely through his eventful life, from the years of the Second World War to the present day. Like a second voice, original quotes placed in the margin accompany the narrative and lend this unusual biography its unique charm.
£36.00
Hirmer Verlag GmbH European Realities
Book Synopsis
£39.92
Hirmer Verlag GmbH Barkley L. Hendricks
Book Synopsis
£37.42
Hirmer Verlag GmbH Kirchner x Kirchner
£37.50
Prestel Congo Tales: Told By the People of Mbomo
Book SynopsisThe Congo Basin in Central Africa harbors approximately one quarter of the world’s rainforest. In the heart of this forest is Odzala-Kokoua National Park, an ecological wonderland that is home to untold numbers of rare gorillas, forest elephants, and birds. It is also home to people who have lives vastly different from much of the rest of the world. In this stunning photographic series, Pieter Henket presents images of the children of Odzala- Kokoua telling the oral history of the Congo in enchanting and creative ways. Shot over the course of a month, Henket documented the children of this remote region as they designed, planned, created costumes for, and acted out a series of myths— about their tribes, their landscape, and the animals and plants that they live among. Their stories will educate others unfamiliar with a way of life that is so completely in harmony with nature. Filled with vibrant images that highlight the area’s magnificent flora and fauna, this photographic project, which was three years in the planning and execution, offers an exciting opportunity to learn about nature and the environment and it delivers an optimistic message about trust, cooperation, and conservation for the next generation of policy makers.Trade Review"Congo Tales, a new book about the second-largest tropical forest in the world, the story of a people and their home comes alive." –The New York Times
£31.99
Prestel Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Book SynopsisThroughout his career, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner employed a highly inventive and original use of colour. He favoured novel applications of paint in unusual matte finishes. For Kirchner, colour was of primary importance, coupled with technique and style. He was one of the leading Expressionist painters of the time and was one of the founding members of the Brücke. In his deeply personal depictions, he focused on the places where he lived and worked and his close friends and associates. This book, accompanying a major exhibition at the Neue Galerie New York, provides a visual survey of Kirchner’s oeuvre and offers an in-depth analysis of different aspects of the artist’s output. Essays by leading experts examine Kirchner’s approach to colour, his interest in the decorative arts, how electric light affected his treatment of colour, the impact of Nietzsche on his work, and how he was profoundly changed by World War I. This book includes illustrations of nearly 40 paintings, 30 prints, as well as drawings, sketchbooks, photographs, and decorative work.
£36.00
Prestel El Anatsui: Art and Life
Book SynopsisEl Anatsui: Art and Life by Susan Mullin Vogel is the essential resource on the Ghanaian artist known worldwide for spectacular tapestries of reclaimed bottle tops. This revised and expanded book follows Anatsui on his remarkable journey from an obscure university town in Africa to the summit of the global art world. Vogel, whose exhibitions and books have influenced African art history, analyzes Anatsui’s unique art form, often quoting the artist’s interviews with her. She describes his engagement with African traditions, his early work in clay and wood, a triumphant decade exhibiting radiant metal cloths, then a profound development in the second decade, presented here for the first time. The book takes us inside his busy studio, revealing the gritty reality and the subtle genius of his bottle-top hangings, exhibited in museums and biennials across the world.
£38.25
Prestel Francis Alys
Book SynopsisThis immersive publication explores the artistic journey of one of today's most prominent conceptual artists, with a specific focus on his groundbreaking series, Children''s Games.Whether he's moving a sand dune in Peru or pushing an enormous ice block through the streets of Mexico City, Francis Alys is constantly seeking to decipher complex social, political, and cultural issues in ways that are simultaneously affecting, imaginative and provocative. Highlighting rarely seen source material, this richly illustrated book delves into the impulses behind Alys's influential works. Celebrating the breadth and importance of the artist's work, a series of essays by leading scholars and writers look at his studio practice and influences across art, history and literature, revealing new perspectives on his prolific career and ongoing preoccupations. It also examines the most recent iteration of his critically acclaimed series Children's G
£24.00
Prestel Kandinskys Universe
Book Synopsis
£32.00
Prestel Chris Levine
£75.00
Prestel Yayoi Kusama: A Retrospective
Book SynopsisThe companion to the groundbreaking new retrospective at the Gropius Bau, this publication examines Kusama’s life and work through wholly original insights by leading experts. The book traces the development of Kusama’s creative output from her early paintings and accumulative sculptures to her immersive environments, as well exploring her lesser-known artistic activity in Europe and Germany in particular. It illuminates Kusama’s commitment to political and social issues in Europe, the US and Japan. A diverse selection of images and archival documents feature alongside texts by authors from different theoretical backgrounds. Essays discuss Kusama’s accomplishments in the worlds of fashion, film, art marketing and publishing. They focus on her engagement with different artistic spheres and offer genre-specific observations about her performances, installations and painting series. As panoramic and fascinating as its subject, this monumental retrospective guides viewers interested in Kusama towards a deeper understanding of her creative trajectory and of the breadth of her extraordinary career.
£36.00
Prestel Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature
Book SynopsisCapturing fleeting natural impressions played a central role in the art of Claude Monet. He deeply engaged with the landscape and light of different places, from the metropolis of Paris to the Seine villages of Argenteuil and Giverny. This lavishly illustrated new paperback edition explores the development of Monet’s art from the 1850s to the 1920s, focusing on the places, both at home and on his frequent travel, from which he drew inspiration for his painting. In addition, the book traces the critical shift in Monet’s art that occurred when he began to focus on series of the same subjects such as haystacks, poplars, and the water lilies and pond at his meticulously designed garden in Giverny. Insightful and revealing, the book deepens our appreciation of Monet’s art and allows us to experience anew his gift for bringing the natural world to life.
£23.38
Prestel Austrian and German Masterworks: Twentieth
Book SynopsisThe Neue Galerie New York opened in November 2001, showcasing its collection of Austrian and German art from 1890 to 1940. This publication is issued in celebration of the museum’s twentieth anniversary. The Austrian holdings encompass significant paintings by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, Carl Moll, and Richard Gerstl. Decorative arts made by the Vienna Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops, 1903- 32) are another area of strength, in particular the designs of Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, and Dagobert Peche. The German holdings emphasize the Expressionist movement, with canvases by members of the Brücke, including Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Pechstein, and Karl Schmidt- Rottluff. Artists affiliated with the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider), such as Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, August Macke, Franz Marc, and Gabriele Münter, figure prominently. The Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) movement is well represented by Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, and Christian Schad. Works by proponents of Dada, such as John Heartfield, Hannah Höch, and Kurt Schwitters, are a key interest. Iconic creations from the Bauhaus, including objects by Marcel Breuer, Marianne Brandt, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Wilhelm Wagenfeld, as well as art by Lyonel Feininger, László Moholy-Nagy, and Oskar Schlemmer, are special highlights.
£33.99
Prestel Steve McCurry: Devotion
Book SynopsisFrom one of the most renowned photographers working today, this collection of images explores human spirituality in all its remarkable diversity and beauty. American Magnum and National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry is known for his compelling and evocative images that capture the human experience and the spirit of place; his 1984 portrait of Sharbat Gula, the Afghan Girl, is one of the world's most recognizable photographs. This powerful collection of spiritually inflected images is gleaned from the entirety of McCurry's forty-year career traveling to every corner of the globe. From a mosque in Afghanistan to Burma's Golden Rock; an Easter offering in Paraguay to an elderly couple at Lourdes; a Tibetan monk in India to evangelicals in America's heartland-McCurry captures penetrating moments of devotion, loyalty, faithfulness, and dedication. Reproduced in stunning color, these photographs honor the universal desire to create meaning in the midst of everyday life and offer viewers an opportunity to connect with their own spirituality- whatever form that takes.Trade Review"The world turns on devotion — these pictures show us how.""An astonishing array of pictures."Waterstones Best Books of 2023: Photography“Steve McCurry collects together his images depicting human spirituality in all its special diversity and beauty”
£40.00
Prestel A Butterfly Journey: Maria Sibylla Merian. Artist
Book SynopsisA woman ahead of her time, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was an intrepid explorer, naturalist and scholar, as well as a magnificent artist. This lovely, impeccably designed book tells Merian's incredible life story alongside colourful reproductions of her engravings and watercolours of the butterflies she encountered during her lifetime in Germany and the Netherlands and her seminal trip to the Dutch colony of Surinam. The book recounts Merian's monumental expedition, her work as an advocate for the slave laborers of Surinam and her important studies of the anatomy and life cycle of the butterfly. Author Boris Friedewald employs Merian's favourite insect as a metaphor for the artist's own pioneering evolution from budding entomologist to educator, activist and artist. A visual treasure as well as a satisfying read, this exquisite volume is the perfect gift for anyone interested in Merian's amazing life and groundbreaking body of work.
£13.49
Prestel 50 Paintings You Should Know
Book SynopsisSpanning seven centuries, this selection of fifty iconic paintings offers readers a crash course in art history while presenting gorgeous color reproductions that are a pleasure to contemplate. Starting with Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes and continuing through Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, as well as works by Monet, van Gogh, Cassatt, Cezanne, Dali, Kahlo, Hopper, Pollock, Rothko, and O'Keeffe, nearly every important painter is represented in this book. It features works that may be familiar to the eye, but whose histories are even more fascinating. Readers will learn about the painters who created them, the reasons for their importance and the places the paintings can be found. As entertaining as it is informative, this beautiful book is the perfect introduction to great paintings that have stood the test of time.
£13.49
Prestel Michael Kenna: Rouge
Book SynopsisMore than twenty years after its initial publication, Michael Kenna's seminal collection of photographs of the Ford River Rouge industrial complex is now available in a new, revised, and expanded edition. One of the world's most acclaimed photographers working exclusively in black-and-white, Michael Kenna has traveled the world to create stunning, magical images of nature and manmade objects. Known for the ethereal tone and incredibly nuanced detail of his photographs, Kenna is also a chronicler of environmental degradation. His images of an auto plant outside of Detroit, Michigan, are some of his best-known works. Long out of print, Rouge has been brought back to life with a spectacular new design, an authoritative essay by art historian James Steward, and many previously unpublished images that were part of the original series. As the city of Detroit struggles to reclaim its heritage as an American commercial and artistic hub, these photographs resonate more than ever with the stark realities and hidden beauty of the industrial landscape.
£36.00
Prestel 50 Women Artists You Should Know
Book SynopsisThis beautifully produced, richly detailed, and comprehensive survey of fifty influential women artists from the Renaissance to the Post-Modern era details their vast contributions to the art world. From the Early Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi and the seventeenth-century illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian to Impressionist Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, and to modern icons such as Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois, the most important female artists are profiled in this book in chronologically arranged double-page spreads. There is a succinct biography for each artist, together with information outlining her accomplishments and influence, additional resources for further study, and, best of all, brilliant full-color reproductions of the artist's works. Packed with information, this stunning and absorbing book showcases the remarkable artistic contributions of women throughout history
£14.24
Prestel 50 Designers You Should Know
Book SynopsisDesigners have shaped our modern age, whether it's the chair we're sitting in, the computer we're reading on, or the house we're living in. Design is everywhere, and this volume profiles fifty of the most influential figures over the past one hundred years. From the first bentwood chairs by Thonet to the holistically designed worlds of Bauhaus and Le Corbusier, and from the signature styles of designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Eileen Gray, and Philippe Starck to internationally- known brands like Swatch, Muji, and Apple, the designers presented here are profiled in double-page spreads packed with fascinating background information, photographs, and illustrations. As inspiring as it is informative, this far-reaching book celebrates the impact that design has on our daily life.Trade Review"This highly recommended book... will encourage students to consider the importance of effective design in their day-to-day lives." --School Arts Magazine
£13.49
Prestel Gustav Klimt: Erotic Sketchbook
Book SynopsisThroughout his career, Gustav Klimt completed hundreds of paintings and thousands of drawings of delicate beauty, many of them featuring the female form. Designed to imitate an artist's sketchbook, this gorgeous volume reproduces Klimt's most beautiful erotic sketches and watercolors. The experience of viewing them will awaken the senses and afford the reader the guilty pleasure of leafing through an artist's most private visions.
£15.29
Prestel Giovanni Bellini: The Art of Contemplation
Book SynopsisFollowing the arc of Bellini’s career, from his early devotional paintings to his later, occasionally secular works, this book offers an in-depth appreciation of the Venetian master who dominated the Early Renaissance. Featuring nearly every extant Bellini work, as well as those of his contemporaries, this book brims with gorgeous Renaissance art. Author Johannes Grave focuses on some of the artist’s greatest works including Allegoria Sacra, the Brera Pietà, and the altarpiece of San Giobbe—to explore how Bellini excelled in tempera before mastering oil painting. Grave discusses how Bellini’s precise lines, his delicate facial expressions, and the subtle effects of light and shadow were used in his religious paintings as well as his portraiture and late mythological depictions. This book examines Bellini’s life, including his complex relationships with his father Jacopo, his brother Gentile, and his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna. It considers the original contexts of Bellini’s works, and elucidates the ways in which these paintings were meant to be perceived. The book also links Bellini’s devotional paintings with the poetic creations of his pupil Giorgione. An important contribution to the scholarship of Renaissance art, this masterful book reaffirms Bellini’s status as one of Venice’s greatest painters.Trade Review“An impressively informative, magnificently illustrated, exceptionally well written, organized and presented study that arguably reaffirms the establishment of Bellini's status as one of Venice's greatest painters.” -Midwest Book Review
£71.25
Prestel 50 Contemporary Artists You Should Know
Book SynopsisFrom painters and photographers to sculptors and performance artists, fifty of the most influential contemporary artists are profiled in this colorful and engaging book that traces the various artistic movements and radical changes of the second half of the twentieth century. Presented chronologically, each artist is featured in one or two double page spreads that include brilliant reproductions of their most important works, a succinct text about their work and life, an insightful biography with key dates in their career, and informative background on major developments in the art world. As diverse and inspiring as the artists themselves, this book is a voyage of discovery into art’s cutting edge.
£13.49
Prestel 50 Bauhaus Icons You Should Know
Book SynopsisFounded by Walter Gropius in 1919, the Bauhaus School had an enormous impact on the arts and everyday life. Fifty of the most representative pieces of Bauhaus art and design are presented here in illuminating and engrossing two-page spreads. This book selects the artists, buildings, furniture pieces, theatrical productions, toys, and textiles that epitomize the Bauhaus ideal of uniting form and function. Artists such as Josef Albers, László Moholy-Nagy, Wassily Kandinsky, and Joost Schmidt are featured along with lesser-known but equally important designers and artists. Anyone interested in the history and accomplishments of the Bauhaus will find much to learn and enjoy in this unique compilation that reveals the movement’s range as well as its influence on today’s artistic practices.
£13.49
Prestel 50 Art Movements You Should Know: From
Book SynopsisThe story of modern art begins with a revolution-when the realists started rejecting romanticism in favor of depicting life as it really was. Since that movement began in the mid-19th- century, painters have been rebelling, rethinking, deconstructing, and challenging notions of what art is. Filled with stunning reproductions of some of the world's greatest masterpieces, this reference book offers a chronological journey through artistic revolutions. Each movement is presented in a series of informative presentations-a concise definition and description; full-page and smaller detailed color illustrations; and in-depth profiles of the artists crucial to the style's development. Covering a wide range of movements both familiar and obscure, this accessible and informative volume is a perfect introduction for readers interested in art's constantly evolving story.Trade Review"This overview is a great introduction and will give any art collector or student a better understanding of late 19th-century and 20th-century art." --Maine Antique Digest
£13.49
Prestel Rubens: Masters of Art
Book SynopsisArguably the greatest artist of the Baroque period, Peter Paul Rubens was an accomplished painter and draughtsman, as well as a valued diplomat. This accessible examination of his life and work looks at every aspect of Rubens’s oeuvre; from his commissioned portraits of royalty and the nobility to his magnificent representations of ancient myths, Biblical stories, and historical events. This incisive biography traces his life as a student in Venice, where he encountered the works of Titian and Tintoretto, the establishment of his studio in Antwerp, and the lucrative patronages of Marie de Medici and Phillip IV. Full page reproductions of Rubens’s work communicate his energetic and dynamic style, along with his masterful use of color and sensuous depictions of the human body.
£9.49
Prestel Raising the Roof: Women Architects Who Broke
Book SynopsisHistorically, women architects were disappointingly absent in the news and at awards ceremonies, but now they are spearheading some of the most exciting and important projects in every corner of the globe. These profiles of fifty female architects bring to light some of those projects and highlight pioneering women architects. Each architect is introduced in double-page spreads that include a brief biography, an overview of her philosophy and vision, and stunning photographs of her most significant works. Interviews with several of the architects provide a global perspective on how women are changing the face of the world—including feminist icon, philanthropist, and Nigerian “starchitect” Olajumoke Adenowo; Tatiana Bilbao, who is leading the way in sustainable Mexican architecture; Rossana Hu, who is fighting to preserve Chinese village culture in her rapidly urbanizing country; and Elizabeth Diller, who created the High Line, one of New York City’s most beloved public spaces, and helped redesign the city’s Museum of Modern Art. This volume offers indisputable and inspiring evidence that the architectural profession is no longer just a man’s game.
£28.00
Prestel Degas: Masters of Art
Book SynopsisBest known for his depictions of young dancers on the stage and in the studio, Degas was an accomplished draughtsman and portraitist of superb emotional depth. Much of his work eschewed bright colors and spontaneity for carefully studied interiors and scenes of daily life. This book explores the full range of Degas's work, from his celebrated paintings of dancers and depictions of cafe life to his pencil sketches and wax and bronze sculptures. Stunning reproductions help readers understand many aspects of Degas's oeuvre, such as his gift for capturing movement, the ways he drew inspiration from Japanese prints and Old Masters, and his experiments with color and form. A biographical text traces Degas's life from his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts and his early history paintings to his friendships with Cassatt and Manet, his reliance on painting dancers to keep him financially afloat, and his lonely, final days in Paris. Accessible and engaging, this exploration of Degas's life and art looks beyond his well-known works to reveal a talented and complicated genius.
£9.49
Prestel Matisse: Masters of Art
Book SynopsisFrom his earliest pointillist-influenced paintings to this mature and playful paper cut-outs; from enormous, ebullient murals to reverent stained glass--Henri Matisse was renowned for his dramatic use of color and fluid draftsmanship. Thirty of Matisse's most beloved works are given close attention in this introduction that explores the varying tensions of the artist's oeuvre--his embrace of pure color, patterns, and texture; the languorous pleasures of the Cote d'Azur; primitive displays of human ecstasy; tranquil scenes of domestic life and soaring monuments to religious life. An engaging biography takes readers through every phase of Matisse's career and reveals how his aversion to troubling or depressing subject matter was in direct opposition to the radical spirit of his work.
£9.49
Prestel Movie Theaters
Book SynopsisFollowing on the heels of their incredibly successful The Ruins of Detroit, this major new project by the prolific French photographer duo Marchand/Meffre, poignantly eulogizes and celebrates the tattered remains of hundreds of movie theaters across America.They are in every American city and town—grandiose movie palaces, constructed during the heyday of the entertainment industry, that now stand abandoned, empty, decaying, or repurposed. Since 2005, the acclaimed photographic duo Marchand/Meffre have been traveling across the US to visit these early 20th-century relics. In hundreds of lushly colored images, they have captured the rich architectural diversity of the theaters’ exteriors, from neo renaissance to neo-Gothic, art nouveau to Bauhaus, and neo-Byzantine to Jugendstill. They have also stepped inside to capture the commonalities of a dying culture— crumbling plaster, rows of broken crushed-velvet seats, peeling paint, defunct equipment, and abandoned concession stands—as well as their transformation into bingo halls, warehouses, fitness centers, flea markets, parking lots, and grocery stores. Using a large format camera, the photographers’ carefully composed images range from landscape exteriors to starkly beautiful closeups. Presented here in a gorgeous oversized format, exquisitely printed with superior inks and spot varnish, this illustrated eulogy for the American movie palace is certain to become a modern-day classic.
£48.00
Prestel Women Street Artists: 24 Contemporary Graffiti
Book SynopsisIf street art is, in itself, an act of rebellion, it is tragically ironic that the genre seems dominated by men. This exciting book is an important first step in shedding light on the substantial number of women who are gaining fame in the street art world. It brings together the work of 24 artists, through dazzling photographs of their work and intimate portraits of their lives based on interviews collected by award-winning journalist Alessandra Mattanza. On walls, sidewalks, prison cells, grain silos and other nontraditional canvases, these artists tackle ideas around empowerment, feminism, the pink revolution, body shaming and body imagery, racism, and the climate crisis. From Oklahoma City and Brooklyn, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh makes site specific work that considers how people experience race and gender within their surrounding environments. South African multidisciplinary artist Faith XLVII imbues her narratives with a longing for a deeper connection to nature, and a resurrection of the divine feminine. Italy’s Camilla Falsini incorporates joyful, bold colors and simple shapes to deliver serious messages about the environment. Shamsia Hassani, one of Afghanistan’s first female street artists, makes vibrant murals and paintings in which women play musical instruments as a vehicle for self-expression. Bursting with colorful photographs of works in situ as well as in detail, this thrilling and incisive book proves that street art is not only female—it’s the essence of conceptual rebellion itself.
£23.99
Prestel Building With Wood: The New Timber Architecture
Book SynopsisNatural, renewable, reusable, and aesthetically pleasing, wood is the consummate building material. Thanks to incredible advances in both application and sustainability, it is being used across the world to create new and surprising styles. This exhilarating global survey features exquisite photography that captures a wide range of twenty-first century construction in residential, public, cultural, educational, commercial, and entertainment-related spaces. From the Mount Fuji World Heritage Center in Shizuoka, Japan and the Eystur Town Hall in the Faroe Islands to the College of Forestry at Oregon State University the newly completed Coarvematta National Theater High School in Norway, each building is featured in double-page spreads with lush color photographs that allow readers to appreciate timber’s intrinsic qualities against a variety of backgrounds, scales, and typologies. Plans and building specifications are accompanied by the latest developments in research and design. Eco-friendly and robust, timber’s applications are almost unlimited, extending to the tallest skyscrapers, and to every livable corner of our planet. This volume offers encouraging proof that architects around the world are responding to a climate crisis in ways that not only preserve the earth, but also provide pleasing environments in which to live, work, and play.
£30.00
Prestel Best Face Forward
Book Synopsis
£32.00
Prestel Sakiko Nomura
£45.00
Schirmer/Mosel Verlag GmbH Walter De Maria: Conceptual Art, Minimal Art,
Book Synopsis
£42.75
Taschen GmbH Futurism
Book SynopsisWith motion and machines as its most treasured tropes, Futurism was founded in 1909 by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, along with painters Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, and Gino Severini. With affiliate painters, sculptors, designers, architects, and writers, the group sought to subsume the dusty establishment into a new age of sleek, strong, purified modernity. Futurism’s place in art history is as ambivalent as it is important. The movement pioneered revolutionary methods to convey movement, light, and speed, but sparks controversy in its glorification of war and fascist politics. Their frenzied, almost furious, canvases, are as remarkable for their macho aggression as they are for their radical experimentation with brushstrokes, texture, and color in the quest to record an object moving through space. With key examples from the Futurists’ prolific output and leading practitioners, this book introduces the movement that spat vitriol at all -isms of the past and, in so doing, created an -ism of their own.
£13.50
Taschen GmbH Van Gogh
Book Synopsis
£14.25
Taschen GmbH Gustav Klimt. The Complete Paintings
Book SynopsisOver a century after his death, Viennese artist Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) still startles with his unabashed eroticism, dazzling surfaces, and artistic experimentation. This monograph gathers all of Klimt’s major works alongside authoritative art historical commentary and privileged access to the artist’s archive.With top quality illustration, including new photography of the celebrated Stoclet Frieze, the book follows Klimt through his prominent role in the Secessionist movement of 1897, his candid rendering of the female body, and his lustrous “golden phase” when gold leaf brought a shimmering tone and texture to such beloved works as The Kiss and Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, also known as The Woman in Gold.Through luminous spreads and carefully curated details, the monograph traces the repertoire of Japanese, Byzantine, and allegorical stimuli that informed Klimt’s flattened perspectives, his symbolic vocabulary, and his mosaic-like textures. Drawing upon contemporary critics and voices, the book also examines the art world’s polarized reception to Klimt’s pictures as much as his own stylistic trajectory. From his landscape painting to erotic works to the controversial ceiling for the Great Hall of the University of Vienna, we see how Klimt’s admixture of tradition and daring divided the press and public—becried by some as a pornographer, hailed by others as a modern maestro.Trade Review“…a sensory vitamin pill.” * Allure Magazine *"This book is simply stunning. The works are beautifully reproduced - this monograph is not to be missed." * The Huffington Post *"...one of the most covetable books ever. The reproductions are breathtakingly good, as are the excellent essays and commentaries on paintings." * The Sunday Times Magazine *"...so sumptuous, you won’t want to stop looking at it." * Metro *"...as the arresting imagery in this comprehensive tome attests, Klimt’s liberated vision of modern beauty and femininity lives on." * vogue.com *“Guaranteed to work up a fervour.” * Harpers Bazaar *
£142.50
Taschen GmbH Matisse
Book Synopsis
£14.25
Taschen GmbH Egon Schiele. The Complete Paintings 1909–1918
Book SynopsisAfter Egon Schiele (1890-1918) freed himself from the shadow of his mentor and role model Gustav Klimt, he had just ten years to inscribe his signature style into the annals of modernity before the Spanish flu claimed his life. Being a child prodigy quite aware of his own genius and a passionate provocateur, this didn’t prove to be too big a challenge. His haggard, overstretched figures, drastic depiction of sexuality, and self-portraits in which he staged himself with emaciated facial expressions bordering between brilliance and madness, had none of the decorative quality of Klimt’s hymns of love, sexuality, and yearning devotion. Instead, Schiele’s work spoke of a brutal honesty, one that would upset and irreversibly change Viennese society. Although his works were later defamed as “degenerate” and for a time were almost forgotten altogether, they influenced generations of artists – from Günter Brus and Francis Bacon to Tracey Emin. Today, his then-misunderstood oeuvre continues to fetch exorbitant prices on the international art market. Presented in a voluminous format that captures all of the intensity and emotional truth of his work, Egon Schiele. The Complete Paintings 1909–1918 features 221 paintings and 146 drawings that retrace the fertile last decade of Schiele’s life. With many pieces newly photographed for this edition, these works are paired with excerpts from his countless writings and poems, as well as essays introducing his life and oeuvre, to situate the Austrian master in the context of European Expressionism and trace his extraordinary legacy.Trade Review“The definitive work on Schiele’s cosmos.” * Frankfurter Rundschau *“Schiele’s daringly explicit drawings are so immaculately reproduced that you could cut them out and frame them.” * The Times *“Schiele fans will love it.” * The Spectator *
£142.50
Taschen GmbH 100 Contemporary Houses
Book SynopsisDesigning private residences has its own very special challenges and nuances for the architect. The scale may be more modest than public projects, the technical fittings less complex than an industrial site, but the preferences, requirements and vision of particular personalities becomes priority. The delicate task is to translate all the emotive associations and practical requirements of “home” into a workable, constructed reality. This publication rounds up 100 of the world’s most interesting and pioneering homes designed in the past two decades, featuring a host of talents both new and established, including John Pawson, Richard Meier, Shigeru Ban, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron, Daniel Libeskind, Alvaro Siza, and Peter Zumthor. Accommodating daily routines of eating, sleeping, and shelter, as well as offering the space for personal experience and relationships, this is architecture at its most elementary and its most intimate.Trade Review“Take a ride around the world’s best new houses with TASCHEN… From timber shacks to glazed pavilions, there’s a weird and wonderful inspiration for all.” * Grand Designs *
£18.00
Taschen GmbH Gaudí. l'Oeuvre Complet. 40th Ed.
£22.50
Taschen GmbH King Tut. The Journey through the Underworld
Book SynopsisBuried in the 14th century BC but unearthed by Howard Carter in 1922, the objects entombed with Tutankhamun are an invaluable window into a long-extinct belief system. Seen today, they create an intricate picture of how the ancient Egyptian people viewed the perilous journey to paradise, a utopian Egypt that could only be entered following the final judgment. When acclaimed photographer Sandro Vannini started his work in Egypt in the late ’90s, a technological revolution was about to unfold. Emerging technologies enabled him to document murals, tombs, and artifacts in unprecedented detail. Using the time-consuming and strenuous multi-shot technique, Vannini produced complete photographic reproductions that revealed colors in their original tones with vivid intensity. Through these extraordinary images, we discover the objects’ quintessential features alongside the sophisticated and cleverly hidden details. In collaboration with a series of international exhibitions, starting with King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh at the California Science Center in March 2018, this comprehensive guide marks the centenary of Carter’s first excavations in the Valley of the Kings. These inestimable works endure through Vannini's photographs in their full, timeless splendor. From offerings and rituals to Osiris and eternal life, Vannini’s portfolio covers all facets of ancient Egyptian culture—but it is Tutankhamun’s unique legacy that dominates these images. With texts by the photographer, captions by specialist Mohamed Megahed, and chapter introductions from scholars in the field, King Tut. The Journey through the Underworld puts much-debated mysteries to rest. The learned yet accessible forewords come from distinguished Egyptologists including Salima Ikram and David P. Silverman. Insightful narratives, resplendent images, and a contemporary standpoint make this title a fitting tribute to the Boy King’s odyssey, illuminating an epoch that spanned an unimaginable 4,000 years.Trade Review“A love letter to Egyptian art.” * Le Figaro *“Vannini has used breakthroughs in technology to capture this ancient civilization in remarkable detail.” * CNN *
£37.50
Taschen GmbH Bauhaus. Updated Edition
Book SynopsisIn a fleeting 14-year period between two world wars, Germany’s Bauhaus School of Art and Design changed the face of modernity. With utopian ideas for the future, the school developed a pioneering fusion of fine art, craftsmanship, and technology, which they applied across media and practices from film to theater, sculpture to ceramics. This book is made in collaboration with the Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum für Gestaltung in Berlin, the world’s largest collection on the history of the Bauhaus. Some 550 illustrations including architectural plans, studies, photographs, sketches, and models record not only the realized works but also the leading principles and personalities of this idealistic creative community through its three successive locations in Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin. From informal shots of group gymnastics to drawings guided by Paul Klee, from extensive architectural plans to an infinitely sleek ashtray by Marianne Brandt, the collection brims with the colors, materials, and geometries that made up the Bauhaus vision of a “total” work of art.Updated on the occasion of Bauhaus' centennial, this is a defining account of its energy and rigor, not only as a trailblazing movement in modernism but also as a paradigm of art education, where creative expression and cutting-edge ideas led to simultaneously functional and beautiful creations. Featured artists include Josef Albers, Marianne Brandt, Walter Gropius, Gertrud Grunow, Paul Klee, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Lilly Reich.Trade Review“…a sumptuous compendium.” * theguardian.com *“…a potted history of the School of Art and Design that changed the face of manufacturing.” * i-D *
£42.50
Taschen GmbH Walter Chandoha. Cats. Photographs 1942–2018
Book SynopsisOn a winter’s night in 1949 in New York City, young marketing student and budding photographer Walter Chandoha spotted a stray kitten in the snow, bundled it into his coat, and brought it home. Little did he know he had just met the muse that would determine the course of his life. Chandoha turned his lens on his new feline friend—which he named Loco—and was so inspired by the results that he started photographing kittens from a local shelter. These images marked the start of an extraordinary career that would span seven decades. Long before the Internet and #catsofinstagram, Chandoha was enrapturing the public with his fuzzy subjects. From advertisements to greetings cards, jigsaw puzzles to pet-food packaging, his images combined a genuine affection for the creatures, a strong work ethic, and flawless technique. Chandoha’s trademark glamorous lighting, which made each cat’s fur stand out in sharp relief, would define the visual vocabulary of animal portraiture for generations and inspire such masters as Andy Warhol, who took cues from Chandoha’s charming portraits in his illustrated cat book.Cats leaps into the archives of this genre-defining artist, spanning color studio and environmental portraits, black-and-white street photography, images from vintage cat shows, tender pictures that combine his children with cats and more. This is a fitting tribute not just to these beguiling creatures but also to a remarkable photographer who passed away in 2019 at the age of 98; and whose compassion can be felt in each and every frame.Trade Review“…the purr-fect gift for cat fans.” * The Los Angeles Times *“A joy of a book.” * The Times *“The unknowable, endlessly fascinating character of cats remains, captured better by Chandoha than anyone before or since.” * Vanity Fair *“Far from a kitschy cuteness overload, the new book is a celebration of Chandoha’s long, prolific career, his skill as a photographer, and yes, all things cats.” * Artnet *“His legacy is more than assured—Chandoha literally wrote the book on his field.” * CNN *“Chandoha's esteemed career set a standard for the generations of feline photographers that followed.” * Wired *
£34.00
Taschen GmbH The Office of Good Intentions. Human(s) Work
Book SynopsisImmerse yourself with architects Florian Idenburg and LeeAnn Suen as they journey through a wide-ranging collection of the objects, systems, and buildings that have occupied the American office space since the advent of the internet. Through stories and speculations, Idenburg and Suen expose the relationships between space, work, and people, and explore the intentions that have driven the development of office design for working humans. In twelve essays, this book examines the spatial typologies and global phenomena that have defined the office in the last half century. Topics include the return of the work club, the rise of the corporate festival, the way of the charismatic guru, the shattering of the time clock, and the design of playgrounds for work. We cycle through Frank O. Gehry’s radical, playful spaces for digital nomads in the advertising world, stagger under the weight of stacks of punch cards, feel the fit of our bodies in the Aeron Chair, answer the phone in Hugh Hefner’s bed, and scroll through Lil Miquela's feed. Photographic essays by Iwan Baan provide a visual post-occupancy report on a range of canonical office projects, such as Marcel Breuer’s IBM campus in Florida and the Ford Foundation’s urban garden in Manhattan. Four intervening catalogs offer collections of experimental workplace products, augural advertisements for office building components, digital office components, and renderings of speculative workplaces; each catalog bridges the reality of the office and how we imagine its alternatives. This book is a theoretical backdrop for architects as much as it is for businesspeople and employees. With curiosity and skepticism, it looks at the spaces and solutions that have been designed for human work, tracing the transformation from work to occupation, from punch cards to “playbor,” from today’s lived experience to tomorrow’s unpredictable, imagined futures.Trade Review“A nostalgic look at when architects tried to make the office better.” * ARCHITECT Magazine *“A fascinating analysis of the way design shapes the relationships between space, work and people.” * ELLE Decoration *“The authors of The Office of Good Intentions do not purport to offer a solution to our collective office woes. Instead, Idenburg and Suen have put together an expansive survey of attempts to bring technology, space, and social organization into harmonious alignment, with varying degrees of more-or-less short-lived success.” * The Architect’s Newspaper *“The Office of Good Intentions… examines how the evolution of offices changes us, the people who work in them.” * The Financial Times *“…architects Florian Idenburg and LeeAnn Suen take a trip through the history of American office design. As the ‘good intentions’ of the title suggests, they are interested in utopianism – both architectural and tech – and its inevitable corruption.” * ArtReview *“At a moment when many are reevaluating how offices influence workers’ happiness, productivity and well-being (choose your own order), architects and designers LeeAnn Suen and Florian Idenburg have put together a series of essays and criticism examining five decades of workplace design.” * Bloomberg.com *“…dive into some of the world’s most fascinating offices.” * architecturaldigest.com *“The Office of Good Intentions explores how design and technology have transformed how and where we work through a wide and diverse collection of groundbreaking offices.” * Metropolis *“This book is not an architectural history. It moves with a critical eye through hushed offices and frenzied laboratories, dusty outlaw areas and well-lit influencer stage sets; it rifles through Steve Jobs’s closet and peers into Andy Warhol’s Factory. It is looking for work and finding it everywhere.” * Florian Idenburg & LeeAnn Suen *
£37.50
Taschen GmbH Ando. Complete Works 1975–Today
Book SynopsisDiscover the completely unique aesthetic of Tadao Ando, the only architect ever to have won the discipline’s four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale, and Kyoto Prize. Philippe Starck defines him as a “mystic in a country which is no longer mystic.” Philip Drew calls his buildings “land art” as they “struggle to emerge from the earth.” His designs have been described as haiku crafted from concrete, water, light, and space. But to Ando, true architecture is not expressed in metaphysics or beauty, but rather through space that embodies physical wisdom. This thoroughly updated edition spans the breadth of his entire career, including such stunning new projects as the Shanghai Poly Theater and the Clark Center at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Each project is profiled through photographs and architectural drawings to explore Ando’s unprecedented use of concrete, wood, water, light, space, and natural forms. Based on the massive XXL monograph, this edition brings the architect’s definitive career overview to an accessible format.Trade Review“A thoughtful and provocative study of the Japanese architect whose earthbound concrete buildings are both sensual and serene.” * Metropolitan Home *“The book is sure to satiate all fans of the architect, and create new ones out of those who have not come across his work.” * thedailybeast.com *"If there’s one man responsible for making concrete sexy again it’s this guy." * The Independent *
£57.00
