History of art Books

Book SynopsisAn authoritative and comprehensive survey of the life and work of the visionary and influential painter Philip Guston.Driven and consumed by art, Philip Guston painted and drew compulsively. This book takes the reader from his early social realist murals and easel paintings of the 1930s and 1940s, to the Abstract Expressionist works of the 1950s and early 1960s, and finally to the powerful new language of figurative painting, which he developed in the late 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on more than thirty years of his own research, the critic and curator, Robert Storr, maps Guston's entire career in one definitive volume, providing a substantial, accessible and revealing analysis of his work.With more than 850 images, the book illustrates Guston's key works and includes many unpublished paintings and drawings. An extensive chronology, illustrated with photographs, letters, articles, publications and other ephemera drawn from the artist's archives and other sources, contextualizes Guston's life and provides in-depth coverage of his life at home, his work in the studio, his relationship with fellow artists and his many exhibitions.Guston was able to speak about art with unrivalled passion and fluency. In celebration of this, the book features Guston's own thoughts on his drawings and his great heroes of the Italian Renaissance.

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Book SynopsisBut where do these ideas come from and how have they impacted on the world? In his brilliant history of a dangerous idea, Stuart Jeffries tells a narrative that starts in the early 1970s and continue to today. He tells this history through a riotous gallery that includes, amongst others: David Bowie * the Ipod * Frederic Jameson * the demolition of Pruit-Igoe * Madonna * Post-Fordism * Jeff Koon's 'Rabbit' * Deleuze and Guattari * the Nixon Shock * The Bowery series * Judith Butler * Las Vegas * Margaret Thatcher * Grand Master Flash * I Love Dick * the RAND Corporation * the Sex Pistols * Princess Diana * the Musee D'Orsay * Grand Theft Auto* Perry Anderson * Netflix * 9/11We are today scarcely capable of conceiving politics as a communal activity because we have become habituated to being consumers rather than citizens. Politicians treat us as consumers to whom they must deliver. Can we do anything else than suffer from buyer's remorse?Trade ReviewMarvellously entertaining, exciting and informative. -- John Banville * Guardian Books of the Year [For Grand Hotel Abyss] *This seemingly daunting book turned out to be an exhilarating page-turner.Grand Hotel Abyss is an outstanding critical introduction to some of the most fertile, and still relevant, thinkers of the 20th century. -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post [For Grand Hotel Abyss] *Attempts something rather daring . An easily accessible, funny history of one of the more formidable intellectual movements of the 20th century . an easy, witty, pacy read -- Owen Hatherley * [for Grand Hotel Abyss] *Throughout the book, Jeffries demonstrates that he is comfortable and conversant with the often thorny philosophical ideas of his subjects. A rich, intellectually meaty history. * Kirkus [for Grand Hotel Abyss] *Stuart Jeffries has produced a compelling and politically pressing group portrait of the philosophers associated with the Frankfurt School. Their thinking has never seemed less forbidding and more inspiring -- Matthew Beaumont * [for Grand Hotel Abyss] *An engaging and accessible history of the lives and main ideas of the leading thinkers of the Frankfurt School * New York Review of Books [for Grand Hotel Abyss] *

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Book SynopsisCelebrate the world of Op Art with its optical illusions and clever mind tricks through this concise and accessible guide to ten of its key figures, telling their stories alongside quotes and key works.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis'Whatever the style, shoes have a message to be heard, and nowhere is it clearer than in this collection of some of the best fashion images of their age.' - Alexandra ShulmanThe third book in the popular Vogue portfolio series, now available at the more pocket-friendly price of £30.In Vogue: The Shoe, Harriet Quick has curated more than 300 fabulous images from a century of British Vogue, featuring remarkable styles that range from the humble clog to exquisite hand-embroidered haute couture stilettoes via fetishistic cuissardes and outrageous statement heels. Contains some of the best fashion photography available, including shots from Vogue's peerless archive of fashion images by the likes of Hoyningen-Huene, Irving Penn, Corinne Day, Norman Parkinson, Arthur Elgort and Nick Knight. Reissued with a luxurious real cloth cover, this is essential reading for fashionistas everywhere.Includes a foreword written by Alexandra Shulman, former editor-in-chief of British Vogue.Trade ReviewWhatever the style, shoes have a message to be heard, and nowhere is it clearer than in this collection of some of the best fashion images of their age. * Alexandra Shulman *Take it from Cinderella: fairy tales are all about shoes in the end. Vogue, the source of many a fashion fairy tale, unites 100 years' worth of exquisite footwear in a new book, Vogue: The Shoe, featuring more than 300 images by Irving Penn, Nick Knight, Corinne Day and many others. Because beautiful shoes are every outfit's happy ending. * The Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisExplores the history, development and influence of the Lingnan School of painting, introducing masters of the school including Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, Chen Shuren and so on. Since the beginning of reform and with the rise of China's economy, Chinese culture has become more and more influential in the world. As an important part of Chinese culture, Lingnan culture plays a key role and it manifests itself most notably in art, Cantonese opera, architecture and food.

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Book SynopsisArt and Architecture of Sicily is the first book to cover the rich artistic heritage of Sicily from prehistory up to the late 20th century. Sicily’s strategic position in the centre of the Mediterranean led to settlement or conquest by a succession of different peoples – Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Germans, French, Spanish – each one leaving its traces on Sicilian culture. The book provides a chronological survey, each section opening with a brief historical overview which is followed with an authoritative and engaging account of the development of the period’s art and architecture. The leading architects, artists and stylistic currents are all discussed and outstanding individual buildings and works of art are analysed, some famous, others which may be unfamiliar to readers. While architecture is the principal starting point for the understanding of each period, paintings and sculpture are treated in some detail; archaeology, urban development, patronage and decorative arts are also covered. The development of art and architecture in Sicily not interpreted as a story of artistic conquests, but as one of acculturation and creative transformation. The author instead reveals that successive layering of different cultures, and the way each one interacted with its predecessors produced art and architecture quite distinct from anywhere else in Europe. He thus challenges the commonly held view that Sicilian art and architecture is provincial and derivative, merely imitating the art of others.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Prehistoric Sicily; The Greeks come to Sicily: the Archaic Period; The Greeks in Sicily: the Classical Period; Punic Sicily; The Greeks in Sicily: the late Classical and Hellenistic periods; Sicily, province of Rome; Early Christian, Byzantine and Arabic Sicily; The Normans in Sicily: a new architectural style; The Normans in Sicily: the royal workshops, the pleasure pavilions and the later cathedrals; Sicily under the Hohenstaufen Emperors; Late medieval Sicily: German, French and Aragonese rule; Sicily under the Spanish Viceroys: the 15th century; Sicily under the Spanish Viceroys: the 16th century; The coming of the Baroque to western Sicily; The earthquake of 1693 and the rebuilding of eastern Sicily; Late Baroque architecture in western Sicily; Baroque painting, sculpture and decorative arts; Neo classicism in Sicily; The search for a new style: Sicily 1840-1918; Sicily after 1918

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Book SynopsisPhilosophy, art, literature, music, and politics were all transformed in the turbulent period between the French Revolution of 1789 and the Communist Manifesto of 1848.This was the age of the 'Romantic revolution', when modern attitudes to political and artistic freedom were born. When we think of Romanticism, flamboyant figures such as Byron or Shelley instantly spring to mind, but what about Napoleon or Hegel, Turner or Blake, Wagner or Marx?How was it that Romanticism could give birth to passionate individualism and chauvinistic nationalism at the same time? How did it prefigure the totalitarian movements of the 20th century? Duncan Heath and Judy Boreham answer these questions and provide a unique overview of the many interlocking strands of Romanticism, focusing on the leading figures in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Russia and America.

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Book SynopsisTheir Bohemian lifestyle and intertwined love affairs shockingly broke 19th Century class barriers and bent the rules that governed the roles of the sexes. They became defined by love triangles, played out against the austere moral climate of Victorian England; they outraged their contemporaries with their loves, jealousies and betrayals, and they stunned society when their complex moral choices led to madness and suicide, or when their permissive experiments ended in addiction and death. The characters are huge and vivid and remain as compelling today as they were in their own time. The influential critic, writer and artist John Ruskin was their father figure and his apostles included the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the designer William Morris. They drew extraordinary women into their circle. In a move intended to raise eyebrows for its social audacity, they recruited the most ravishing models they could find from the gutters of Victorian slums. The saga is brought to life through the vivid letters and diaries kept by the group and the accounts written by their contemporaries. These real-lie stories shed new light on the greatest nineteenth-century British art.Trade Review'A hectic tale, packed with sex and dark drama...not so much an extension but an explosion and an echo of today's celebrity culture' * West End Extra, Gerald Isaaman *'Desperate Romantics is a gripping read and far more than a historical biography. It's like reading a modern-day soap opera. Franny Moyle writes as if she'd been transported from 1848 to the present day to report on their fascinating lives' * Now, Clare Nasir *'Riveting . . . Moyle captures vividly the texture and colour of this vital world' * Independent on Sunday *'The jauntiness of her approach is a refreshing antidote to the incestuous, dreamlike claustrophobia of these interlocking lives. Her book is powerful, absorbing and, well, rather jolly' * Sunday Times *'Read about the truth behind John and Effie Ruskin's unconsummated marriage . . . and a host of other seemingly respectable 'Blue Plaque' names who lived their lives at a pace that would leave Damien Hirst and Jake and Dinos Chapman breathless' * The Resident *'Moyle's book captures all the sex, madness and addiction, making modern-day sagas seem downright dull!' * Glamour *'This has been well-covered before but she retells it with exceptional vigour and with fine detail culled from original sources' * Daily Express *The book is packed with colourful illustrations and drawings, while the words are pretty darned colourful too' * Birmingham Post *'Moyle tells the story with great verve, and the forthcoming drama based on her book should be one to look out for' * Choice *'Solidly researched book . . . Desperate Romantics is a cleanly written and evocative work that concentrates not only on the PRB as a group, but as individual geniuses' * Sunday Herald Magazine *'The book is highly readable and admirably free of bias and prurience' * Independent *'Particularly impressive is the way Moyle returns to a key moment...at various points to consider it from different angles...it will remind you of how all those wild young men and marginal girls fitted together in a nexus of mutual need and exploitation...it's got television written all over it, and in a good way, too' * Guardian *'Look out for the major TV series which coincides with this book about the bad boys of the Victorian art world' * Unite Magazine *'This should be fascinating TV viewing ... a scandalous saga' * Bookseller *This makes for a thoroughly absorbing book, well illustrated with pictures...excellent material...if the BBC2 drama, which is scheduled to follow in the summer, is as well researched and presented as the book, it will be unmissable * Morning Star *It all bears retelling and Franny Moyle fleshes it out with some new material and shrewd surmises ... the book is well illustrated and researched, as well as crisply written * Irish Times *'The age of the Romantics is alive and well in this fascinating book that accompanies the BBC series of the same name' * Tatler *For sheer, scabrous fun it is hard to imagine a better offering than Franny Moyle's Desperate Romantics ... an utterly gripping read * Sunday Express *'Very well researched . . . Moyle achieves an unusual level of empathy . . . the story is certainly inflammatory' * Time Out *'For sheer, scabrous fun it is hard to imagine a better offering than Franny Moyle's Desperate Romantics ... an utterly gripping read' * International Express *'Vivacious book ... perfect material for a BBC2 drama tie-in this year ... all the elements for notoriety ...and entertainment!' * Lancashire Evening Post *Sir John Ure is absorbed by an account of the Pre-Raphaelites . . . Franny Moyle [is] a scholarly and highly entertaining chronicler of their unruly exploits * Sir John Ure, Country Life *'This should be fascinating TV viewing ... a scandalous saga' * Bookseller *'Drama, romance and Victorian morality aplenty' * Wharf, Giles Broadbent *

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Book SynopsisEngraved shell-cases, bullet-crucifixes, letter openers and cigarette lighters made of shrapnel and cartridges, miniature aeroplanes and tanks, talismanic jewellery, embroidery, objects carved from stone, bone and wood - all of these things are trench art, the misleading name given to the dazzling array of objects made from the waste of war, in particular the Great War of 1914-1918 and the inter-war years. And they are the subject of Nicholas Saunders's pioneering study which is now republished in a revised edition in paperback. He reveals the lost world of trench art, for every piece relates to the story of the momentous experience of its maker - whether front-line soldier, prisoner of war, or civilian refugee. The objects resonate with the alternating terror and boredom of war, and those created by the prisoners symbolize their struggle for survival in the camps. Many of these items were poignant souvenirs bought by battlefield pilgrims between 1919 and 1939 and kept brightly polished on mantelpieces, often for a lifetime. Nicholas Saunders investigates their origins and how they were made, exploring their personal meaning and cultural significance. He also offers an important categorization of types which will be a useful guide for collectors.

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Book SynopsisThis is the third of three text books, published in association with the Open University, which offer an innovatory exploration of art and visual culture. Through carefully chosen themes and topics rather than through a general survey, the volumes approach the process of looking at works of art in terms of their audiences, functions and cross-cultural contexts. While focused on painting, sculpture and architecture, it also explores a wide range of visual culture in a variety of media and methods. "1850-2010: Modernity to Globalisation" includes essays which engage directly with topical issues around art and gender, globalisation, cultural difference and curating, as well as explorations of key canonical artists and movements and of some less well-documented work of contemporary artists.

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Book SynopsisIn 1967, sex between consenting men in England and Wales was finally decriminalised - an entire century after the death penalty was abolished for sodomy in Britain in 1861. Between these legal landmarks lies a century of seismic shifts in gender and sexuality which found expression across the arts as artists, collectors and consumers explored transgressive identities, experiences and perspectives. Some of the resulting artworks were intensely personal, celebrating lovers or expressing private desires. Others addressed a wider public, helping to forge a sense of community at a time when the modern categories of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender were largely unrecognised. Ranging from the playful to the political, the explicit to the domestic, these works reveal the rich diversity of queer British art. This beautiful book explores coded desires in aestheticism; the impact of the new science of sexology; queer domesticities; eroticism in the artist's studio; intersections of gender and sexuality; seedy dives and visions of Arcadia; and love and lust in sixties Soho. Featuring works by major artists such as Simeon Solomon, Clare Atwood, Ethel Sands, Duncan Grant, Francis Bacon and David Hockney among others, Queer British Art pays homage to the wealth of queer creativity in Britain between the 1860s and the 1960s.

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Book SynopsisRachel Whiteread has single-handedly expanded the parameters of contemporary sculpture with her casts of the outer and inner spaces of familiar objects, sometimes in quiet monochrome, sometimes in vivid jewel-like colour. She won the Turner Prize in 1993, the same year as her first large-scale public project, House, a concrete cast of a nineteenth-century terraced house in London's east end. This book, by writer and editor Charlotte Mullins - the first significant survey to examine Whiteread's career to date - has been substantial updated with a new chapter containing 10 major works, including Tate's Turbine Hall installation Embankment and Cabin, Whiteread's first permanent public sculpture in America. Born in London in 1963, Rachel Whiteread is one of Britain's most exciting contemporary artists. Her work is characterised by its use of industrial materials such as plaster, concrete, resin, rubber and metal. With these she casts the surfaces and volume in and around everyday objects and architectural space, creating evocative sculptures that range from the intimate to the monumental.

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Book SynopsisThe V&A has the UK's largest permanent display of Japanese art, housing objects from the 6th century to the present day. Collecting Japanese objects from its founding in 1852, the Museum has played a significant role in bringing the art of Japan to the attention of designers, manufacturers and the British public. This tradition continues to the present day, and in this new book some of the world's leading researchers in the field bring their attention to the V&A's unparalleled collection. Ten chapters focus on subjects including religion and ritual; samurai military and aristocratic culture; the highly aestheticized tea ceremony, which has been a notable feature of Japanese culture from the Medieval period to the present day; Edo-period urban fashions including lacquer and fashionable dress; Ukiyo-e and the graphic arts (prints, illustrated books, paintings, screens and contemporary photography); exchanges with the West and participation in world exhibitions, right up to modern and contemporary crafts and product design, including high-tech design.Table of ContentsReligion and Ritual -- The Samurai -- Tea Drinking -- Fashionable Living -- Ukiyo-e and the Graphic Arts -- The Encounter with Europe 1543-1853 -- Imperial Japan: Meiji to Taisho -- Folk Crafts -- Modern and Contemporary Crafts -- Modern and Contemporary Design

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Book SynopsisThis easy-reference guide is packed with information and detailed illustrations, explaining everything you need to know about houses and properties from the Edwardian Age. Using his own drawings, diagrams and photographs, author Trevor Yorke takes the reader through all aspects of the Edwardian house. The book is intended to be an easy-to-understand guide for anyone making their first step into this subject. It will also provide readers with a background knowledge of all aspects of Edwardian housing, whether they are renovating, tracing the history of their own house or simply wanting to know more about this notable period in history. The book is divided into three sections: the first outlines the story of the Edwardian Age and how housing developed; the second section steps inside the house and looks at their various rooms and fittings; the final part includes a list of places to visit and a glossary of terms.Table of ContentsCONTENTS Section I - The Edwardian Age & its Housing Chapter 1: Edwardian Times; Contrast & Tradition Chapter 2: Edwardian Housing Schemes; Expansion of the Suburbs Chapter 3: Edwardian Houses; Materials & Structure Chapter 4: Edwardian Style; Arts & Crafts to Art Nouveau Section II - Inside the Edwardian House Chapter 5: Interior Fittings & Decoration Chapter 6: Living Rooms Chapter 7: Service Rooms Chapter 8: Bedrooms & Bathrooms Chapter 9: Gardens Section III Epilogue; End Of An Era Dating Houses Places To Visit Glossary

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Book SynopsisThe value of inventories in charting how houses were arranged, furnished and used is now widely appreciated. Typically, the listings and valuations were occasioned by the death of an owner and the consequent need to deal with testamentary dispositions. That was not always so. The inventory for Castlecomer House, Co. Kilkenny, for example, was drawn up to make a claim following the house's devastation in the 1798 uprising. Mostly hitherto unpublished, the inventories chosen give new-found insights into the lifestyle and taste of some of the foremost families of the day. Above stairs, the inventories show the evolving collecting habits and tastes of eighteenth-century patrons across Ireland and how the interiors of great town and country houses were arranged or responded to new materials and new ideas. The meticulous recording of the contents of the kitchen and scullery likewise sheds light on life below stairs. Itemized equipment required for the brewhouse, dairy, stables, garden and farmyard reflects the at times significant scale of the communities the houses supported and the remarkable degree of self-sufficiency at some of the demesnes. A comprehensive index facilitates access to the myriad items forming the inventories, while the books listed at three of the houses are tentatively identified in separate appendices. A foreword together with short preambles to the inventories set the households in their historical context. Illustrated with contemporary engravings of the houses and with portraits of the owners of the time, the inventories will appeal to country-house visitors, historians of interiors, patronage, collecting and material culture as well as to scholars, curators, collectors, creative designers, film directors, bibliographers, lexicographers and novelists. The eighteenth century is the period onto which the Knight of Glin directed his penetrating gaze as art historian. The book is dedicated to his memory.Trade Review'A box of geeky delights, certainly, but also a fabulous (one might even say indispensable) source for the scholarly study of the Irish country house . . .'-- Adrian Tinniswood, The Critic; "[T]his collection is a cornucopia of information, and while its primary audience will be scholars and curators, there is plenty to be gleaned from the listings for anyone interested in historic interiors'.-- C. Ridgway, Journal of the History of Collections; 'This is a beautiful production - elegantly laid out, printed and bound into a neat volume, with a fine dust jacket . . . It covers a fascinating subject, which brings us back in time and throws much light on how people lived.'-- Peter Pearson, Irish Arts Review; '[A]cross the span of some 120 years and 18 inventories it is possible to see how the decoration and design of affluent Irish households changed.'-- Robert O'Byrne, Apollo; '[The book] will be an invaluable and rich source of information for scholars and I know I will be using it on a regular basis.'-- James Rothwell, National Curator, Decorative Arts, National Trust; 'Historic household inventories recording the contents of rooms are an essential documentary tool for understanding the use and appearance of houses in the distant past. For anyone with a serious interest in Irish Georgian houses, this collection is an essential work of reference.'-- Kate Green, Country Life; 'All in all this is a model production which will be of permanent use to students of Irish houses, and indeed of those throughout Great Britain’.--Simon Swynfen Jervis, Furniture History Society NewsletterTable of ContentsAcknowledgements by Tessa Murdoch; Preface by Leslie Fitzpatrick; Foreword by Toby Barnard; The inventories: 1. Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford, 1702/3; 2. The Ormonde inventories: Kilkenny Castle, Co. Kilkenny,1705; 3. The Ormonde inventories: Dublin Castle, 1707; 4. The Ormonde inventories: Ormonde House, London, c. 1710; 5. Bishop's mansion house, Elphin, Co. Roscommon, 1740; 6. Captain Balfour's town house, auction sale, Dublin, 1741/2; 7. Hillsborough Castle, Co. Down, 1746 and 1777; 8. Kilrush House, Freshford, Co. Kilkenny, 1750; 9. No. 10 Henrietta Street, Dublin (Luke Gardiner's house), 1772; 10. Morristown Lattin, Co. Kildare, 1773; 11. Baronscourt, Co. Tyrone, 1782; 12. Castlecomer House, Co. Kilkenny, 1798; 13. Killadoon, Co. Kildare, 1807-29; 14. Shelton Abbey, near Arklow, Co. Wicklow, 1816; 15, Borris House, Co. Carlow, 1818; 16. Carton House, Co. Kildare, 1818; 17. Newbridge House, Co. Dublin, 1821; 18. Mount Stewart, Co. Down, 1821; Glossary; Appendix I: Buyers at Captain Balfour's town house sale 1741/2; Appendix II: Books in the second Duchess of Ormonde's closet at Kilkenny Castle, 1705; Appendix III: Index by author of books in the study at the bishop's mansion house, Elphin, County Roscommon, 1740; Appendix IV: Index by author of books listed at Newbridge House, County Dublin, 1821; List of inventory sources; List of plates; Bibliography; Index of personal names; General index

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Book SynopsisAlastair Gordon (b.1978, Edinburgh), is an artist based in London. This, the first major monograph of the artist’s career, includes over 160 paintings, drawings and documentational photographs, along with notes by Gordon himself. The book introduces this accomplished and engaging new voice in British painting.Gordon’s paintings bring the historic languages of genre painting and the quodlibet into a contemporary discourse that pushes the boundaries of realism, figuration and illusionism to focus on everyday moments. His work often elevates seemingly ordinary objects – feathers, matchsticks, postcards – allowing them to speak to wider concerns of beauty, truth, life and death.The documented works, produced between 2012 and 2023, include paintings made in oil or acrylic on MDF, wood, ‘found’ wood, gesso panel, paper, canvas and occasionally linen. Each is distinctive for its style and for the recurring motifs Gordon selects such as masking tape, paper ephemera and repeated, subtly different studies of the same subject. Gordon’s texts describe how objects found mud larking on the banks of the River Thames, shoes from the London City Mission and rags and papers discarded from art students’ studios have been depicted in paintings, incorporating the histories and stories of each item (and each person) into his work. The book also features recent works influenced by rural landscapes and parkland.An introduction by Julia Lucero, Associate Director of Nahmad Projects, London, emphasises the importance of nature and of meditation within Gordon’s practice. Specifically, Lucero brings out the idea of the ‘axis mundi, that metaphysical and mystical connecting point where heaven meets Earth’. She explores the significance of quodlibet, a seventeenth-century trompe-l’oeil painting technique that Gordon favours, rendering brushstrokes invisible and affording everyday objects new significance, even ‘profound value’. Humble objects such as a matchstick or paper aeroplane might be elevated to the realms of the divine.An essay by Jorella Andrews, Professor of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London, describes the influence of Gordon’s time on a research residency in the former studio of Paul Cézanne at Les Lauves on the outskirts of Aix-en-Provence. His experiences there proved pivotal to the direction of his practice, in which both the ‘visual misdirection’ of quodlibet and the qualities of wood have become central. Andrews brings art historical texts and works of art into relation with Gordon’s paintings, making comparisons between subject, form and approach. Andrews’ text further details the recent synthesis of two sides of Gordon’s work: precise illusionism combined with looser observations made in the natural landscape.Edited by Alastair Gordon Studio, designed by Herman Lelie, printed by EBS Verona and published in 2023 by Anomie Publishing, London, the publication has been generously supported by Howard and Roberta Ahmanson through Fieldstead and Company.Alastair Gordon (b. 1978, Edinburgh) is an artist working with painting, drawing and installation, based in London. Gordon received his BA from Glasgow School of Art and his MA from Wimbledon School of Art, London. His work has been shown in recent solo exhibitions at Ahmanson Gallery in Irvine, California (2017), Aleph Contemporary, London (Quodlibet (2021) and Without Borders (2020)) and in the group exhibition Unpacking Gainsborough (2021) at Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London.

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Book SynopsisAccompanying an exhibition at BASTIAN, London, this striking publication presents works by the German-born American artist Hans Hofmann (1880–1966), produced at the end of the Second World War and immediately afterwards. Hofmann’s angular abstractions (such as Fury No. 1) personify the insecurities of the period, but this was also the moment that he moved towards the soft ambiguous forms and gesture that would become the hallmark of the Abstract Expressionist movement. Renowned as both an artist and teacher, Hofmann established his first art school in Munich in 1915. Built on the contemporary ideas regarding colour and form of Cézanne, the Cubists and Kandinsky, his work laid the foundations for his reputation as a forward-thinking artist. After relocating to the United States in 1932, he then opened schools in both New York and Provincetown, immersing himself within America’s growing avantgarde art scene. His teaching had a significant influence on post-War American artists, including Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner and Joan Mitchell – artists who would later lead the Abstract Expressionism movement. The works presented here span from 1942 to 1946. Whilst demonstrating Hofmann’s development towards abstraction, the paintings still reveal an identifiably representational quality which nod to his figurative beginnings; linear paintings such as The Virgin (1946) particularly emphasise this artistic trajectory. Primarily known for his expressive use of bold, often primary colours, the palette used in these paintings consists predominantly of vivid, bright colours and contrasting dark tones, epitomizing the conflicted post-War feeling. Hofmann’s work during the 1940s also saw him garner the support of several key figures in the artistic scene, including the renowned gallerists and dealers Peggy Guggenheim, Betty Parsons, and Samuel M. Kootz. A particularly important moment in his career – aged 64 at the time – was his first solo exhibition in New York in 1944 at Peggy Guggenheim’s gallery Art of This Century, considered ‘a breakthrough in painterly versus geometric abstraction that heralded abstract expressionism’ by the influential art critic Clement Greenberg.Trade Review[this] exhibition catalogue reveals an unknown aspect of the art of Hans Hofmann... Long recognized as an avatar of the American Abstract Expressionist movement, the pictures in this show detail his powerful influence on a broad range of 20th-century artists… * The Arts Fuse 06/05/2021 *

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Book SynopsisLondon is full of landmarks that you'll be very familiar with. From the historic St Paul's Cathedral and Tower Bridge to the modern-day architecture of The Shard. It is a city that is forever changing and full of surprises around every corner. But there are a few corners you will never see without looking through the eyes of this book. It will show you a reimagined version of these famous landmarks that will make you question what you see and have you asking, what is real? In this book, London towers transform into giant robots, stars are born from flowers, gateways to other worlds open up through the London Eye and show you a different reality. Every image in this book will show you a surreal version of London, taking you on a visual journey through the city you thought you knew.Trade Review"Robert John’s images take you to a place that is somewhere between a sci-fi novel and reality. Beams of light and dark shadows transport you through thestructures and skyline of London where urban grit interfaces with nature.” — Tom Chambers, photographer

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Book SynopsisArtifice is an exploration of the art of making. Its poems celebrate the artistry of craftsmanship: how works relate to beauty, and how they might inspire or ensnare. They consider issues of artificiality and authenticity, ‘the man-made’ and ‘the natural’. They warn of artfulness, in the sense of cunning or deception. And they wonder at the mystery of art and language, that which resolutely remains unknown or ineffable. For Artifice is as much riddle as revelation, stirring delight and discomfort as it delves into the nature of aesthetics and the creative process. How are works made and how do they make us, in turn? What worlds can be built from words? This book dwells in possibility, presenting an ambiguous space for contemplation, connection and, ideally, hope – for ‘to marvel is the beginning of knowledge’ (E. H. Gombrich).

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Book Synopsis“Criticism is our censorship . . .” So begins one of the greatest invectives against criticism ever written by an artist. Paul Gauguin wrote “Racontars de rapin” only months before he died in 1903, but the essay remained unpublished until 1951. Through discussions of numerous artists, both his contemporaries and predecessors, Gauguin unpacks what he viewed as the mistakes and misjudgments behind much of art criticism, revealing not only how wrong critics’ interpretations have been, but also what it would mean to approach art properly—to really look.Long out of print, this new translation by Donatien Grau includes an introduction that situates the essay within Gauguin’s written oeuvre, as well as explanatory notes. This text sheds light on Gauguin’s conception of art—widely considered a predecessor to Duchamp—and engages with many issues still relevant today: history, novelty, criticism, and the market. His voice feels as fresh, lively, sharp in English now as it did in French over one hundred years ago. Through Gauguin’s final piece of writing, we see the artist in the full throes of passion—for his work, for his art, for the art of others, and against anyone who would stand in his way. As the inaugural publication in David Zwirner Books’s new ekphrasis reader series, Ramblings of a Wannabe Painter sets a perfect tone for the books to come. Poised between writing, art, and criticism, Gauguin brings together many different worlds, all of which should have a seat at the table during any meaningful discussion of art. With the express hope of encouraging open exchange between the world of writing and that of the visual arts, David Zwirner Books is proud to present this new edition of a lost masterpiece. 

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Book SynopsisThe first nonfiction collection by internationally acclaimed writer and translator Amit Majmudar, Black Avatar combines elements of memoir, biography, history, and literary criticism. The eight pieces in this deeply engaging volume reflect author Amit Majmudar’s comprehensive studies of American, European, and Indian traditions, as well as his experiences in both suburban Ohio and the western Indian state of Gujarat. The volume begins with the title piece, a fifteen-part examination of “How Colorism Came to India.” Tracing the evolution of India’s bias in favor of light skin, Majmudar reflects on the effects of colonialism, drawing upon sources ranging from early Sanskrit texts to contemporary film and television. Other essays illuminate subjects both timely and timeless. “The Ramayana and the Birth of Poetry” discusses how suffering is portrayed in art and literature (“The spectrum of suffering: slapstick on one end, scripture on the other, with fiction and poetry . . . in the vastness between them”), while in “Five Famous Asian War Photographs”—a 2018 Best American Essays selection—Majmudar analyzes why these iconic images of atrocity have such emotional resonance. In “Nature/Worship,” another multi-part piece, the author turns his attention to climate change, linking notions of environmentalism to his ancestral tradition of finding divinity within the natural world, connections that form the basis of religious belief. Perhaps the greatest achievement of these wide-ranging essays is the prose itself—learned yet lively, erudite yet accessible—nimbly revealing the workings of a wonderfully original mind.Table of ContentsBlack Avatar: How Colorism Came to IndiaThe Ramayana and the Birth of PoetryMeditations on the LingamFive Famous Asian War PhotographsThe Talking Monkey ProblemIdolatry RocksThe Gita According to Marcus AureliusNature/Worship: Dharmic Environmentalism in an Age of Climate Change

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Book SynopsisThe multimedia artist's first-ever thorough monograph, teeming with cosmograms, numerals and other relics This volume is the first comprehensive monograph on the work of Ouattara Watts (born 1957). Over the course of nearly four decades, the Abidjanborn, New Yorkbased artist has developed a painting practice that places cosmograms, numerals, cloth and other symbols and relics from around the world into relation with each other, leveling hierarchies and creating new relations in the process. Alongside traditional mediums such as acrylic and gouache, the artist embeds materials from a kaleidoscopic range of sources in his monumental, densely layered canvases: papier-mâché, fallen leaves, textiles gleaned from flea markets and photographic reproductions, among others. This volume features essays by writer Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, curator Lawrence Rinder and artist Dieter Buchhart, as well as a conversation between the artist and curator-critic KJ Abuduthe first longform interview with the artist since his 1995 dialogue with Okwui Enwezor.

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Book SynopsisA study and a guidance device, the first book on the Royal Book Lodge (RBL) is the culmination of a three-year exploration by renowned art historian John C. Welchman. It examines the contribution of the RBL to an array of art, film and performance practices including photography, ceramics, writing, and publishing—centered on the creation of artist books and the powerful and wide-ranging dialogue and material experimentations they engender. The volume unfolds from various cultural and political geographies, including in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil which served as an HQ, beginning in 1989; and narratives of migrations and travels, art-inflected or otherwise, in Iceland, Paraguay, Eastern Europe, Los Angeles and on the Ligurian coast of Italy. It unpacks questions caught up in constructs of autobiography, fiction, ideas and images of remote control, and the relation of RBL to the aftermath of the Situationist International, concluding with the RBL’s socially urgent inquiry into experiences—and culturally pharmacological contestations—of violence. Royal Book Lodge The Royal Book Lodge emerged from a collaboration between artists Juli Susin and Veronique Bourgoin in mid-1980's expanding its Collection and Archive and other activities after the turn of the millennium with the assistance of Yasha Gofman. For more than three decades RBL’s projects have been sparked by a porous but a distractedly nimble network of artists from France, Germany, Russia, Iceland, Paraguay, and other locations, working with painting, sculpture, photography, film, installations, ceramics, writing, publishing, and curating. RBL affiliates include: Raisa Aid, Kai Althoff, Abel Auer, Linda Bilda, André Butzer, matali crasset, Les Schlag (Grems, Tex, Virassamy), Gudny Guðmundsdóttir, Beate Günther, Tobias Hauser, Andy Hope 1930, Hekla Dögg Jónsdóttir, Dorota Jurczak, Bruce Kalberg, Armin Krämer, Alexandre Kalinkine, Lutz Krüger, Charlet Kugel, Jean-Louis Leibovitch, Anne Lefebvre, Jochen Lempert, Jonathan Meese, Birgit Mergele, Anna Parkina, Raymond Pettibon, Jason Rhoades, Lucia Sotnikova, Julia Rublow, Ralph Rumney, Gianfranco Sanguinetti.

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Book SynopsisThe first book to connect the history of Funk Art to contemporary ceramic practice. Funk You Too! arrives at a moment when clay has unprecedented currency in the art world as a sculptural medium. It is the first book to connect the history of Funk Art to contemporary ceramic practice through an exploration of the enduring role of humor in clay image-making. The founding generation of Funk artists used forms of subversion to deflate the power of the aesthetic hierarchy that dismissed ceramics as hobby art. Today, in the hands of a younger, more diverse cohort, the irreverent approach is a powerful tool of critique and personal expression and the “spoonful of sugar” to help discuss sociopolitical concerns of our time. Showcasing over 50 works from a 2023 exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, this catalog addresses the historical context for the emergence of ceramic sculpture in 1960s Funk Art and applies a critical lens to work by its contemporary successors. The exhibition’s curator, Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, conceptually frames the exhibition’s emphasis on humor as a tool for tackling personal and political themes. Garth Johnson contributes an essay on the impulse for humor in American ceramics that lead to Funk ceramics. The catalog also features biographies of the artists, color images, and a select bibliography.

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Book SynopsisMunch’s pictorial worlds – the initial impetus for modernism Edvard Munch’s radical modernity in painting was a challenge for his contemporaries. This applied in particular to the art scene in Berlin around 1900 which the Norwegian Symbolist artist influenced profoundly. In return, he received support there and was able to continue to develop his work. The publication is lavishly illustrated and describes knowledgeably the story of Munch and Berlin. In 1892 the Association of Berlin Artists invited the still-unknown Edvard Munch (1863–1944) to an exhibition. The public was shocked by the colourful, sketch-like pictures. The artist enjoyed the furore and moved to the city on the Spree, where he repeatedly sojourned until 1908. Here he learned the techniques for printed graphics and presented for the first time paintings in several continuous series which would become central to his oeuvre. In Berlin, before long, the concept of the “Magic of the North” (Stefan Zweig) was no longer associated with romantic or naturalistic fjord landscapes, but with Munch’s psychologically concentrated pictorial worlds.

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Book SynopsisMonet's dazzling depictions of flowers, sunsets, fields, and oceans, in which line and shape are suggested through pure colour, changed the way we perceive our natural surroundings. His numerous series, in which he depicts the same object at varying times of the day and in different seasons, pushed the limits of representational art. His final series of water lilies are considered to have ushered in the abstract movement of the twentieth century. Overflowing with images, this book offers full-page spreads of masterpieces as well as highlights of smaller details, allowing every aspect of the artist's technique and oeuvre to be appreciated. Chronologically arranged, the book covers important biographical and historic events that reflect the latest scholarship. Additional information includes a list of works, timeline and suggestions for further reading.Trade Review"Well documented and beautifully written. . . an excellent text for secondary-school students." --Arts & Activities

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Book SynopsisRembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) never left his homeland of the Netherlands but in his massive body of painting, drawing, and etching, he changed the course of Western art. His prolific oeuvre encompasses religious, historical, and secular scenes, as well as one of the most extraordinary series of portraits and self-portraits in history. Rembrandt’s work foregrounds texture, light, and acute observation. Like sudden, startling apparitions in a shadowy street, his subjects are illuminated against deep, dark backgrounds and rendered with immense physical as well as psychological scrutiny. Whether biblical or mythological figures, powerful patrons, or fellow citizens, each subject is bestowed not only with meticulous facial features but also with the intrigue of thoughts and feelings so that even age-old narratives such as the bible story of David and Bathsheba find a new level of human drama. Rembrandt also left one of the most extensive series of self-portraits of any artist, chronicling his own face from his youth to the year of his death. Rembrandt’s rise coincided with the blossoming of the Dutch Golden Age, an era of prosperity in the Netherlands. He was encouraged by wealthy patrons, but was above all driven by a profound fascination with people. In this book, we tour some of Rembrandt’s key paintings, etchings, and drawings to introduce his techniques, inspirations, and exceptional achievements. From the Baroque Belshazzar’s Feast to the world-famous Night Watch we uncover a world of deep, rich tones, masterful draftsmanship, and a remarkable sensitivity for the human condition.

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Book SynopsisImmerse yourself in the rich shades and textures of Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488–1576), commonly known as Titian, and the figurehead of 16th-century Venetian painting. With his bold approach to form and startling, opulent colors, Titian worked with a number of prestigious commissions and left behind an astonishing repertoire of portraits, mythological scenes, altarpieces, and landscapes that remains one of the most important legacies of Renaissance art. This dependable artist introduction traces Titian’s complete career and its trailblazing influence on successive generations of artists, from Diego Velázquez to van Dyck. From the rippling sensuality of Venus of Urbino (c. 1488–1576) to the airborne dynamism of Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–1523), all the major works are here, charting the artist’s stylistic experimentation over time as well as his consistent and unique ability to work across genres and to bring a defining new level of emotional and spiritual aspect to his subjects. “Titian has the finest talent and a very pleasant, vivacious manner.” — Michelangelo.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThe triennial companion to Picasso's work from the collections of his immediate familyThis book presents an innovative new reading of Picasso's long artistic career. Instead of dividing his art into discrete stylistic periods, authoritative texts and lavish illustrations demonstrate the unity of his work by showing Picasso's art as a dynamic whole united by his exploration of both his past art and invention of new artistic conceptions. As Picasso said, my art must not be considered as an evolution, but rather a constantly shifting exchange of retrospection and innovation.Selected from the collection of the Museo Picasso Málaga and the Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte (FABA), more than 150 paintings, sculptures, drawings and engravings explore the creative pathways of his art. Extensive photographs of the installation demonstrate the unity of his art through unexpected juxtapositions of works from different decades. More than 30 essays explore the meaning of major individual works. Five focus chapters address specialized facets of his practice, including his responses to African sculpture, World War II and the commission to create a huge mural for UNESCO headquarters in Paris.Pablo Picasso (18811973) was one of the most renowned and protean artists of the 20th century, creating everything from paintings to ceramics and set designs. He is known for his mercurial shifts in style, characterized by titled periods, as well as his propagation of new techniques including collage. There are several museums and collections worldwide dedicated entirely to his work.

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Book SynopsisThe minimalism movement has become a mainstay in popular culture over the recent years, due in no small part to the mounting pressures of modern life and the need to cut clutter as a consequence. In graphic design, its principles are often applied by way of reducing the colour palette used, whether it be for visual identities, publications, or exhibitions. Amid the sea of chaos in saturated spaces, simplicity can make for a truly striking statement.In conjunction with Victionary’s 20th anniversary, the 2021 rerelease of ‘Less is More’ features additional projects and a special cover that draws from the original look of its best-selling predecessor. It features creative solutions and visual experiments from around the world that play with thoughtful colour combinations, material applications, printing effects, and graphic details to prove that the best designs often speak more with less.

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Book SynopsisMind-bending compositions of human beings and commercial products scrutinizing work, religion and consumerismKnown for his complex patternizations or superstructures, German artist Thomas Bayrle (born 1937) creates grid-like images of people, products and machines as part of his fascination with the relationship between the individual and society. This catalog is published on the occasion of the artist''s solo exhibition at Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin (11/03/2304/02/24).

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