Asian ceramics in their many forms and functions-utilitarian, aesthetic, and religious-are the subject of this volume. Through analysis of their composition, technology, typology, and use, researchers from all over the world who met for a conference at the Freer Gallery of Art define ceramic technologies, examine their similarities and differences, and explore broader questions regarding their historical and cultural context, such as trade and technology transfer between East and West Asia. Topics include Myanmar ceramics, Seljuq tiles, Korean and Chinese high-fired ceramics, Chinese and Japanese lead-glazed wares, Chinese funerary sculptures, Khmer kilns, and the study of ceramics through inscriptions. Contents:
Introduction; Foreword; Technology and Provenance; Stoneware and Porcelain; Han Tang and Contemporaneous Ceramics; Production and Distribution; Khmer Ceramics.

This book is the first to be dedicated to a comprehensive study with English translation (plus extensive commentary) of the early 15th century Strasbourg Manuscript – believed to have been the oldest German-language source for the study of Northern European painting techniques and considered to be the northern counterpart to Cennini’s Il Libro dell arte. It is also one of the oldest technical manuals to include a recipe collection describing the preparation of drying oil media and their application in panel painting. Lost in a fire at the Strasbourg Library in 1870, this recipe collection was preserved in the only known copy commissioned by Sir Charles Eastlake, the first director of the National Gallery which was partially published in 1847. The author’s extensive research is based on this copy, two later books based on it and also on comparison with other manuscripts of the Strasbourg tradition, which allowed her to reconstruct the text of the lost manuscript.

This volume published in association with the Hornemann Institute, Hildesheim contains the papers presented at an international symposium held by the Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen (HAWK)Fakultät Erhaltung von Kulturgut. (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, Faculty Preservation of Cultural Heritage).

Follow these Canadian artists as they travel abroad and return home again, over a series of journeys taking place during the last decades of the nineteenth century to the turn of the twentieth. 130 masterworks by some 35 artists situate Canadian art within the global phenomenon of Impressionism and present a fresh perspective on its reception in the arts of Canada. Adopting a thematic approach, comprehensive essays demonstrate the commitment of these pioneering artists to an innovative interpretation of foreign and familiar surroundings, imbued with an Impressionist vocabulary.

Gisbert Stach’s (b. 1963) monograph Jewellery and Experiment presents a multifaceted opus from twenty-five years of gold- and silversmithing. In his oeuvre the primarily conceptual artist combines jewelry with video, photography and performance. One focus of his work deals with processes of transformation and experiment – pieces disappear through chemical dissolution, and form is determined by agencies of growth in nature. Stach works with means of alienation and irritation. Ground amber serves as pigment, which he works into jewelry pieces in the form of fish fingers, sliced bread or schnitzel. A further characteristic of his work is the performative act, for example when brooches are pelted with knives.

Gisbert Stach is represented in numerous museums and collections, including Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Munich (DE); Fondazione Cominelli, Brescia (IT); Museo de Arte Moderno, Tarragona (ES); Museum of Arts & Crafts, Itami (JP); Gallery of Art, Legnica (PL); Museum of Bohemian Paradise, Turnov (CZ); Amber Museum, Gdansk (PL).

Published to accompany exhibitions at Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart (DE), 9-11 November 2018, and Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein (BKV), Munich (DE) 28 February-24 March 2019.

Text in English and German.

Petra Zimmermann occupies a unique position among emerging contemporary jewelry artists: she shares their exciting approach to the subject of jewelry and the quotable adoption of the pop culture label for defining the auteur jewelry concept in which she succeeds, this time through historical reference. The artist draws on past encounters with costume jewelry from the previous century for her rings, bracelets and brooches. Comprised of bright, colorful synthetic forms, these objects receive a framework in which their artificial appearance contrasts to the dusty splendour of the historic costume jewelry. Beguiling pieces of jewelry emerge, which combine the present fascination for glamour with an element of progression, thus referencing the costume jewelry as an essential component in the production and construction of glamour in the portrait photography of the Hollywood diva. In her latest series of works, the artist uses mass media images of models, floral motifs, architecture and design objects which broaden her scope of cultural and social interpretations. Thus behind the visual opulence of her work, she succeeds in handling relevant aesthetic and social themes in her pieces; relevant for a generation that no longer struggles against traditional conventions, but that negotiates much more in an increasingly complex environment in the search for personal and historical coherence.

Petra Zimmermann is one of the most ambitious artists in contemporary jewelry. This book provides the first overview of her fascinating and exciting creative jewelry works with sumptuous images and scholarly articles.

The Alice and Louis Koch Collection of finger rings was originally collated by a jeweler from Frankfurt am Main, once described as the German ‘Cartier and Fabergé’. By 1909 the collection comprised 1,722 rings from Antiquity to 1900. Rene Lalique, a contemporary of the time, was included, undoubtedly as a modernizer of the ring form. In the past twenty-five years the fourth generation of the family continued where Louis Koch and his wife Alice left off and expanded the collection to include rings from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

This publication will present the complete collection of contemporary rings, now kept in the Swiss National Museum, Zurich. Nearly 600 rings by artist jewelers from around the world document how these miniature works of art have become modern sculptures showcasing new materials and techniques, daring designs and current themes.

Text in English and German.

The largest surviving portion of the first major collection of Classical antiquities in Britain – the sculptures and inscriptions collected in the early 17th century by Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel for his London house and garden – is in the Antiquities Department of the Ashmolean Museum. This handbook tracks their eventful history.

Manju netsuke have never been the subject of a book on netsuke. Many books ignore them completely and it is hoped that this catalogue will throw light on the differences between the manju and other better-known types of netsuke. Dr. Barnett was one of a handful of collectors of one particular type of netsuke, the manju. These were not widely appreciated until about ten years ago when interest began to increase and the exquisite workmanship and design of this group of carvers was noticed as an art in its own right and one which presents the artist with a challenge completely different from the more popular katabori netsuke, carved in the round. Dr. Barnett continued to collect until just before her death in 2000, by which time she had acquired some of the finest pieces to be sold over 30 years which will be presented in this book. Manju netsuke have played a small part in the many publications on netsuke, but there has never been a catalogue entirely devoted to the subject. The book aims to provide a description of each object and to explain the tales they illustrate and the sources of these tales, from literature and printed picture books. The range of subjects is wide and includes religious images, scenes from festivals, the theater, historical incidents, folktales, classical literature and themes from nature. An introduction will include an essay on the history, uses and the collecting of manju in which the techniques of carving will be described and materials will be discussed. Artist biographies, a glossary and bibliography will be included. The catalogue will accompany an exhibition of many of the pieces in this collection alongside woodblock prints from the Ashmolean Museum’s collection which illustrate the same legends and subjects. This will take place in the Eastern Art Paintings Gallery.

The office of Licht Kunst Licht AG was founded in 1991 by Andreas Schulz, simultaneously at two locations in Bonn and Berlin. Today, the field of work of the office’s twenty six employees covers office and administration buildings, museums and cultural buildings, representative buildings, government projects, transport infrastructure, shopping centres, hotels and restaurants, outdoor projects and private construction projects.

The seventeen projects in this book show the total range of the firm’s works, illustrating, amongst others, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main, the ThyssenKrupp Quartier in Essen or the New Gallery in Kassel.

Text in English and German.

WK has proved himself to be one of the truly original and innovative street artists in his ability to marry the movement of the street to the dynamism imbued in his work. WK Act 4 explores 25 years of WK’s work on the street, producing everything from small scale stencil work and throw ups to huge wall paintings and murals – featuring graffiti graphics, illustration, art objects and supplies – all beautifully complementing the perpetual motion of urban life. The book features an extensive collection of some of the artist’s most famous works including his 17-painting installation at the Colette Gallery in Paris, the iconic decorations of building facades in downtown Manhattan and Project Brave, a moving 9/11 memorial at the World Trade Center. Complete with an in-depth introduction and biography with contributions from several contemporaries, the book presents a fascinating journey into the world of WK. “WK Interact’s iconic black and white street art – human figures engaged in some type of extreme motion or emotion, running, jumping, screaming, struggling to escape – has forever pierced our memory of the Lower East Side and SOHO streets.” Isabel Kirsch continues to write in the introduction, “the impermanent, multi-dimensional surfaces of the ever-hustling and bustling inner city are the ideal backdrop to bring his images to life.”

Ex Animo represents the most complete and exhaustive collection of artist Faith XLVII’s works, both from the streets and her studio. The book contains critical texts by Kristin Farr (Deputy Editor at Juxtapoz Magazine), Carlo Mc Cormick (famous critic and curator from New York) and Jaqueline Flint. Ex Animo is a monograph exploring the artist’s greatest projects from The Psychic Power of Animals, in which Faith represents in full scale the strength and power of alpha animals, to The Long Wait, a series of murals representing Johannesburg men waiting. “I want to hear the voice that is silenced; the quieter but profound comments on living”, says the artist in an interview. “Turning a blind eye to injustice is not an option in a country like South Africa, whose cruel history still permeates the present.”

Published for JonOne’s solo exhibition at the Magda Danysz Gallery in Paris, the pieces featured in JonOne Rock stunningly capture New York’s dynamic lifestyle and the magic that he felt when he painted there. The book is a testament to how JonOne never fails to produce a piece that is powerful, harmonious, dynamic, and multidimensional. “Jonone’s style is an innovation for street art. He is famous for working outside conventions and not following the “rules” of graffiti. What sets JonOne apart from other artists is his focus on the excitement and movement of colour as opposed to the typical associations of character drawing and insignias. Evolving from his early days tagging the streets of New York his style now goes beyond traditional codes of graffiti and finds its roots in American abstract expressionism.” – Magda Danysz

“People just have to accept me the way I am. And I actually love myself now. I have learned to appreciate inner beauty more, even in other people. So I am trying to be proud of what is in my heart.” Flavia, Uganda.

Ann-Christine Woehrl visited survivors of fire and acid attacks in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda. In her portraits she does not present them as tragic victims, but as the personalities they have always been and still are despite their unimaginable suffering. The result is an insightful ‘almost private’ album that challenges and most of all inspires. It is an homage to women that master their unique lives with humility and heroic strength.

After the photographer had accompanied the 25-year-old Neehaari in India for ten days, Neehaari took off her veil, which she was wearing constantly to protect herself from being stared at in the streets, and said: “Today is my personal day of independence. I will stop hiding myself.”

By choosing a neutral black background for the portraits in the first part of the book, the photographer left out any reference to the social environment of these women and provided them with a safe and also special – even solemn – frame. In the second part of the book she takes a closer look at one survivor in each of the six countries capturing her everyday life, her will to survive, moments of hopelessness and despair as well as those of joy and happiness. The photographic work is framed by an essay and six interviews with the six women.

Text in English and German.

Contents: In/Visible; We Are Visible; My Name Is Farida; My Name Is Neehaari; My Name Is Chantheoun; My Name Is Renuka; My Name Is Nusrat; My Name Is Flavia.

The 1960s and 1970s marked a sharp turning point in the history of decoration and furniture. Until that point, the world was confined to national and elitist forms of expression. At the beginning of the 1960s, the sector took its inspiration from Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Italian and French decoration. Genres were combined in a frenzied desire to live in symbiosis with one’s time. The progress of technology strengthened the conviction that the individual had unlimited freedom and aroused the desire to inhabit in a new manner. Forms became rounder, furniture was in sync with a warm, playful, and anticonformist universe. Colors and decorative motifs took on the brilliance and fantasies of Pop Art and psychedelia. The living environment was transformed into a waking dream in which luxurious furniture in original materials and surprising objects were mixed, associated, for the first time, with early furniture. The end of the 1970s marked the advent of a period in which beauty and classic elegance gave way to a host of expressions that were unclassifiable and rejected any hierarchy. The postmodern period had arrived. Composed of a long introduction that provides a synoptic view and 32 monographs that describe its many faces, this book invites the reader to discover an exceptionally creative period and revels in an abundant iconography.

Must form still follow function, as Martin Gropius, Le Corbusier, and their followers proclaimed? Dysfunctional invites a reconsideration of the conventional relationship between artistic expression and functionality. In an exhibition organized by the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in the stunning setting of the Ca’d’Oro in Venice, site-specific works by 17 established and emerging artists explore the boundaries of art, architecture, and design. These contemporary artists draw on the rich heritage of Venetian craftsmanship and the museum’s exceptional collection of Italian masterpieces to create a meaningful dialogue about the 20th century mantra of form following function. With work located in the realm between craft and art, each of the artists in the show challenges preconceptions about what is beautiful and what is useful, what is historical, and what is modern. Included here are site-specific installations and furniture-sculpture by Nacho Carbonell, Studio Drift, Vincent Dubourg and Virgil Abloh, organic benches by Wendell Castle and Mathieu Lehanneur, and inhabited clocks by Maarten Baas, among others.

Born into the American aristocracy, Elizabeth Eyre de Lanux abandoned high society to pursue an artistic career. Starting her training with Constantin Brancusi, she then arrived in Paris in 1919, following her marriage to French diplomat and writer Pierre de Lanux. She soon met the designer Eileen Gray. Eyre took over Gray’s research on laquer and continued experimenting with innovative materials not previously used in furniture, namely cork, amber and linoleum. With Evelyn Wyld, she created a literary universe in which the poetry of her rugs, blended with furniture and lamps in totally new ways, all in an environment of muted shades and modern comfort.

An ambitious artist in the Surrealist Paris of the interwar years she wanted to believe in a peaceful future. But the crash of 1929 and World War II sounded the death knell for the career of this fresh new talent, ensuring that her creations became the rarest of objects. A bridge between the pioneering Eileen Gray and the rational Charlotte Perriand, like them, Eyre de Lanux drew inspiration from Japonism. Neither poor, nor stripped bare, her rare architectured interiors have remained secret until now.

Elizabeth Eyre de Lanux is a recognised name but a forgotten talent. With Eileen Gray, Eyre de Lanux, Charlotte Perriand and Maria Pergay, the four cardinal points have now been identified.

From the white plastic bed for the Prisunic catalogue (1966) to the Culbuto armchair issued by Knoll, and from the Lip watch to the private apartments of the Élysée Palace, Paris, (1983), the furniture and objects conceived by Marc Held have been emblematic of the renewal of French design, following the line of Scandinavians such as Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen… With his gallery L’Échoppe on the rue de Seine, Paris, and then with his agency, the designer and architect Marc Held also took part in major projects for IBM and Renault.

This book traces fifty years of design, whose success with the public at large has contributed to a great liberation in our style of life. The generosity of his vision has remained faithful to the humanist values that guided his childhood in Bagnolet, where he was born in 1932. Having settled in Greece, on the island of Skopelos, over twenty years ago, Marc Held still continues to build houses and furnish them with his creations, working closely with Greek craftsmen.

Text in English and French.

Many of Gauguin’s portraits of Breton and Polynesian sitters, as well as his self-portraits, include inanimate objects. Intriguing as these are, the works in Paul Gauguin’s portrait gallery have never really been the subject of a thorough study. This book, first published in English in 2005, fills a gap in the scholarly literature on Gauguin, one of the leading figures in post-Impressionist art, with an in-depth, well-illustrated examination of his portraits. An array of experts on Gauguin’s art reflect on the symbolic attributes his models were endowed with, and the meaning behind the evocative settings he chose for them. The authors explore the many aspects of the artist’s portraits, often in light of the remarks he made about his models, and focus on their importance in relation to his larger oeuvre. This book, which is intended as a standard text in this field, includes essays written by experts in Gauguin’s work, all established scholars and researchers.

Text in French.

World War I could be called the ‘war of the camera’. While earlier conflicts were documented using photography, WWI represented a turning point in how the medium was applied and by whom. Both the Allied forces and the Central Powers employed official photos to spy, to provoke, and to persuade – a study in strategy, censorship, and the constant need to whip up public support for the cause. In sharp contrast, the importance of photography for personal use was undeniable. For soldiers and those left behind, studio portraits and photo albums created permanent records of lives that were suddenly placed at risk. Published on the 100th anniversary of the beginning of WWI, this book brings together a diverse, remarkable selection of images that illustrates the beginning of photography’s inextricability from modern warfare.

French painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) is one of the most popular artists of all time. His paintings of water lilies, haystacks, cathedrals, and much more are all celebrated and beloved. For the first time, this book explores a new aspect of Monet’s work: his fascination, during the 1870s, with bridges. After moving to Argenteuil, a small town on the outskirts of Paris, Monet was drawn to the local footbridge near his house on the banks of the Seine. His painting of it, The Wooden Bridge, 1872, is a composition of startling modernity. The book begins with this work and explores Monet’s use of the bridge motif from 1872 to 1877 in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war and beyond. Beautifully illustrated and published to accompany a major exhibition, the book explores how Monet sought to establish himself as a leader of the avant-garde and how his paintings of bridges played a pivotal role in this context. Focusing on twelve major paintings by Monet, the catalogue further examines the Impressionists’ response to their ever-changing environment and the late nineteenth-century transformation of Paris and its suburbs. The publication consists of three sections featuring three essays followed by an illustrated chronology: Monet’s use of the bridge as a testing ground for his innovative ideas, the role of photography, illustrations, and contemporary influences; the expansion of Paris and the urban cityscape; the role of Impressionism in the context of the Franco-Prussian war. Text in English and French.

An impressively tattooed but unnamed Easter Island (Rapa Nui) man appears often in the pages of Pacific Island histories and museum catalogs. The Swedish ethnographer Dr. Knut Hjalmar Stolpe knew him only as Tepano, the Tahitian version of the Christian name Stephen. But what was his real Rapanui identity, and what can his life story tell us about the history of Easter Island?

This book reveals his identity, who illustrated him, and how he transcended the tragic events of 19th-century Rapa Nui to become one of the most iconic faces of the Polynesian past. The authors summarize the history of tattoo as practiced by Rapanui artisans, link that history to island geography, and present rare barkcloth sculptures as a visual record of tattoo patterns.

This title is the first in a new series on Polynesian Arts & Culture by Mana Press, in partnership with Floating World Editions.

For a list of future titles, visit: www.FloatingWorldEditions.com. For more on Rapa Nui, the Mana Gallery and Mana Books, visit: www.eisp.org.

This is the catalog of the exhibition held at the Opera Gallery in Paris, dedicated to the Sardinian artist Pino Manos. Manos is renowned for founding the movement called Rigorismo (Rigourism) in 2010, in the wake of Transpatialism and beyond, with the involvement of Enrico Castellani, Agostino Bonalumi, Giuseppe Amadio, Cesare Berlingeri, Alberto Loro, Pino Manos, Vanna Nicolotti, Turi Simeti, Paolo Scheggi, Paolo Bazzocchi, Umberto Mariani and Pino Pinelli, organized and curated by Flavio Lattuada at the Galleria Lattuada, following the spatial poetics of Lucio Fontana. The group of artists were presented by the philosopher, Massimo Donà. Spatialism is expressed in a more radical way and the canons are made more rigorous with the superseding of the bidimensional limitations, the inclusion of new forms of figuration and its openness to new means of expression. A critical essay by Sergio Risaliti, director of the Museo Novecento in Florence, can be seen as an in-depth iconographic apparatus that narrates the vast and transversal artistic activity of a great protagonist of contemporary Italian art.

Text in English and Italian.