“For Iris Fishof, a piece of jewelry is not merely an ornament but it can be a reflection of societal history. Her extensive, beautifully illustrated history, “Jewellery in Israel Multicultural Diversity 1948 to the Present” is the first book of its kind. Fishof, an Israeli art historian and curator, begins with folk artists who worked in pre-state Israel and covers the establishment of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in 1906 and the role of immigrants, like the Germans who brought the modernist Bauhaus tradition with them in the 1930s and Yemenites who brought their own intricate silversmith traditions in the 1950s. She describes contemporary internationally recognized artists working in various materials and styles, still with a ‘distinctly local flavor’.” – The Jewish Week

In Israel East meets West. Their jewelry traditions blend, resulting in creative innovations. In the 1930s, European immigrants introduced the spirit of the Bauhaus, while oriental craftsmanship was invigorated in the 1950s and 1960s by immigration from Islamic countries. State jewelry companies preserved traditional crafts, while at the same time developing a new and elegant style, designed to express the national identity of the still young state of Israel. There are important links between native jewelry makers and European and American jewelry artists, who were guest lecturers at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in the 1970s and had a lasting influence on Israeli artists. The transition to art jewelry was finally completed in the 1980s, paving the way for artists who are now internationally renowned. A further chapter is dedicated to contemporary works by some outstanding young artists. Although their works are part of the global jewelry scene, they are also dedicated to their homeland, for example through unequivocal references to local political tensions.

Artists (a selection): Bianca Eshel Gershuni, Esther Knobel, Deganit Stern Schocken, Vered Kaminski, Attai Chen.

The manufacture of colorfully painted tiles has a long tradition in Persia, modern-day Iran. This publication focuses on so-called haft rang (seven colors) tiles from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During this time, the art of making tiles experienced a revival, starting in the city of Shiraz and initiated primarily by unknown artists who wanted to preserve and carry on their country’s traditions. Their vibrantly colored tiles, with underglaze, decorated private homes, as well as public and religious buildings. The tiles are characterized by a wealth of pictorial elements, with floral motifs as well as motifs from traditional Persian folktales. Social change and a disregard for Iranian architecture and traditions at the beginning of the twentieth century led to the destruction of many old town quarters and to the disappearance of this impressive art. Hadi Seif visited the direct descendants of the tile makers and presents his findings in this book.

This publication, accompanying the 17th Silver Triennial, presents the current world of international silversmithing and metal design. A rich repertoire of handcrafted everyday objects illustrates current worldwide approaches that have emerged over the last two years: from coffee and tea pots, via large and small bowls, to candlesticks, vases, salt and pepper casters, cutlery or small table accessories.

Every three years renowned designers and emerging young artists from the world of silversmithing participate in the competition. A top-class jury: Dr. Barbara Grotkamp-Schepers, Klingenmuseum Solingen (DE); David Huycke, metal artist and professor in Hasselt (BE); Rosemarie Jäger, Galerie im Kelterhaus Hochheim (DE) selects the best of the best.

The competition has been held since 1965 to promote international contemporary silversmithing. It is a joint project by the Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst e.V. [Association for Goldsmiths Art] and the Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau [German Goldsmiths House], and is one of the most significant events of its kind world-wide.

Text in English & German.

The colonization of the world by European powers led to the production of a wealth of images of the colonized cultures and peoples. Images of North American Indians play an important role in our visual culture. This publication illuminates how they are represented, as well as their political and historico-cultural background, based on the so-called ‘Indian Museum’ of the Dresden sculptor Ferdinand Pettrich (1798-1872).

In the 1830s, Pettrich traveled to Washington and portrayed representatives of Indian tribes in 33 reliefs, statues, busts and bozzetti made of terracotta-colored plaster. These tribes were negotiating treaties with the US government about the future usage of the land. Pettrich’s ouvre is an early example of the recurring motif of North American Indians in European and Euro-American art. The classically-influenced forms of these representations, the influence of the simultaneously emerging ‘Indian painting’, as well as the lasting fascination of the subject of ‘Indians’ are presented here, along with the political context of the era the works were created in.

Text in English and German.

The representation of mysterious and fantastical figures, magical inscriptions and mythical beings that are half man and half beast are characteristic of the jewelry works and art objects created by Ulo Florack. With artistic mastery and an exuberant imagination, he tells stories using gold, silver, platinum and enamel. Ulo Florack is a multi-talented artist. It is almost impossible to categorize him. The question of whether he is more a painter or a jewelry artist cannot be answered definitively: both aspects cross-pollinate each other. His jewelry objects incorporate sculptural elements, whilst the choice and application of colors reveal the artist. His style is very distinctive and his objects use surprising ideological and intelligent imagery, which consciously hovers in the grey area between fantasy and reality. Text in English & German. Contents: Beatriz Chadour-Sampson: Between Fantasy and Reality; Just Work (catalogue of works); Just information (objects information); Biography, Solo exhibitions, Group exhibitions; Collections; Acknowledgements.

Mari Ishikawa sees a parallel world off the beaten track of everyday living that she wants to make visible with her art. Such counter-worlds are discovered in photographs with long exposures, which are taken up in art jewelry. Together these pairings result in an overall picture that is almost mystical. Silver casts taken from nature are reborn as jewelry in combination with diamonds, pieces of charcoal, or paper. Thus Mari Ishikawa interrupts for a brief moment the flow of transience; a precious object is created that has been wrenched from the cycle of life and death to stand for itself and for the moment.

Art of the Street – London is the first in a series celebrating the phenomenon of street art in the world’s greatest cities. A photographer’s view of London’s transient street art scene shot over a two year period from 2013. Celebrating the vibrancy, creativity and color of the movement and documenting a time and place in its history. Artist’s work include Stik, Thierry Noir, Jimmy C, Alice, Otto Schade and Nunca with many more both celebrated and unknown. These books show the color, detail and skill in these works, showcasing the talents of these contemporary artists.

The nightclub is a place to let off steam, to relax after a hard day’s work. This compilation of projects illustrates the very best of contemporary club design. Accompanied by stunning color photography The Charming Night outlines the fantastic attention to detail employed by the designers. A marvellous visual design feast.

Materials+: Creative Products focuses on original design ideas. It features wall clocks made from old vinyl records, comic books used as plant pots, vases made from sticks of dynamite, waste baskets constructed from sheets of recycled newspaper, lampshades made from eggshells, ornaments made from matchsticks; the materials used to make many of the products are not typically associated with the product, resulting in exceptionally creative designs. This innovative book offers access to many unique designs and is an excellent source of inspiration.

Way of the Sign III offers a great variety of magnificent architectural examples that demonstrate the essential characteristics of good signage: excellent design, integration within the space and functional communication. Also available: Way of the Sign II ISBN: 9789881973566

The Ashmolean Museum is fortunate in having the most comprehensive British collection of the art of the Indian subcontinent outside London. Especially strong in sculpture, this rich representation of Indian art from prehistory to the twentieth century has come about through the generosity of our benefactors over more than three centuries. The Museum’s first major Indian sculpture acquisition, a stone Pala-style Vishnu image of the eleventh century, was given in 1686 by Sir William Hedges, a governor of the East India Company in Bengal. From the late nineteenth century, a substantial core of the present collection was assembled at the University’s former Indian Institute Museum (1897-1962), precursor of the Department of Eastern Art, which opened within the Ashmolean in 1963. Since that date many more Indian objects of all periods have been acquired by gift, bequest or purchase.

Contents: Introduction; Prehistoric South Asia; The Northwest; North & Central India; Eastern India and Deccan; Miscellanea; Bibliography.

The Urban Mining and Recycling (UMAR) Experimental Unit, located on the campus of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, was designed by Werner Sobek with Dirk E. Hebel and Felix Heisel. All the elements required to construct the unit had to be 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable. Of central importance is the idea that instead of using and subsequently disposing of resources, they can be borrowed from their technical and biological cycles for a certain amount of time before being put back into circulation once again. This project demonstrates how a responsible approach to dealing with natural resources can be applied to creating appealing and sustainable buildings, and places life-cycle thinking at the forefront of design.

Contents: Construction, Facade, Interiors, Fixtures and Fitings, Product Design and Sustainabilty, Planning Process,

Text in English and German.

Philippe Van Cauteren, director of the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art (S.M.A.K.) in Ghent, has for many years written letters to artists all over the world. He directs his thoughts in a very personal manner to artists who inspire him. Van Cauteren’s letters are written in a straightforward and accessible way; at times, they even verge on poetic. They offer an insight into how a curator experiences and interprets art, and also provide a clear and succinct introduction to the work of each artist to whom he writes. This richly illustrated book contains more than 100 letters. In an introductory manifesto – a final letter to Jan Hoet, his predecessor and the founder of S.M.A.K. – Van Cauteren also describes the ‘ideal museum of the future’. This book is a reflection of the contemporary cultural arena, the roles of a museum, and the way in which diverse parties can collaborate constructively. It features letters to, amongst others, Michaël Borremans, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Jan Fabre, Adrian Ghenie, Jan Hoet, Mark Manders, Thomas Ruff, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Ed Templeton, Rinus Van de Velde and Vincent van Gogh. Contents: Almost 100 letters to artists.

This third volume of The Trilogy gathers together all the exhibitions held at the Dorothy Circus Gallery between February 2013 and February 2014 in a melting pot of surrealism that is constantly becoming more diverse and vibrant. The Doors of Perception features the likes of Paolo Guido, Chris Berens, Sas Christian, Miss Van, Tara McPherson, Clementine de Chabaneix, Kazuki Takamatsu, Colin Christian, Afarin Sajedi, Alessia Iannetti, Nathalie Shau, Ray Caesar, Francesca R. Di Nunzio and Kwon Kyungyup.

Also available in the series: Once Upon a Time…: Annual Catalogue 1 ISBN 9788888493886, Walk on the Wild Side: Annual Catalogue 2 ISBN 9788888493954

Cataloging the Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres / Ellsworth Kelly exhibition at The French Academy in Rome, Villa Medici, this book presents a show that embodies the new approach toward Franco-American relations by reflecting the historic and artistic cultural ties between the two countries. The director of The French Academy in Rome, Éric de Chassey is half French and half American and his attitude and presence provides firm ground on which to place this new-world-old-world tête-à-tête.

The catalog presents the never-before-seen works of Ellsworth Kelly along with a selection of Ingres’ drawings and paintings from The Louvre. It reflects the striking visual narrative of the exhibition, while maintaining the individual readability of each work for an exceptional presentation of two great artists that transcends time and space. The catalog includes critical texts by Éric de Chassey and New York’s Whitney Museum curator Carter Foster. The visual dialogue between the work of the two artists seeks to understand what links the work of this American artist when he lived in Paris and the French painter whose work inspired academicism and many innovations in modern art. The exhibition was jointly conceived by Ellsworth Kelly and Éric de Chassey.

Text in English, French, and Italian.

“Sumptuous, extra-large coffee-table book with readily understandable texts.” Bild der Wissenschaft
“For those who could never be on site, photographer Peter Ginter provides an impressive and aesthetic look into the World Machine.” Physik Journal
The Large Hadron Collider is the largest particle accelerator in the world, a 27-kilometer ring of superconducting magnets in a tunnel 100 m beneath the Franco-Swiss border at the CERN research laboratory. It was built to answer the most fundamental question of our universe: where do we come from? Peter Ginter, one of the world’s leading photographers, acclaimed author Franzobel and Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN, tackle the subject of this largest and most complex machine ever imagined by man, the ‘World Machine’, a huge underground particle physics experiment, which will offer science insights into the beginnings of our universe. Unique and amazing photographs make the invisible visible. Peter Ginter has documented the making of the LHC over more than 15 years, not only at CERN, but also by visiting locations across the world where significant contributions have been made to the construction of the LHC. The book was published in scientific, editorial and artistic collaboration with CERN and UNESCO. Text in English, German & French.

“Sensuous details of one of the most beautiful nude portraits in the Louvre.” VOGUE
The idea for this book was born in the course of a visit through the Louvre, when Catherine Belanger ventured to call the Louvre ‘the biggest brothel in the world’. Jointly with author Jean Galard and photographer Lois Lammerhuber, she selected key paintings spanning five centuries to illustrate the fascinating art of depicting nudity and the artists’ struggle for acceptance of the nude in art and society. Lois Lammerhuber detaches the nudity, sensuality and sexuality of the paintings from the context of their artistic intention, conceiving them as ‘material’ in a fictional photography studio and recreating them in his photographs. He resorts to these ‘models’ to translate them into the language of fashion, nude and advertising photography, reading their body language and interaction in a way reminiscent of artists like Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Horst P. Horst or Herb Ritts – sensual and unexpected. Text in English & French. Also available: The Louvre Nude Sculptures ISBN: 9783901753121

The idea for this book was born in the course of a stroll through the Louvre, when Catherine Belanger ventured to call the Louvre ‘the biggest brothel in the world’. Key works illustrate the artistic approach and the representation of the nude in the Western world from the 7th century BC to 1897. Lois Lammerhuber detaches the nudity, sensuality and sexuality of the sculptures from the context of their artistic intention, conceiving them as ‘material’ in a fictional photography studio and recreating them in his photographs. He resorts to these ‘models’ to translate them into the language of fashion, nude and advertising photography – sensual and unexpected. The images are accompanied by Jean Galard’s reflections on this approach from an art-historical and philosophical angle. In its design the book is reminiscent of bronze and refers to the haptic character of sculpture. Text in English & French. Also available: The Louvre Nude Paintings ISBN: 9783901753091

“Fascinating details of the original pictures and a social history of footwear fashion” VOGUE
In acclaimed photographer Lois Lammerhuber’s pictures, shod feet in the Louvre paintings reveal undreamt-of information about people. The details are not only separate works of art, but also studies on centuries of shoe fashion and an excursion into social history. Almost intimate, the photographs raise the world of feet and footwear to eye level, showing delicate shoes and stout limbs; feet without shoes and shoes without feet. The viewing angle is a special one, not only for art enthusiasts but also for shoe lovers. Raphael, Goya, or Ingres did not produce or design footwear, but they all ‘recorded’ shoes, contributing to a history of footwear and at the same time creating fashion archives of shoes that people stepped out in between 1280 and 1863. In a brilliant discourse, Margo Glantz, an icon of Mexican literary studies, introduces the viewer to original thoughts on painting and footwear design, the history and sociology of shoes. Text in English, German, French & Spanish.

“Most sessions are shockingly harmless. What the people whose stories are shown in my pictures have in common is a meaningful quest for elementary human needs, such as freedom, warmth and comfort, maybe even happiness,” Florian Müller recounts. He photographs fetishists; people who dress up as dogs or let themselves be bound and hung from the ceiling. It is their way of relaxing and achieving fulfilment. At first sight what you see is masquerade, Kafkaesque scenes, danses macabres, transformations into animals, into slaves, into a shrink-wrapped maggot. Behind the masquerade lurks stories of people and their needs. Of desires, wounds and dreams and the pictures tell us these stories. Florian Müller worked on fetishism in Germany for several years. Sometimes it took weeks before the people trusted him and let him in on their sessions. He did not abuse their trust. His pictures are not revolting, but close, almost tender. Contents: “It’s the most intimate embrace that you can imagine”; “What is Jesus to think of you sick people?”; “I do not inflict pain for the sake of it. But to spank someone who really likes it, that’s amazingly liberating.”; “Someone lies in a hammock and imagines he is on Hawaii. One of my guests sits in an iron cage and imagines he is a pig. That happens to be his dream, his film. Like Hawaii, just different, you see?”; “From head to toe in rubber, what can be finer?”; “Lisa is how I have always imagined my dream woman. Long, black hair, large breasts. At some point I realized that I would never get this woman. Then I constructed her myself.”; “I tried not to think of latex. It was torture.”; “I love dressing up as a dog. And Max loves me.”; “As a horse I take a vacation from my own personality.” Text in English and German.