Archive For The “Culture and Art” Category
This is the must-have book of the year for anyone interested in gardens in London. That doesn’t have to be an interest in the activity of gardening: it’s a book for anyone who takes pleasure in just spending time in beautiful open spaces. Part of our history London has a proud history in making and…
I have come to this medium quite late in life. I got a bit of confidence with my iPhone and some of those images were, although I say it as shouldn’t, spectacular. But somehow I knew there was more. This book is a weighty tome at a very reasonable price. At under £12 one can…
Nederlands Fotomuseum Reveals 99 Iconic Images In The Gallery Of Honour Of Dutch The development of 180 years of photography On 9 June, the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam opened the Gallery of Honour of Dutch Photography to the public and welcomed His Majesty the King for a visit to the museum. As one of the…
What a wonderful read! It’s only May and I sense I have already found my ‘Book of the Year’! Harley and the Holy Mountain: Through the Heart of Greece to its Soul is both amusing and thought-provoking. It’s an exercise in the human condition as well as being a thoroughly absorbing travelogue. The author, John…
Cowries to Crypto: The History of Money, Currency and Wealth Cowries to Crypto: The History of Money, Currency and Wealth is a delightful book bound to raise a smile at any time of year. This Christmas we need a grin even more than ever. Money is important to all of us. But what exactly is…
The Sea Journal: Seafarers’ Sketchbooks is more than just a glimpse into a few nautical logbooks, it is a fascinating study of the discoveries made by some sixty-odd renowned adventurers over the last 600 years. The author, Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones (a much-travelled historian with a special interest in maritime exploration and polar voyages), has brought…
The M.V.M. Cappellin Glassworks and the Young Carlo Scarpa is a new publication in the series “Le Stanze del Vetro”, a project on Venetian glassmaking in the 20th century, from a successful partnership of the Fondazione Cini and Pentagram Stiftung. This sumptuous book from the renowned Skira publishing company is associated with the autumn exhibition…
Idols: The Power of Images is yet another sumptuous volume from Skira Editore. They are a paramount publisher of quality books on art and design, and these books are highly collectable. This tome takes the reader on a journey back through the centuries to a time when we find the first sculptural representation of the…
Even those of us who are not architectural experts will easily recognise the distinctive lines of Art Deco buildings. They represented the aspirations for a brighter future after the horrors of the First World War. Art Deco reflected the new industrial age and gave a nod to transatlantic ships and ancient civilisations. That might not…
China: A History is an excellent and authoritative tome by an author who brings this enigmatic land to rich and colourful life. John Keay illustrates that phrase ‘To know who we are we must know where we come from’ or, and perhaps of more interest to us in the West, ‘We must know where we…
We have likely all heard of Hokusai but in truth most people would only recognise The Great Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave or just The Wave. It is a woodblock print and an iconic example of this man’s work; it’s prominent on the cover of Hokusai: The Master’s Legacy, a sumptuous…
Barcelona is a beautiful city and famed for its buildings. Barcelona Sketchbook: Homage to Catalan Architecture allows the reader to view these façades in something of a different light and one that is awash with pastel hues and subtle shadows. Graham Byfield, the artist for this book, ambles with his keen eye through the Ramblas,…
Picasso: Between Cubism and Classicism 1915-1925 is a unique overview of the artist’s earlier and lesser-known years. This sumptuous volume illustrates Pablo Picasso’s celebrated journey undertaken in 1917, but also the periods just before and just after. He visited both Rome and Naples in the company of Jean Cocteau, French poet, writer, designer, playwright, artist…
Flying Too Close to the Sun is another unique-concept book from Phaidon Press. It is illustrated with every genre of art from every era. There is, however, a common thread and that is ancient mythology. One doesn’t have to have a degree in ancient literature to appreciate Flying Too Close to the Sun: the art…
From the bestselling author of The Art of Forgery, Noah Charney, comes this fantasy art adventure, The Museum of Lost Art. This is a stroll through a museum that could never exist. It’s a visit to a gallery of the ‘once was’, perhaps a wander through a hall of ‘lost forever’, and a tentative toe-dipping into…
Designed in the USSR: 1950-1989 is another book from Phaidon. Not a cookbook this time but a rather topical design book which does indeed offer an insightful overview of iconic images from behind the Iron Curtain. There are some flag-waving posters, as one would expect, but even these have influenced graphic art far beyond the…
Looking East by Steve McCurry is a large-format paperback book offering an array of 75 of the very best of Steve’s beautiful and evocative portraits from across South and Southeast Asia. You might not recognise the name, but you will surely recognise at least one of his pictures. Steve McCurry is an American photographer who…
An in-depth exploration spanning 800 years of the art, essence, and enduring impact of the Japanese Garden. The most comprehensive exploration of the art and concept of the Japanese garden published to date, this book covers more than eight centuries of the history of this iconic horticultural genre. One might think of a Japanese garden…
Ettore Sottsass (1917 – 2007) was an Italian architect and designer. His body of work included furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting, and strangely, office equipment, which later became iconic and collectable. Items such as typewriters were masterpieces of colour, form and contemporary styling. He also designed many buildings and interiors. Sottsass was born in Innsbruck, Austria,…
From 8 March – 15 July 2018 – The influence of modern Greece on the lives and work of three influential artists is explored in a new exhibition at the British Museum this spring. Charmed lives in Greece: Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor (8 March – 15 July 2018) examines the enduring friendship between Greek painter…