art book

New Book Traces The History of Indonesian Textiles

Filed under: Art, Books

Mary Hunt Kahlenberg is a women with a passion for textiles. She formerly served as Curator of Textiles and Costumes at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. and is one of the top authorities on the subject. her latest book, Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles, introduces readers to the intoxicating and complex beauty of Indonesian cloth. The book looks at five centuries of ceremonial garments and sacred textiles from throughout Indonesia's chain of tropical islands. The book is a compilation of the work of a select group of experts sharing their cumulative knowledge and scholarship. The book also represents a visual tour de force of a very personal collection of over 350 Indonesian ceremonial garments and sacred textiles assembled over a thirty year period by Mary Hunt Kahlenberg.

It was much more than a "labor of love" for her when it came time to writing about and editing a book on her own collection of Indonesian Textiles. These textiles have consistently fascinated her before her first visit to Indonesia and grew as she traveled and studied more about Indonesian culture. The book and essays reveal the experts' extensive knowledge of Indonesia's history, culture, geography and religious evolution. DelMonico Books – Prestel has published the book with 300 color illustrations in 408 pages in a hard cover slip case that creates a beautiful showcase for the wide range of textile innovations in Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku.

"We are very fortunate to have received a generous grant that allowed us to create the kind of book that few art historians ever have the opportunity to offer for under $100. The book delves into the aesthetic experience, both tactile and visual, as well as its historic, anthropological and spiritual qualities. "For me, the pleasure of the information between the fingers is one of my great joys in studying textiles," Kahlenberg says. "The other connection I feel is very important is knowing that this textile was made by someone and used by someone.....it communicates the sense of the individual and their life." The book sells for $95.

Gallery: Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles

Tags: art book, coffee table books, indonesia, textiles

New Lichtenstein Monograph Marks Milan Exhibit

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

An impressive new monograph on the late pop art star Roy Lichtenstein has just been published by Skira on the occasion of a major new exhibition of his work at the Milan Triennial, the most important show ever devoted to the artist in Italy. Roy Lichtenstein: Meditations on Art covers his entire artistic development through more than 250 paintings and sculptural works, a rich photographic section including unpublished material, and critical text. In keeping with the theme of the exhibition, the book examines the relationship between Lichtenstein, art history and its protagonists. There's also a refreshing emphasis on some of his lesser-known work. The reproductions in this deluxe edition, priced at $100, are large-format and in full color. Thirteen years after the legendary artist's death, his works and lexicon of symbols, subjects and themes continue to intrigue the art world while his work fetches millions of dollars at auction.

Tags: art, art book, art books, artist, exhibition, Italy, Milan, museum, pop art, Roy Lichtenstein

Andy Warhol's Making Money Book For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

Anyone familiar with Andy Warhol's work knows he had an obsession with money, an obsession clearly shared by many. His 1962 "200 One Dollar Bills" sold for $43.8 million last year and his dollar bill paintings sell in the millions. But now we can all get a little Warhol money at a far more reasonable price. Rizzoli is releasing an edition of "Making Money" a little flipbook of money drawings that Warhol created in 1981 as a Christmas gift for Berkeley Reinhold, then a pre-teen and daughter of Warhol's close friend, diamond dealer and art collector John Reinhold. The hardcover book goes on sale in October for $19.95 and contains a forward from Blondie lead singer Deborah Harry.

[via Art Fix Daily]

Tags: andy warhol, art, art book, pop art

Magritte Masterpiece Back in Print

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Books

To celebrate the recent opening of the Magritte Museum in Brussels, Abrams / Fonds Mercator has come out with a new edition of Magritte, the masterful monograph on the Surrealist genius by the late David Sylvester, the world's foremost expert on Rene Magritte's work. Brought up to date by the Magritte Museum's director, Michel Draguet, the classic work which has been out of print for over a decade features 40 chapters of critical insights and clues to Magritte's poetic painted puzzles, and over 500 lavish full-color illustrations. Magritte's influence has been felt by many artists since the 1960s including Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Ed Ruscha. The Magritte Museum, housed in a neo-classical building in Brussels' Place Royale, displays over 200 original Magritte paintings, drawings and sculptures. Another museum is located at rue Esseghem 135 in Brussels in Magritte's former home, where he lived with his wife from 1930 to 1954.

Tags: Andy Warhol, art, art book, Belgium, book, Brussels, Jasper Johns, Magritte, Magritte Museum, museum, painting, Rene Magritte, Surrealism, Surrealist