Bøger udgivet af Editions Skira Paris

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) was an Italian architect and designer known for his industrial and experimental designs. Winner of the prestigious Compaso de oro in 1959, the artist contributed through his work to going beyond functionalist theories after the war. Like his father before him, Sottsass studied architecture in Turin at the Politecnico, graduating in 1939. In 1947 he moved to Milan and founded his own design studio. In 1956 at the request of the painter and sculptor Sergio Cammilli, he became the artistic director of Poltronova, a new furniture company. Sottsass then created the Poltronova's logo and produced its first catalogues. This collaboration has a strong impact on the work of Sottsass, the catalogues constitute the support of his experimentations with geometric shapes, mixes of materials and vibrant colours. Between innovation and social criticism, the brand becomes a true standard bearer of Italian creation and collaborates with renowned artists such as Max Ernst. From 1960 to 1970, the ten years of collaboration between the designer and Poltronova, marked a period of almost total freedom for the Sottsass. A moment both rich in creations and decisive in establishing the designer's aesthetics that you can now discover in this book, through an analysis of Sottsass's work, advertising photos of the time, annotated sketches and his personal photographs.

This book references all the artist's periods and media: sculpture (plaster, bronze), paintings, drawings, prints... It will allow a comprehensive view of Alberto Giacometti's creation, from early works to the surrealist period, from the return to figuration to his work from models, and to the invention of the great post-war icons. Over 230 works are represented, including several masterpieces such as Spoon Woman (1927), The Invisible Object (1934-35), Woman with Chariot (1945), The Nose (1947), and Walking Man (1960). Giacometti's works are separated into in fourteen original sections revealing the themes favoured by the artist - the representation of the head, the face, the female body, etc. The book is punctuated by seven essays written by leading art historians who dwell on the detours and questions that mark Alberto Giacometti's creative process, but also allow the reader to discover his relationship to loneliness, melancholy, and his hard work with his models: his wife Annette, his brother Diego, his close friends. This catalogue aims to introduce the reader to another Giacometti, the one who experiments with the limits of sculpture, and the formidable painter who also practices, alongside the portrait, the genres of landscape or still life.

A tribute to the Japanese artist, a leading figure of the new generation of great contemporary mastersile

"The world is a museum without walls. Let's protect our shared heritage and tell the story of the essential connection between people and places.">monuments and landscapes they shape.This desire gave rise to the work of the 11 winning photographers of the 'Heritage in focus' programme, with its immense diversity: diversity of places, diversity of people, diversity of perspectives. By combining global and local approaches, this project overlaps narratives - those of the monuments that bear witness to history, those of thelocal communities that are their stewards, and that of the photographer - so that each shot becomes a sedimentation of times and points of view.From traditional Ashanti buildings in Ghana to Sumba in Indonesia, Yanacancha-Huaquis in Peru, Tiretta Bazaar in India and the Garcia Pastures in the USA, this book takes you on a journey around the world and its places of beauty and history.This series of sites is part of an effort not only to illustrate the diversity of the world's cultural heritage, but also to warn us of the threats to its environment.

The latest works by the renowned Mexican photographerAdrian Burns is a Mexican photographer who trained at the prestigious Putney School and Parsons School of Design, where he studied art history and photography. Trilingual, he is constantly on the move between Mexico, the United States and France. Adrian Burns' singular perspective on the world and his in-depth knowledge of the photographic medium have allowed him, after many years of intense activity, to bring together several series of fascinating images marked by an uncommon visual and poetic force. This monograph follows a first publication by Skira in 2021 and presents his latest works, which are the fruit of a reflective and introspective approach. More than simple snapshots of reality, these photographs of natural phenomena - clouds, snow, waves, etc. - are reworked by the artist, who adds geometric shapes using graphite or acrylic varnish. The result leans towards abstraction, delivering visions that are more akin to dreams than reality.

An in-depth survey of the over twenty-year career of the abstract painterPaul Pagk is an abstract painter born in 1962. Over the last forty years, he has developed a singular approach, using a pictorial language made of colour, line, and light. In his geometric compositions, the artist plays with notions of symmetry and off-centring. His paintings thus exude a sense of harmony and movement, captivating the eye and inviting contemplation. Paul Pagk conceives his works as invitations to slow down, to take the time to perceive, feel and "inhabit" the spatial constructions he composes. Despite his minimalist formal approach, the artist does not seek to erase his gesture, drawing his lines freehand and using traditional painting techniques, such as grinding and mixing his own colours. This monograph looks back over the last twenty-five years of Paul Pagk's career, presenting an unprecedented overview of his abstract paintings and drawings to reveal the foundations and particularities of his pictorial explorations. The rigorous presentation of a large number of his works is accompanied by several texts, each shedding a particular light on the artist's work. These texts offer an in-depth look at Paul Pagk's approach, the development of his practice over the years, the key elements of his biography and a reading of his work through a philosophical lens.

A survey of the two decades between the mid 1880s and 1905The term "Post-Impressionism" was coined in 1910 by Roger Fry, an English art critic who was trying to find an expression that could describe Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Gauguin's painting as well as Seurat, Sérusier, Denis or Redon's. Organized by the musée d'Orsay at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the "Post-Impressionism" exhibition focuses on the two bubbling decades between the mid 1880s and the mid 1900s, i.e. from the last collective exhibition of the Impressionists in 1886 to the Autumn Salon of 1905 marked by the "Fauves" scandal: Derain, Matisse and Vlaminck, with their explosive colors. The catalogue shows the full span of pictorial reactions to Impressionism with masterpieces from the musée d'Orsay, by insisting on the richness and complexity of the Post-Impressionist constellation. Taking a monographic or a group approach, the book seeks to highlight the intrinsic qualities of each painter's work, and the interactions between these artists, who are part of the Impressionist legacy and will inspire avant-garde artists like Braque or Picasso. This catalogue, rich in images and essays, delves into the art of this fascinating and pivotal double decade, during which plastic expression gradually moved away from the representation of reality towards the expression of the psychic, emotional and spiritual worlds of the artists.

A survey of the two decades between the mid 1880s and 1905The term "Post-Impressionism" was coined in 1910 by Roger Fry, an English art critic who was trying to find an expression that could describe Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Gauguin's painting as well as Seurat, Sérusier, Denis or Redon's. Organized by the musée d'Orsay at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the "Post-Impressionism" exhibition focuses on the two bubbling decades between the mid 1880s and the mid 1900s, i.e. from the last collective exhibition of the Impressionists in 1886 to the Autumn Salon of 1905 marked by the "Fauves" scandal: Derain, Matisse and Vlaminck, with their explosive colors. The catalogue shows the full span of pictorial reactions to Impressionism with masterpieces from the musée d'Orsay, by insisting on the richness and complexity of the Post-Impressionist constellation. Taking a monographic or a group approach, the book seeks to highlight the intrinsic qualities of each painter's work, and the interactions between these artists, who are part of the Impressionist legacy and will inspire avant-garde artists like Braque or Picasso. This catalogue, rich in images and essays, delves into the art of this fascinating and pivotal double decade, during which plastic expression gradually moved away from the representation of reality towards the expression of the psychic, emotional and spiritual worlds of the artists.

A rich presentation of the artist's four last solo showsBao Vuong was born in the Mekong Delta in the late 1970s. When he was just one year old, he had to flee Vietnam for France with his family. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts de Toulon and the École Supérieure d'Art d'Avignon, he returned to Vietnam to work as a visual artist. His work, and in particular the series The Crossing presented in this book, is strongly inspired by this flight and explores the themes of identity, memory and exile. Bao Vuong mainly depicts large, moving and elusive stretches of water by sculpting large masses of black paint and using various mediums such as graphite or incense ash. He thus seeks to convey the emotional experience of the journey, and to provoke a wider reflection on the condition of refugees and migrants around the world. His work tends to go beyond individual testimony to bring us closer to a universal collective memory, recalling the emotions shared by those who have experienced similar exoduses. The artist insists on the singularity of his approach, which aims to establish a sentimental and spiritual connection with the viewer, while leaving room for personal interpretation. His work reflects a desire to transform individual and collective trauma into a bright and universal artistic expression.

Urban landscapes and seascapes by the French artist François Avril. Born in 1961, François Avril began his career as an illustrator, working for the press, advertising (Chanel, Hermès, John Lobb, Paris Plages) and children's books. Working on small formats as well as large canvases, he al- ways explores techniques and reinvents his artistic practice. Yet his two favourite subjects remain constant: cities and seasides. Inspired by major capital cities (Paris, New York, Brussels, Tokyo) and the natural beauty of Brittany's coast- line, Avril creates landscapes, working with his memory and the imprint of the emotions he has felt. His poetic universe balances realism and abstraction, line and volume, monochrome and colour. The book presents seascapes and urban landscapes by the artist; numerous sketches illustrate his creative process, which is explained in an essay by François Landon.

The portraits of models by the renowned actor, filmmaker and photographer Vincent Perez, born in 1964, is a distinguished Swiss actor, filmmaker, and accomplished photographer. Known for his captivating performances in films such as "The Crow: City of Angels" and "Queen Margot," Perez has seamlessly navigated between European and Hollywood productions. In addition to his acting prowess, he has ventured into directing and gained recognition for his work behind the camera. Vincent Perez's passion for photography further highlights his artistic versatility, making him a notable figure in the global entertainment and visual arts landscape. His photographic work focuses on portraits, in the line of Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. In this book, Vincent Perez immersed himself in an emblematic location of the School of Paris : La Grande Chaumière, an art school that did not teach the strict academic principles of the École des Beaux-Arts but rather encouraged artistic freedom. Many famous 20th century artists attended this school like Zao Wou-Ki, Balthus, Miró or Louise Bourgeois, following the teachings of Bourdelle, Léger and many others. Vincent Perez took portraits of models on film using the natural light of the painters' studio as an hommage to the models and painters of the bubbling 1920's Montparnasse like Kiki de Montparnasse and Modigliani.

The beautiful shots of women, trees and birds by the French business executive and politician. Muriel Pénicaud engages in a captivating photography practice that showcases her artistic sensibility. Delving into the realm of visual storytelling, Pénicaud captures moments with a keen eye for detail and emotion. Whether capturing urban landscapes, portraits, or nature scenes, her photographs convey a sense of intimacy and storytelling. Pénicaud's passion for photography serves as a creative outlet amidst her demanding political career, allowing her to connect to the world in a different, more contemplative way. In Matrix of Worlds, Muriel Pénicaud presents the trilogy of her first three exhibitions: "Wind under the Wings", "Wind into the Soul" and "Wind into the Roots", each one focusing on a specific subject matter: birds, women and trees respectively. From the trees, she draws resilience and patience. In the birds, she sees freedom, space and transcendence. With women, she feels a sense of community and tries to show their inner power. In presenting these themes together, Muriel Pénicaud is touching something of the mythological origin of the world, as these elements are present in many cultures throughout the planet.

One of Iran's most celebrated artistsReza Lavasani, born in 1962 in Tehran (Iran), is an artist of many talents and careers: painter, sculptor, illustrator and stage designer. He has also studied philosophy for many years, with a particular focus on mythology, sociology and history, themes that feature prominently in his work. Although Reza Lavasani uses a wide range of media and materials, he uses a number of key subjects in his work, which he continually explores. These include the horse, the bird, the woman, the tree... Universal symbols that the artist manages to make unique in each of his poetical representations. This book, with its meticulous selection of works, is not intended to be a simple presentation of Reza Lavasani's work, but rather a dialogue between the texts and the works. This notion of conversation is important to the artist, who likes to seize on an object or subject to encourage the viewer to redefine it in the light of his work. Reza Lavasani has exhibited all over the world (Japan, France, Slovakia, Netherlands, Bangladesh, Turkey, England) and has taken part in numerous fairs, including the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019.

A fascinating journey into Leonardo da Vinci's works, the Renaissance and its perfumesThis exhibition catalogue is a journey into the perfumes of the Renaissance, through the daily life of Leonardo da Vinci and the legacy of his mother Caterina, who came from the shores of the Black Sea where she was sold as a slave. The book delves, among other things, into the scents of this region, and of this brilliant era: the spices, incense and musks of Constantinople, the perfumed costumes of Venice and Milan, and the treatises of Francis I's apothecaries. The book highlitghts the plants of the Tuscan master's childhood, such as olive, jas mine, juniper, lemon and orange tree, as well as the smells of the workshop, walnut and linseed oils, rabbitskin glue, resins, waxes and fats. Leonardo himself concocted fragrant recipes, from the most delicate to the most nauseating, using enfleurage and distillation techniques.

One of the pioneers of virtual artMiguel Chevalier, born in Mexico in 1959, is a French artist and pioneer of digital and virtual art. Trained at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, he has been developing a revolutionary oeuvre on the edges of immateriality since 1978. Miguel Chevalier's work takes a variety of forms: monumental-scale digital installa tions, 3D printing and laser-cut sculptures, robot drawings and virtual reality models. Using software designed by computer experts, this visionary artist creates generative and interactive installations that invite visitors to explore the space in a sensory way: in Magic Carpets and Extra-Natural the patterns and colours change as visitors walk around. Nature is a recurring theme in Miguel Chevalier's work, whose latest creation, Meta-Natura AI, projects onto the walls of Dongdaemun Design Plaza - one of Seoul's landmark buildings - flowers created by a generative AI, which proliferate and die. But this creative enthusiasm does not overlook the risks of technology, especially the dangers of urbanisation and the duality of flows and networks that fuel both infinite connections and insidious isolation. Miguel Chevalier's oeuvre is experimental and multidisciplinary. Taking references from the history of art and reformulating them using computer tools, his works inves tigate and explore recurrent themes such as nature and artifice, flows and networks, virtual cities and ornate designs. His images are a rich source of insights into ourselves and our relationship with the world.

One of the pioneers of virtual artMiguel Chevalier, born in Mexico in 1959, is a French artist and pioneer of digital and virtual art. Trained at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, he has been developing a revolutionary oeuvre on the edges of immateriality since 1978. Miguel Chevalier's work takes a variety of forms: monumental-scale digital installa tions, 3D printing and laser-cut sculptures, robot drawings and virtual reality models. Using software designed by computer experts, this visionary artist creates generative and interactive installations that invite visitors to explore the space in a sensory way: in Magic Carpets and Extra-Natural the patterns and colours change as visitors walk around. Nature is a recurring theme in Miguel Chevalier's work, whose latest creation, Meta-Natura AI, projects onto the walls of Dongdaemun Design Plaza - one of Seoul's landmark buildings - flowers created by a generative AI, which proliferate and die. But this creative enthusiasm does not overlook the risks of technology, especially the dangers of urbanisation and the duality of flows and networks that fuel both infinite connections and insidious isolation. Miguel Chevalier's oeuvre is experimental and multidisciplinary. Taking references from the history of art and reformulating them using computer tools, his works inves tigate and explore recurrent themes such as nature and artifice, flows and networks, virtual cities and ornate designs. His images are a rich source of insights into ourselves and our relationship with the world.

A complete monograph on a major artist and representative of Moroccan modernityAbdelkébir Rabi' was born in 1944 amidst the heights of Boulemane, Morocco's high est town. After training at the École Normale in Fez, he taught art and aesthetics in high school and then at the university until 2003. Born into a line of imams, Abdelkébir Rabi' challenges the anti-iconic principles he has inherited, seeking to reconcile artistic fervour and spiritual fulfilment. Rabi' began to paint in a figurative style and was gradually moving towards an abstract painting in the 1970s. Inspired as much by the grandeur of the Middle Atlas mountains as by artists such as Marc Couturier and Antoni Tàpies, Abdelkébir Rabi's work is a universal, meditative and contemplative quest. It unfolds in an infinite array of blacks of varying degrees of opacity, symbolising the interplay between light and shadow, figuration and abstrac tion, fullness and emptiness, the seen and the unseen. Each black line, often executed in a single gesture, contributes to create a pure and profound work, imbued with spirit uality. Rabi' sees art as "a personal matter", and his solitary approach underlines his dedication to art. This detailed monograph enriches the "Archives des Arts" collection directed by Brahim Alaoui and dedicated to contemporary and modern North African artists such as Mohamed Hamidi, Farid Belkahia, Ghada Amer and Mohamed Melehi.

The work of the young artist with an international career who employes collaging and traditional painting techniquesBorn in 1989 in Lagos, Nigeria, Marcellina Akpojotor engaged in drawing, design, stencil work, and calligraphy at an early age under her father's guidance. Later, she pursued formal education in Art and Industrial Design at the Lagos State Polytechnic, further honing her skills and broadening her artistic horizons. Akpojotor's art fascinates audiences worldwide through its thought-provoking narra tives and unique media, creating an aesthetic that mixes politics and intimacy around culture, identity, and feminism. Employing a captivating blend of collaging and traditional painting techniques, Akpojotor's creations are marked by rich textures, layered compositions, and com pelling, colourful visual imagery, delving into themes such as femininity, personal and societal identity, and women's empowerment. She transforms primarily discarded piec es of Ankara fabric, sourced from local fashion houses, into powerful canvases akin to "intriguing tapestries of twitchy and alluring tactile surfaces", as Professor Frank Ugiomoh writes in his essay.

The first monograph on the major contemporary artistBorn in Los Angeles in 1965, Jeff Kowatch has developed a demanding and subtle technique, inspired as much by Mark Rothko and Brice Marden as by the Flemish painters, from whom he borrows his mastery of glazing. On the canvas, he can overlay up to a hundred layers of paint, endlessly scraped, sanded and covered, which acquire an almost mystical depth and transparency. His works are inhabited by patches of colour that press and agglomerate on the support. Organised into series, his work also includes numerous drawings on paper in oil pastel and, since 2017, oilbar on dibond. His works forge numerous connections with literary and spiritual sources of inspiration.

A compelling insight into the life of one of the most iconic models in the world of 20th-century fashion Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn (1911-1992) was a dancer, photographer, stylist and sculptor, but above all one of the most emblematic models of the 20th-century fashion world. She worked with the greatest fashion photographers of her time from 1935 to 1955: Richard Avedon, Erwin Blumenfeld, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Fernand Fonssagrives, Toni Frissel, Horst P. Horst, whose favourite model she was, George Hoyningen-Huene, Frances Mclaughlin-Gill, Irving Penn, Georges Platt-Lynes, John Rowlings, etc. She was the first model to feature on the cover of Time magazine in September 1949. Wife of Irving Penn from 1950 until her death in 1992, she was, according to Alexander Liberman, artistic director of Vogue magazine, the subject of his greatest photographs. The MEP exhibition and accompanying catalogue will feature around 150 original vintage prints from her personal collection. Some of these images were published in Vogue France, Vogue US or Harper's Bazaar, and many are previously unpublished, including a large number of photographs of Fernand Fonssagrives, her first husband, and more private portraits taken by Irving Penn. An intimate and astonishing collection, with most of the prints revealed to the general public for the first time.

A Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation AwardCreated in 2021, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Environmental Photography Award serves a dual purpose: to celebrate the extraordinary beauty of our planet and to raise awareness of the major challenges we face in protecting it. These photographers take us on a pictorial journey from the polar ice caps to the secret canopies, showing both the devasteting effects of human activity and the courage of communities working for a sustainable world. Founded in 2006 by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Foundation is a global non-profit organisation committed to progressing planetary health for current and future generations by co-creating initiatives and supporting hundreds of projects across our precious planet.

Jewellery and Islamic art, the interweaving of masterpieces The book explores the influence of Islamic art on the production of jewelry and precious objects by Cartier, from the early 20th century to the present day. Jewellery and objects from the Cartier collection, masterpieces of Islamic art, drawings, books, photographs and archival documents trace the diversity of sources that inspired the forms and motifs used in Cartier creations. Sometimes easily identifiable, at other times decomposed and recomposed to the point of rendering their source untraceable, motifs and forms from Islamic art and architecture have integrated the stylistic language of designers to the point of constituting part of Cartier's repertoire to this day, illustrated by contemporary jewelry pieces that complete this journey. The mandorlas, palmettes, fleurons, rinceaux, sequins of Cartier jewelry are inspired in turn by motifs found in book bindings, oriental architecture and antique and contemporary jewelry purchased by Jacques Cartier during his expeditions to India. A true immersion in Cartier's creative process, this book documents the renewal of the iconic jewelry house's forms and manufacturing techniques.

Jewellery and Islamic art, the interweaving of masterpieces The book explores the influence of Islamic art on the production of jewelry and precious objects by Cartier, from the early 20th century to the present day. Jewellery and objects from the Cartier collection, masterpieces of Islamic art, drawings, books, photographs and archival documents trace the diversity of sources that inspired the forms and motifs used in Cartier creations. Sometimes easily identifiable, at other times decomposed and recomposed to the point of rendering their source untraceable, motifs and forms from Islamic art and architecture have integrated the stylistic language of designers to the point of constituting part of Cartier¿s repertoire to this day, illustrated by contemporary jewelry pieces that complete this journey. The mandorlas, palmettes, fleurons, rinceaux, sequins of Cartier jewelry are inspired in turn by motifs found in book bindings, oriental architecture and antique and contemporary jewelry purchased by Jacques Cartier during his expeditions to India. A true immersion in Cartier¿s creative process, this book documents the renewal of the iconic jewelry house¿s forms and manufacturing techniques.

"I wanted to draw attention to this geometric, rationalized, quantified world." ¿Peter Halley Throughout his career, Peter Halley (b. 1953, New York) has developed a vocabulary derived from geometric abstraction that reflects the contemporary world. His works are inhabited by ¿prisons¿, ¿cells¿ and ¿conduits¿, the result of a personal interpretation of New York society in the 80s and the advent of technology. This vocabulary is used by Peter Halley in all his paintings. Peter Halley has developed a reflection on the alienation of contemporary society, whose members live in cramped spaces (cells or prisons) interconnected by a system of circuits (conduits) encompassing pipes, chimneys, electrical installations and the Internet. The geometric compositions are characterized by an apparent simplicity that makes it tempting to follow the lines of the conduits. Yet, with a sense of humor, the artist sometimes decides to cut the connections, adding to the absurdity of contemporary society. The bright, often fluorescent colors create vibrant paintings that convey a joyful vision of the world. Peter Halley's work has been the subject of numerous recent exhibitions, including at the MUDAM in Luxembourg (2023), the Dallas Contemporary (2021), the Schirn Kunsthall in Frankfurt (2016) and the Musée d'art moderne et contemporain in Saint Etienne (2014). Many institutions have works by Peter Halley in their collections: the MoMA in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Tate in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

"It has become increasingly clear to me that the pleasure of painting lies in the subtle interplay between what the picture shows and what is says" ¿Yves Cler Yves Clerc began his career in drawing and photography, before turning to painting and abstraction, followed by figuration. He offers us a poetic vision of the world, where shimmering colors rub shoulders with flat blacks. Yves Clerc¿s aim is not to tell, but to show. Transparency and its staging are his favorite themes. His works often depict portraits of women, their eyes masked and their expression neutral, to let the whole composition express itself. Yves Clerc loves texture and plays with boundaries: he paints long, crumpled draperies that he creates with a juxtaposition of layers of paint, but also of techniques ¿ oil on canvas, acrylic, drawing, painting on photo. The artist also attaches great importance to resonances between works. He has thus reworked some great paintings in his own way, such as Vermeer¿s Girl With a Pearl Earring, and collaborates with personalities from other artistic backgrounds, such as Irina Vitjaz (a renowned Moscow stylist) and Leïla Menchar (set designer for Hermès). Yves Clerc mainly exhibits at the Bailly Gallery in Geneva, but his work is also regularly shown worldwide: Paris, Mexico City, Moscow, Geneva, London, Brussels, Lisbon, New York and Miami.

A crossroads of civilisations. Located at the crossroads of continents, AlUla has been a fantastic meeting point for civilizations who left behind an abundant heritage. For centuries, its oasis has been a crossing point for caravans on the Incense trade route, which connected Asia, Africa and Europe, transiting spices, myrrh, cotton, ebony, and silk. The oasis city, once named Dedan, has successively been ruled by Ancient North Arabian Kingdoms, then by the Nabataeans, an ancient civilization of Arabian mer chants, founded the ancient city of Hegra ¿ sibling of Petra ¿ whose flagship site Madain Saleh, listed as Unesco world heritage since 2008, houses 138 rocky tombs, sanctuaries, wells, decorated frontages, etc. Then the Roman Empire annexed the Kingdom and marked AlUla Valley with Greek and Latin influence, before Muhammad¿s arrival in 630 A.D. during his campaign against the Byzantine army. Carrying the memory of their predecessors, in the 13th century Muslims reused the stones of the Dedanite and Lihyanite ruins to build what we call today the Old Town of AlUla. All these civilizations stamped the region with their unique culture, leaving exceptional archaeological sites for posterity.

First monograph of a virtuoso painter. Khalif Tahir Thompson is an African-American painter who has just graduated from The Yale School of Art. His work is populated by black figures set in colourful, shimmering environments that sometimes resemble patchworks verging on abstraction. Yet each of his works seems rooted in reality. The artist manages to imbue his figures with a genuine psychological identity, revealing a meticulous study of the human being. In this way, he reveals himself to be an outstanding portraitist. In his groups of figures, some are posed, while others are taken on the spot, without paying any attention to the painter. All of which adds to the feeling of immediacy of an artist in love with reality. Elsewhere, Khalif Tahir Thompson likes to depict isolated figures dozing in an atmosphere of serenity, despite the obvious vulnerability of his characters. The artist's works are also filled with mysterious letters and numbers. These multiple signs echo the diversity of materials used by the artist. Painting in oils and acrylics, the artist creates his own papers, which he then applies to the canvas. He likes to mix pearls, fabric, velvet, newspaper and leather to create wonderful material effects. This is the first reference monograph on the practice of this very young painter whose work is already prolific.

A crossroads of civilisations. Located at the crossroads of continents, AlUla has been a fantastic meeting point for civilizations who left behind an abundant heritage. For centuries, its oasis has been a crossing point for caravans on the Incense trade route, which connected Asia, Africa and Europe, transiting spices, myrrh, cotton, ebony, and silk. The oasis city, once named Dedan, has successively been ruled by Ancient North Arabian Kingdoms, then by the Nabataeans, an ancient civilization of Arabian mer chants, founded the ancient city of Hegra ¿ sibling of Petra ¿ whose flagship site Madain Saleh, listed as Unesco world heritage since 2008, houses 138 rocky tombs, sanctuaries, wells, decorated frontages, etc. Then the Roman Empire annexed the Kingdom and marked AlUla Valley with Greek and Latin influence, before Muhammad¿s arrival in 630 A.D. during his campaign against the Byzantine army. Carrying the memory of their predecessors, in the 13th century Muslims reused the stones of the Dedanite and Lihyanite ruins to build what we call today the Old Town of AlUla. All these civilizations stamped the region with their unique culture, leaving exceptional archaeological sites for posterity.

"The portrait is a process of distillation of the essence of the being whose only purpose is to preserve the aura of the individual." Born in 1968 in Jiangsu, China, LiFang lives and works in Paris. Her figurative work, on the border of abstraction, deals with all the subjects of our daily universe: antonymous crowds in megalopolises, portraits of her entourage, scenes of idleness at the water¿s edge, current events (Chinese censorship, migrants)... Her singular technique proceeds in large strokes: the bodies appear as sculpted blocks, right in the colored material. LiFang works in the same way on facial features, bodies and clothes. This unity of treatment and this refusal to individualize the characters transform the subjects into beings who, having no other consistency than that of the paint, send us back the image of our shared solitudes. Behind their apparent banality, his paintings express universal feelings: loneliness in crowds, the joy of bodies at rest connected to nature... By revisiting the subjects of classical painting, LiFang invents new codes to propose a contemporary vision of the beauty of the world. Timeless, light and deep, joyful and dramatic, LiFang¿s work is an open work. It offers the viewer the freedom to realize his or her own imagination while feeling part of the community of the living. This first monograph invites the reader to explore all aspects of her work. LiFang is represented by several galleries, including Galerie Boulakia, Red Zone Arts, SpArts Paris. The Cernushi Museum acquired three of her works in 2013.

The book presents the work of French designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte through crafts. Celebrating the unique skills of glassblowers and glass artisans, Wilmotte¿s collection ¿Vessels¿ is a mix of nostalgia and modernity. Works, mainly inspired by his childhood's memories and objects in his father¿s pharmaceutical laboratory, are made in historical workshops of Murano (an island in the Venetian Lagoon known alla around the world for the glass creations of its artisans). Chandeliers, table lamps, vases and other objects presented in this book are made for public and private spaces and are displayed in hotels, theaters, train stations and offices in many countries. Glass is a material both simple to make and difficult to work with. It offers infinite creative possibilites for those who know how to master it. The collaboration between Wilmotte and Muranös craftsmen results in unique works playing with forms and supports. The designer¿s vision spreads through all the glass creations. Transparency and malleability of glass allow delicate art works with sharp lines and this material is perfect to emphasize symmetry and equilibrium ¿ which are key themes in Wilmotte¿s work. The photographs of this book, exclusively taken at Venice, suggest travelling through the city and its artisans¿ workshops. Alessandra Chemollös work confront Venice of postcards and Wilmotte¿s creations in pictures playing with light and reflections. Architecture and craftsmanship are mixed, in a quest for continuity and complementarity.