"A painting must stand as a painting, made by human hand,” wrote Caspar David Friedrich, "not seek to disguise itself as Nature.” One of his generation’s most popular painters, Friedrich imagined landscapes of powerful beauty and spirituality from within the confines of his studios. This breathtaking monograph, filled with glorious reproductions and details of his paintings, argues for Friedrich’s reputation as a sublime artist and interpreter of nature. In his thoughtful and well-researched commentary, author Johannes Grave explores Friedrich’s approach to landscape painting as well as his revolutionary thoughts about how these paintings should be received by their viewers. Looking closely at pieces such as Monk by the Sea, Abbey in the Oakwood, and the Tetschener Altar, Grave shows how Friedrich developed an innovative approach to landscape painting, one that communicated a new sense of space and time, and which draws the viewer into a unique aesthetic experience. Highly readable, insightful, and copiously illustrated, this compelling book sheds crucial light on Friedrich’s celebrated body of work.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 288

Dimensions: 255 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 21-08-2017

Brian M. Viveros paints dangerous women. Often depicted helmeted and smoking, they sport bandages as if they had just been in a fight and won. This first ever monograph on this talented self-taught artist allows us to enter his fantasy world where women are sexy and powerful and men are nowhere to be seen. From his first group exhibition 20 years ago where his work was exhibited alongside the likes of H.R. Giger and Eric Stanton, his reputation among the art community and collectors alike has continued to grow. Dirtyland documents eighteen years of his work including over 100 full-page reproductions of his classic paintings, in-depth essays, an interview with the artist, behind the scenes photographs and much more.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 216

Dimensions: 230 x 304 mm

Publication Date: 01-06-2017

Much of what we now know in Western Civilization can be traced back to ancient civilizations in China and in Egypt. In this illuminating book, hundreds of works dating from the 4th millennium BC to the 2nd century AD are presented side-by-side—and the similarities between both cultures are startling and significant. Divided into chapters focusing on each region’s writing, government, daily life, religious beliefs, and funeral rites, the book examines how these cultures developed in parallel. These beautiful antiquities offer new insights into how ancient people lived, worked, and worshiped over the same time period on different continents.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 288

Dimensions: 240 x 270 mm

Publication Date: 21-08-2017

Playing with Fire: Paintings by Carlos Almaraz is the first full-length monograph devoted to an artist known for both his politically engaged cultural production as well as his vibrant, highly sought-after studio art, particularly his scenes of car crashes and pastoral depictions of L.A.’s Echo Park. Among the leading figures whose artistic, cultural, and political motivations catalyzed the Chicano Art movement in the 1970s, Almaraz began his career with works for the United Farm Workers and cofounded the important artists collective Los Four. Although he saw himself as an activist, Almaraz straddled multiple — and often contradictory — identities that drew from divergent cultures and approaches, and his work became less overtly political and more personal, psychological, dreamlike, and even mystical as he evolved artistically. The book features more than 60 works, mostly from the late 1970s through 1989, the year of the artist’s untimely death at age 48, as well as selections from his journals and recollections from numerous colleagues and friends who knew him throughout his career.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 144

Dimensions: 235 x 270 mm

Publication Date: 21-08-2017

Drawing the Human Head offers detailed insights into how emotions and feelings are reflected in people's faces and how they can be depicted. It is a systematic and structured textbook for learning the skills necessary to draw the human head, and a useful manual for anyone who is eager to learn to draw or to gain further illustration skills. It was written for art students at schools, art academies and universities, and its texts and images have been designed to be understood by both younger and older adults. The book can also be used as a self-study tool.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 192

Dimensions: 215 x 297 mm

Publication Date: 01-08-2017

Graphic tees have been around for decades now, representing as-pects of our lives we are not afraid to share in public, from social and political affiliations to artistic and musical preferences, life-style pursuits or sense of humor. Freestyle focuses on one distinct style of this artwork on ap-parel: the simple line illustration. Whether representational or ab-stract, there is a looseness there, a studied playfulness which ap-peals to our sense of whimsy. Brands respond by commissioning some of the world’s best artists to create graphics that speak to their consumers while exemplifying their graphic identities. Not limited to t-shirts, this survey includes sneakers, hats, glasses and accessories, all displaying this casualness of form.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 185 x 247 mm

Publication Date: 24-04-2017

Typography is the art and technique of designing and arranging type, to make texts readable and appealing and therefore a fundamental area of graphic design. "Typography" gathers a selection of the most creative design projects from all over the world ranging from branding, poster and packaging design to space design.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 210 x 285 mm

Publication Date: 01-07-2017

A fashion design tutorial by Daniela Bambatti, Versace's chief design illustrator, the book is an idea of couturier Favio Marconi who, impressed by her drawing style and the precision with which she captures the flow of fabric over the body, convinced her to put it into print so fashion students and fashion designers could profit from her mastery. In her tutorial, full of drawing and colouring tips, Bambatti reveals her fresh and innovative style, halfway between fashion sketching and illustration.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 215 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 01-08-2017

Knitwear Fashion Design aims to help fashion students to understand the basic design elements in knitwear and learn how illustrate them. Whether handmade or industrially- produced, deconstructive or avant-garde, knitwear has now become a staple collection piece every season and its resurgence as a key fashion item has rekindled a trend and a keen interest in this once very traditional craft. Developments in modern techniques, the revival of traditional craft skills and a new appreciation of couture craftsmanship have put knitwear back into the fashion spotlight. This practical book begins with a thorough exposition of basic yarns and threads, picot, mohair’s, knots, together with a brief description about their structure and illustrations for each example. Together with a thorough presentation of a variety of patterns and complements ending with the most common knitwear types, it is documented by a range of suitable poses in movement based on contemporary apparel. Offering an extensive overview about yarn types, garment, accessories and finishes this book also teaches how to transform and renovate basic pieces. Various attractive designs are shown as well as the stitches needed to create and illustrate these garments such as cable, Aran, jacquards, ribs etc. Whether hand knitted or industrially produced the book is a glorious celebration of the new vogue in knitting, showcasing examples of knitted pieces from fashion great designers. Encouraging the reader to be innovative, this book is sure to be an inspiration for anyone working with or interested in knitted textiles and garment illustration.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 160

Dimensions: 220 x 260 mm

Publication Date: 01-07-2017

Those who have suffered the loss of a long-lived canine companion may take some solace in the classic prose poem by Eugene O’Neill – The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog. Here, the poem, written from the point of view of O’Neill’s beloved Dalmatian Blemie, is accompanied by Mark Andresen’s equally sympathetic illustrations of dogs of various breeds. This illustrated eulogy is a balm for anyone who’s recently lost their dog, or a perfect gift for a friend in their time of loss. Andresen’s original drawings along with the words of America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright are a perfect match.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 16

Dimensions: 134 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 14-08-2017