Born like Venus on the half shell from the centuries-long tradition of the nude in painting, the nude first appeared as a subject matter in photography with the introduction of the medium itself, between 1837 and 1840, and has continued as an ever-evolving theme through changing technical developments and cultural mores to the present day. This volume surveys the subject of nudity from the earliest surviving photographs of Greek and Roman sculpture through studies of living nude models for aesthetic or scientific purposes to the burgeoning practice of exploring the human body as pure form. The seventy-eight works, selected from the extensive collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum and further contextualized here in the essay Masterworks of the Nude, span the entire arc of the history of photography in a manner that is both fresh and illuminating. Among the sixty-four photographers included are nineteenth-century masters Julia Margaret Cameron, Edgar Degas, and Thomas Eakins; early-twentieth-century artists Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston; mid-twentieth-century innovators Bill Brandt, Harry Callahan, and Minor White; late-twentieth-century image makers Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Herb Ritts; and contemporary artists Chuck Close, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, and Mona Kuhn.

Walking, Finding, Sharing offers visitors of the world's largest art exhibition a novel approach to experiencing art. Inspired by travel guides and museum tours, this richly illustrated book invites children and families, comic lovers, and seasoned exhibition visitors alike to see documenta fifteen with new eyes. Four international illustrators and four authors bring the universe of ruangrupa's documenta fifteen to life through graphic storytelling, stimulating readers' imaginations with their vivid imagery. Each of the five tours - Humor, Local Anchor, Independence, Generosity, and Transparency - is based on the value system of the Indonesian curatorial team and offers ideas and perspectives that complement the exhibition. Walking, Finding, Sharing encourages visitors to find their own ways of approaching documenta fifteen: each path is a suggestion and can be explored spontaneously, in full or only in parts. This entertaining book serves as a reference, a joyful companion, and an innovative guide that will inspire both children and adults to engage with the exhibition.

Gender Gap, curated by Laura Andreini, documents an exhibition of projects and maquettes by 20 international female architects. Created in conjunction with "The Architect's Table", a series of events held at the Museo Novecento in Florence in 2021, the architects featured here address the personal challenges they have encountered in the course of their careers in a field where men are still the predominant players, and offer their observations on women in architecture in the 21st century. In separate chapters, the show highlights work by Carmen Andriani, Sandy Attia, Cristina Celestino, Izaskun Chinchilla, Maria Claudia Clemente, Isotta Cortesi, Elizabeth Diller, Lina Ghothmeh, Carla Juacaba, Fuesanta Nieto, Simona Ottieri, Carme Pigem, Guendalina Salimei, Marella Santangelo, Maria Alessandra Segantini, Benedetta Tagliabue, Monica Tricario, Patricia Viel, Paola Vigano and Laura Andreini, curator of the exhibition and catalogue.

George Stubbs (1724-1806), now recognized as one of the greatest and most original artists of the eighteenth century, stands out from other practitioners in the field of animal painting. His most frequent commissions were for paintings of horses, dogs, and wild animals, and his images invariably arrest attention and frequently strike a deeply poetic note. Stubbs did not emerge as a painter until he was in his mid-thirties, but then his genius flowered astonishingly. He steadily celebrates English sporting and country life and reveals himself-in his "incidental" portraits of jockeys and grooms, for example-as a perceptive observer of different levels of social behavior. Among his many experiments with technique were his chemical experiments with painting in enamels, first on copper and later on earthenware "tablets," manufactured for him in Wedgwood's potteries. This is the first full catalogue of Stubbs's paintings and drawings. Along with the full catalogue entries, the book offers a lengthy study of Stubbs's art and career. Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

A comprehensive survey of the photography of rising and influential Black artist Joshua Rashaad McFadden American artist Joshua Rashaad McFadden (b. 1990) makes photographs that explore and celebrate Black life in the United States. Published in conjunction with his first solo museum exhibition, Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I'll Run On demonstrates his mastery of a wide range of photographic genres-social documentary, reportage, portraiture, and fine art-and his use of the medium to confront racism and anti-Black violence. Like Black photographers before him, such as Gordon Parks, Roy DeCarava, Carrie Mae Weems, Dawoud Bey, and LaToya Ruby Frazier, McFadden documents the beauty of Black life and illuminates the specificity of Black living in our historical present, including a series of impactful photographs devoted to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Along with a candid conversation between McFadden and artist Lyle Ashton Harris and an essay that traces McFadden's meteoric career, this catalogue offers an overview of and insight into a poignant and deeply personal body of work, asserting McFadden's key role in shaping the art and visual culture of the United States. Published in association with the George Eastman Museum Exhibition Schedule: George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY (November 5, 2021-June 19, 2022)

The Book of Optics, written by the Arab scholar Ibn al Haytham in 1021 AD, formed the conceptual framework of the Public Art Program of EXPO 2020 in Dubai. Eleven renowned artists were invited to create newly commissioned, permanent artworks in public space to explore this central work of medieval science. The publication presents the works together with numerous text contributions. They explore the philosophical definitions of vision, cognition, and the importance of imagination in constructing a coherent picture of reality. With over 190 countries participating, EXPO 2020 in Dubai brought together numerous cultural and artistic initiatives to build bridges between people, communities and nations.

The work of Fabrice Samyn is as diverse as it is complex, often referencing masterpieces of art history. In his paintings, sculptures and drawings, the artist manages to translate and magnify details from the paintings of the old masters. With his fascination for the spoken word and everyday poetry, he also follows the path taken before him by his Belgian compatriot Rene Magritte.

Carole A. Feuerman is celebrated as one of America's major hyper-realistic sculptors, alongside Duane Hanson and John De Andrea. Born 1945, she was educated in New York and Philadelphia and began as an illustrator before turning to sculpture in the 1970s, which soon earned her much recognition and early success. A pioneer of hyper-realism in sculpture, her work has been displayed in many group shows and solo exhibitions at private galleries and public museums, as well as at the major art fairs, in America, Europe, and Asia. Over five decades, Feuerman has created visual manifestations of stories telling of strength, survival, and balance. She works in marble, bronze, vinyl, painted resins, and stainless steel. Her work is marked by her thorough understanding of materials' characteristics and her ability to control them in the studio. Her subject matter is the human figure, most often a woman in an introspective moment of exuberant self-consciousness shaded by erotic lassitude. Feuerman's works represent a state of female mind rather that an alluring body meant to attract the male gaze. They suggest that women look at themselves differently from men looking at them, that a woman is more innately creative than a man. Many of Feuerman's figures have a fragmented quality, recalling those by Auguste Rodin, and the aesthetics of Surrealism. This is the most comprehensive survey of Feuerman's work in sculpture to date. Lavishly illustrated in colour throughout, it demonstrates the variety of materials and media she uses and highlights the specific qualities of her figures.

The Danner Rotunde, the jewellery room in the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, was opened in 2004. Ambitious activities by the Danner-Stiftung and Die Neue Sammlung - The Design Museum, with the support of renowned jewellery artists such as Hermann Junger, Otto Kunzli and Peter Skubic, bore the fruit of two globally renowned jewellery collections. Today these comprise far in excess of 1,700 jewellery items, presented in pictures for the first time in this synopsis. Interviews with the creative minds behind these two unique collections in the field of studio jewellery enable insights into a previously unknown history, and an illustrated chronology arrives at astonishing results. Biographies on more than 300 jewellery artists also present those who have been virtually forgotten today. An indispensable compendium on the subject of contemporary jewellery art. Text in English and German.

An in-depth examination of the crucial role that Amsterdam played in Rembrandt's evolution as an artist Around the age of 25, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) moved from his hometown of Leiden to Amsterdam, which was the commercial capital of northern Europe at that time. Considered a bold step for a fledgling artist, this change demonstrates that Rembrandt wanted to benefit financially from Amsterdam's robust art market. He soon married the cousin of a successful art dealer, and came into frequent contact with wealthy and sophisticated patrons who eagerly commissioned him to paint their portraits. The artist's style quickly evolved from the small, meticulous panels of his Leiden period to the broadly brushed, dramatically lit, and realistically rendered canvases for which he is renowned. Rembrandt in Amsterdam explores this pivotal transition in the artist's career and reveals how the stimulating and affluent environment of Amsterdam inspired him to reach his full potential. Lavishly illustrated, this volume offers a fascinating look into Amsterdam's unparalleled creative community and its role in Rembrandt's development of a wide-ranging brand that comprised landscapes, genre scenes, history paintings, portraits, and printmaking. Distributed for the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Exhibition Schedule: National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (May 14-September 6, 2021) Stadel Museum, Frankfurt am Main (Fall 2021)

"Pars Pro Toto II" was, like the first volume in 2008, developed in the course of a close dialogue between the German Egyptian artist Susan Hefuna and the editor, Hans Ulrich Obrist. It presents Hefuna's recent body of work.

Susan Hefuna's work has been widely exhibited at such venues as the Louvre, Paris; Townhouse Gallery, Cairo; the House of World Cultures, Berlin; the Third Line Gallery, Dubai; Sharjah Biennial; Albion Gallery, London and New York; the New Museum, New York; and Sevilla Biennial. She has been nominated for the 2009 Jameel Prize by London's Victoria and Albert Museum, and will be included in the Venice Biennial in 2009.

A landmark survey of Sol LeWitt's printmaking practice The conceptual artist Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) is best known for his programmatic wall drawings and modular structures, but alongside these works he generated more than 350 print projects, comprising thousands of lithographs, silkscreens, etchings, aquatints, woodcuts, and linocuts. This generously illustrated volume is the first to take a comprehensive look at LeWitt's significant yet underexplored printmaking practice. Drawing together new archival research, interviews, and careful material and visual analyses, David S. Areford brilliantly situates LeWitt's prints within the broader context of his serial-, system-, and rule-based approach to artmaking. The specific processes of print media, Areford argues, were perfectly suited for LeWitt's particular brand of conceptual art, in which the "idea becomes the machine that makes the art." With over 400 illustrations, many never before published, this study offers a more complete picture of LeWitt's oeuvre-and the essential place printmaking holds in it. The result will deepen the understanding not only of the variety of LeWitt's output but of the genealogy of his distinct geometric and linear formal language.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) has undergone an 11-year renovation period resulting in a total makeover. The museum as it stands today is in all respects new: there is an entirely new museum volume, the monumental museum building has been restored to its historic magnificence, the exterior has been conserved and the garden newly landscaped. KMSKA - The Finest Museum showcases this enormous renovation and also highlights a second innovation of equally massive scale: the entire operation of the museum has been brought up to date. In this book you can find the answers to questions such as, how did the collection reach its current incarnation? And, how does the KMSKA make its decisions about what to display? How do you appeal to as diverse an audience as possible? How does the museum present itself to the world? What expectations are museums faced with in our 21st century? Discover the vibrant history of this modern and perpetually evolving museum. With images by photographer Karin Borghouts. This publication is issued on the occasion of the reopening of the KMSKA in September 2022.

Massin (b. 1925) emerged as one of the key players instrumental in the evolution of graphic arts following World War II. His work in the field is a model of creativity infused with elegance and humour, and has covered editorial design, graphics, poster and logo design; art direction, typography and photography; and publishing, design education and writing. Throughout his career, Massin has developed a diverse and forward-thinking body of work with some of the most prestigious cultural institutions and the post-war literary world. During his 20 years working with the pre-eminent, French publisher, Gallimard, he established and developed their art direction department, launched the Folio series - a popular collection of pocket books - and redesigned the famous logo for the Nouvelle Revue Francaise (New French Review literary publication).Massin is a book sculptor, and has worked on a freelance basis with an extensive range of other renowned publishers, including Hoebeke, Le Club Francais du Livre, Albin Michel, Plon, Le Seuil and Larousse. Collaborating with famous playwrights and writers such as Eugene Ionesco and Raymond Queneau, Massin explored the realm of 'expressive typography', making the text more energetic and exciting with the interplay of words and images. His concepts for Cantatrice Chauve, by Eugene Ionesco (1964 - in English The Bald Soprano, 1965 for the US edition, and The Bald Prima Donna, 1966 for the UK edition) and Exercices de Style, by Raymond Queneau, stand as masterpieces in book design and are commonly used by professors in graphic design classes to illustrate a unique adventure in the history of typography.Before the broken type associated with the design group, Pentagram emerged in the field of graphic arts, Massin was experimenting with letters, fonts and images, producing creative three-dimensional limited-edition covers and a series of imaginative book bindings. He also educated the public with his own publications on the techniques of typography with projects such as L'ABC du Metier and la Mise en Pages. His famous book La lettre de l'image (in English Letter and Image) is a unique anthology of illustrated and expressive letter forms. It was first published in 1970 in five languages, and has been in print ever since.

The most comprehensive book yet about the Egyptian German artist Susan Hefuna, "Pars Pro Toto" was developed in the course of a dialogue with the editor, Hans Ulrich Obrist. Hefuna has been working in the media of drawing, photography, installation, and video since the early 1990s. She uses these various techniques to intertwine levels of meaning and reflect many-layered codes, which she interprets in both concrete and abstract manners.

Susan Hefuna, born in 1962, has been widely exhibited at such venues as the Louvre, Paris; Townhouse Gallery, Cairo; the Third Line Gallery, Dubai; Sharjah Biennale; the New Museum, New York; Albion Gallery, New York; and many more.

00s is the first exhibition that explores the 2000s, taking as its starting point one of the most important European collections of contemporary art - the Cranford Collection. This accompanying catalogue selects 100 works from the collection, and includes pieces by artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter, Raymond Pettibon, and Josh Smith. With an introduction by Nicolas Bourriaud, the CEO of MO.CO, and interviews with Muriel and Freddy Salem, the Patrons of the Cranford Collection. Text in English and French.

For 40 years, the Cold War dominated the world stage. East and West Germany stood at the frontlines of the global confrontation, symbolized by the infamous Berlin Wall, which separated lovers, friends, families, coworkers, and compatriots. The Wende Museum in Los Angeles, California, is named after the period of change immediately following the wall's destruction. It was established in 2002 to study the visual and material culture of the former Eastern Bloc, and, with physical and psychic distance, to foster multiple perspectives on this multilayered history that continues to shape our world. This encyclopedic volume features around 2,000 items from its extraordinary collections. Based on our XL-sized volume, this edition includes a full spectrum of art, archives, and artifacts from socialist East Germany: official symbols and dissident expressions, the spectacular and the routine, the mass-produced and the handmade, the funny and the tragic. Accompanying these remnants of a now-vanished world are texts from scholars and specialists from across Europe, Canada, and the United States, with themes ranging from the secret police to sexuality, from monuments to mental-mapping. More than 800 pages, featuring around 2,000 objects. A smaller, more accessible version of our XL-sized volume, the most comprehensive overview of GDR visual and material culture to date. Several dozen images of everyday life and public events from the most famous GDR photographers. Special two-language edition featuring texts both in English and German. From November 18, 2017, visit the Wende Musem at its expanded campus in Culver City's Armory Building, a site originally created in preparation for World War III but re-designed by Michael Boyd, Christian Kienapfel, and Benedikt Taschen to welcome its 100,000+ collection of artifacts.

German photographer Hildegard Theodora Monssen (b.1948) creates sensual flower portraits that are both expressive and mysterious. She captures her motifs with natural light in extreme close-ups and reveals the personality of wilting flowers in all their vulnerability. Her images make visible the beauty of transience and temporality. Her balanced works of art function as a reflective memento mori. --Rick Vercauteren, Director of the Museum van Bommel-Van Dam, Venlo, NL from 2005 - 2019.