MBR: The Artbook Shelf
MWBOOKREVW
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
100 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011
0810946335 $75.00 1-800-759-0190
Julian Schnabel is an extraordinary 368-page "coffee table" artbook featuring
and showcasing the dramatic works of American artist Julian Schnabel flawlessly
reproduced in vivid color. Brush strokes and raw painted color come alive with
simple yet bold form, producing imagery that stays firmly in one's mind, in
this superb presentation devoted entirely to Schnabel's art itself as beyond
two pages of introduction there is no text present at all, save for (at the end
of the book), a "Selected Exhibition History"; a "Selected Bibliography"; an
comprehensive "Artwork Index" listing the titles of the artwork comprising this
quite exceptional and highly recommended compendium.
Flowers
Erika Just
Watson Guptill Publications
770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
0823018539 $24.95 1-800-451-1741
Flowers: Wonders Of Nature In Watercolor is a full-color, how-to guide by Erika
Just and expressly recommended to aspiring artists which to reveal and
re-produce the beauty of flowers through the medium of watercolor. From
establishing a color scheme; to building layers of color, contrast, and detail;
to adding quality finishing touches, all instructions are superbly illustrated
with captivating artworks. Flowers: Wonders Of Nature In Watercolor is a
first-rate and thoroughly "user friendly" guide for watercolor artists of all
skill and experience levels.
Kamoro Art
Dirk Smidt, Editor
KIT Publishers
PO Box 95001, The Netherlands
9068322680 $39.50 www.kit.nl/publishers
Kamoro Art: Tradition And Innovation In A New Guinea Culture will find its
place in any art history collection with special focus on primitive tribes and
peoples in general and Asia in particular, covering the neglected art of the
Kamoro peoples living in Papua. Major pieces from the collection of the
Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde supplements other pieces from other Netherlands
holdings to provide a comprehensive visual coverage accompanied by a fine essay
on major ceremonies by Jan Pouwer and other contrib-utions.
Exploring Electric Kiln Techniques
Sumi von Dassow, editor
The American Ceramic Society
735 Ceramic Place, Westerville OH 43081
1574981609 $28.95 www.ceramics.org
Expertly compiled and edited by Elaine M. Levin, Exploring Electric Kiln
Techniques is a compendium of thematically coordinated articles drawn from the
pages of "Ceramics Monthly" over a twenty-five year period and which are
focused upon the work and experience of ceramic artists who use an electric
kiln in the process of their art and craft. Disseminating knowledge about clay
bodies, glazes, decorating, and form, offering technical specifications for
porcelain and glaze recipes, and enhanced with an abundance of superb
full-color photography, Exploring Electric Kiln Techniques is especially
appropriate reading for students and practitioners of the ceramic art, as well
as art connoisseurs and collectors. Also very highly recommended is a companion
volume based upon "Ceramics Monthly" magazine articles and edited by Sumi von
Dassow: Movers & Shakers In American Ceramics: Defining Twentieth Century
Ceramics (157498165X, $28.95).
Guston In Time
Ross Feld
Counterpoint
387 Park Ave. South, NY NY 1006
1582432848 $25.00 1-800-242-7737
Figurative painter Guston's life was vibrant" he was a muralist, then an
abstract expressionist, and finally a figurative artists. Here friend and
novelist Feld, Guston's friend, interprets his works and his friendship with
Guston, adding many personal insights and embellishments from the friendship
which will lead artists to a fuller appreciation of his life. A recommended
picks for Guston fans who want an insightful biography/memoir.
The Art Of The Russian Matryoshka
Rett Ertl & Rick Hibberd
Vernissage Press
2200 Central Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301
www.vernissagepress.com
0972502718 $40.00 1-888-849-8697
The detailed and collaborative work of Rett Ertl and Rick Hibberd, The Art Of
The Russian Matryoshka is a unique and distinctive artbook devoted to the
classic Russian toy consisting of dolls that fit inside one another. 330
full-color photographs illustrate and showcase rare and vintage matryoshka,
while the narrative text covers the history of this device as well as the steps
of its creation today. The Art Of The Russian Matryoshka is especially
recommended for toy collectors and a welcome contribution Russian Cultural
Studies collections.
Belarski: Pulp Art Masters
John P. Gunnison
Adventure House
914 Laredo Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20901
www.adventurehouse.com
1886937741 $20.00 1-301-754-1589
Compiled and edited by John P. Gunnison, Belarski: Pulp Art Masters is an
superbly organized and presented artbook showcasing the distinctive work of
Rudolph Belarski, a commercial artist best known for his action-packed,
eye-catching covers of (in)famous "pulp" magazines. Numerous covers presented
in full-color, each with a very brief yet insightful caption concerning the
scene, hallmark this eye-catching collection especially recommended for fans of
the uniquely captivating appeal of pulp magazine art of a yesteryear American
popular culture.
Symbols In Art
Serge Polakoff
Harmony 2000, Inc.
1725 Ocean Front Walk, Suite 805, Santa Monica, CA 90401
www.harmony2000.com
0972654925 $49.95 1-310-656-8842
Symbols In Art: The Hidden Keys To Love, Balance, And Renewal by Serge Polakoff
adroitly combines full-color artwork (including many classical pieces), with an
erudite and learned discourse concerning the meaning and power of symbols. Very
highly recommended reading, especially for students of art, art history, and
graphic design, Symbols In Art is superbly articulated with four symbols
associated with the classical four elements of earth, water, air, and fire, the
informed and informative text accessibly explores hypothetical, emotional, and
evocative issues embracing the soul of humanity and the expression of that soul
through artistic creations.
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