WORDS Robyn Alexander
From a new generation of antiques and collectable connoisseurs to a pair of iconic South African modernist sculptors, these beautiful new books will inspire any interior space.
The New Antiquarians: At Home With Young Collectors
by Michael Diaz-Griffith, with primary photography by Brian W Ferry and additional photography by Leon Foggitt (Phaidon, 2023)
New York-based curator, designer and author Michael Diaz-Griffith is pretty much the same age as the younger generation of creative collectors of historic objects who feature in his Phaidon book, The New Antiquarians. No wonder, then, that this delightful work demonstrates so well how a new group of connoisseurs – 22 are featured in total, hailing from across the US and the UK – is engaging with antique pieces culturally, personally and aesthetically, and often in fresh, unexpected ways. Their idiosyncratic homes are assembled around eclectic collections of objects, and brilliantly blend the old with the new. Rising young fashion designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla’s unique apartment, which she shares with husband Aaron Singh Aujla, is a particularly gorgeous highlight.
The Sculptures of Sydney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae
by Gavin Watkins and Charles Skinner (Strauss & Co, 2023)
“The Sculptures of Sydney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae is an indispensable resource for future researchers in the field of black modernist artists in South Africa,” says Wilhelm van Rensburg, head curator and senior art specialist at Strauss & Co. Authors Gavin Watkins and Charles Skinner spent 25 years researching and compiling this catalogue raisonné, with extensive input from the families of iconic South African artists Sydney Kumalo (1935-1988) and Ezrom Legae (1938-1999). The artists’ Johannesburg gallerists, Egon Guenther and Linda Goodman, and the Grosvenor Gallery in London, as well as their teachers and mentors Cecil Skotnes and Edoardo Villa, also made significant contributions. Illustrated with more than 1 100 photographs, this book is a true collector’s item, and an essential document of the 180 remarkable sculptural pieces these two artists created in their lifetime.
Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century
by Phaidon editors, with an introduction by William Norwich (Phaidon, 2023)
Featuring 400 fabulous residential rooms from across the globe, organised alphabetically by the name of their designers, Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century highlights exquisite interiors created by fashion designers, artists, style icons and film stars. Ranging across time from the beginning of the 20th century to the present, the book features everything from châteaux to penthouses, desert ranches and beachside retreats in more than 25 countries. With inspiring, unique spaces by interior-design legends such as Elsie de Wolfe and Billy Baldwin, fashion designers including Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent, and artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Cy Twombly, the book is also a beautiful object in its own right, with an eye-catching pink cover.
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