The quickest way to get to know someone is to look at their bookshelf. Obsessions, aspirations, inspirations—it’s all there. This season, an especially tantalizing selection of art and design books has the potential to add a fresh dose of delight to your shelf (or coffee table). As a break in format from my typical conversation-led columns, this month I’ve pulled together my reading list for creative-minded individuals. All volumes are either available now or scheduled to be published this spring.
The Shakers: A World in the Making, Vitra Design Museum
An upcoming exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum will examine the impact and legacy of the Shakers, a religious sect who settled in and around Pennsylvania in the 1780s and became renowned for their pared-back approach to craft. This simplistic approach had a huge influence on modern design, and continues to inspire contemporary designers—whose work will be showcased alongside historic artifacts in the exhibit. The accompanying book, written by curator Glenn Adamson, contains an array of thematic essays contextualizing the Shakers within the wider design, architecture, and art canon.
The Inner Life of the Artist, Phaidon
Delving into the minds and practices of artists is one of my favorite things to do (hence this column!). This book—the third in a series by Juliette Aristides—focuses less on studio technique than the previous installments and more on how to cultivate a creative mindset. The author aims to unravel the thoughts of artists via a series of short essays and impactful quotes by contemporary and historical practitioners, as well as a selection of nearly 100 artworks from the past and present. It also includes fun exercises for those interested in drawing, painting, and other artistic pursuits.
Glorious Gardens, Phaidon
With spring just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start thinking about all things floral. This verdant volume is packed with inspiration for the green-fingered, offering a look at the private Edens of leading interior designers, including the likes of Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Michelle Nussbaumer, and Veere Grenney. It’s particularly interesting to see how their interior styles translate outdoors; the book’s large-format imagery helps to draw the reader into these lush and vivid worlds.
Tadao Ando: Light and Space, Phaidon
Tadao Ando’s architecture never ceases to spellbind me, and the photos of his work by longtime collaborator Richard Pare show off the impeccably detailed concrete forms for which Ando is renowned. The second Ando monograph from Phaidon documents 28 of the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect’s projects around the world, from the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri, to the recently completed Bourse de Commerce in Paris. Readers are treated to a foreword by Ando himself, an introduction from architect Dominique Perrault, and four original drawings printed on tissue paper created specifically for this book.
Frank Lloyd Wright, Phaidon
Take one look at this cover and without even reading the text, its subject is immediately identifiable. Famed modernist architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s signature aesthetic stretches well beyond buildings, as this comprehensive monograph explores in detail (though there’s plenty of architecture, too). Author Robert McCarter analyses Wright’s built works chronologically, examining their character from a spatial, material, tectonic, and contextual perspective. In this updated version, there’s also an extensive selection of archival drawings, specially commissioned photographs, redrawn plans, and detailed drawings.
Japan Style, Phaidon
Another gorgeous cover, this time inviting readers to immerse themselves in Japanese art and culture. Presenting everything from fashion and flowers to art and calligraphy, the book’s 150 images illustrate what makes Japan so stylistically unique. Author Gian Carlo Calza offers insights into the specific achievements in Japanese art and architecture, as well as how aesthetics have played a role in shaping Japanese culture as a whole throughout the country’s rich history.
Franklin D. Israel, Getty
Franklin D. Israel was an influential member of the Los Angeles school of architects who helped shape the city’s 20th-century avant-garde architecture. His career was cut short by his death from AIDS-related complications at the age of 50, in 1996. This biography, written by architectural historian Todd Gannon, analyzes several of Israel’s key buildings and features recent interviews with his peers, including Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, and Robert A. M. Stern. It’s a fascinating read, particularly if you’re an LA native or current resident.
Fire Island Modernist, Metropolis Books
The infamous queer enclave hidden on a barrier island is home to some of the most impressive modernist architecture on the East Coast. Many of these cedar-clad structures were designed by architect Horace Gifford in the 1960s, during the hedonistic post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS era enjoyed by New York’s gay community. Providing the settings for much of this debauchery, Gifford experimented with form and light—primarily through cedar and glass—in the structures nestled amongst the dunes and facing the ocean. This book, by Pines historian Christopher Rawlins, documents many of Gifford’s most celebrated works in Fire Island Pines, and the newly expanded edition includes four new featured houses and an afterword by architect Charles Renfro.
Homes for Our Time 3, Taschen
Cutting-edge contemporary homes around the world pack this third volume of author Philip Jodidio’s series, which includes 60 projects with a focus on innovation. Top architects such as Shigeru Ban, MVRDV, and Marcio Kogan are featured alongside emerging talents like Võ Trọng Nghĩa and Desai Chia, as well as residences constructed with technologies like 3D printing or materials like mass timber. Together, they provide a snapshot of boundary-pushing global residential architecture today by way of large-format photography and floor plans. The hard part is deciding which home you’d most prefer to live in.
Barbara Hepworth, Tate
Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures have always spoken to me through their enigmatic presence and the way they connect the human form with nature. This book is a perfect introduction to the artist’s life and work, or a continued education for those already familiar. Author Katy Norris documents and annotates a prolific career that spanned five decades and a range of media, from the wood and stone carving Hepworth completed in London to her metal casting on the Cornish coast.
