Rosa Maria Falvo – författare

Beautifully illustrated, this is the first volume in a world first series of volumes dedicated to the ‘Contemporary Masters of Bangladesh’. Kazi Ghiyasuddin (Madaripur, Bangladesh, 1951) has been living between Bangladesh and Japan since 1975, when he took up a scholarship at the National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo. He draws his inspiration from nature to project his desire for harmony and peace on richly textured canvases, which resonate with delicate, inwardly expanding applications of paint. While Ghiyasuddin has consistently displayed a refined urban sensibility which is at home in any international environment, he has put a premium value on expropriating colours, motifs and themes that typify the essential Bengali aesthetic. His early works employ bustling colours with rich tonal variations and bright visual fields. About 20 years ago, he adopted a new style. At that stage he erased his earlier canvases by painting over them with white, light grey and light blue. He is concerned as peace wanes in urbanised parts of the world and believes that nature is the ultimate destination for peace. Ghiyasuddin’s genre of work is abstract, with finely sketched figures or objects on the canvas.

The first, intimate visual documentation of artists who have influenced and transformed the Chinese art scene over the last two decades German photographer Thomas Fuesser has been following artists in China since 1993, when he was first invited by renowned Dutch curator Hans van Dijk (1946–2002) to join a group of foreign journalists and photographers to visit the up-and-coming members of the then fledgling Beijing and Shanghai art scenes. Reports on this visit, by New York Times art critic Andrew Solomon and several others, later played a major role in the making of prominent artists, such as Fang Lijun, Wang Guangyi, and Yue Minjun. Over many years, Füsser has developed close and enduring professional relationships with the artistic community in China. His striking portraits tell their stories and depict their work and personalities in an entirely distinct style, documenting a part of contemporary history and an immensely dynamic time in China. Recording the lives and thought processes of leading artists, such as Ai Weiwei, Cai Guo-Qiang, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Peili, Feng Mengbo, Wu Shanzhuan, and Zhou Tiehai, ‘SHORT CUTS’, inspired by Robert Altman’s concept of multiple parallel destinies that interact, provides a fascinating visual insight into the heart and soul of Chinese society.

The first ever monograph on contemporary architectural practice in Bangladesh, dedicated to international-award-winning architect Mohammad Rafiq Azam. Rafiq Azam is a world-renowned architect. He recently received the Residential Building of the Year Award at the 2012 Emirates Glass LEAF Awards, which took place during 2012 London Design Festival. He has a holistic approach to design, which not only incorporates the elements of nature but also harnesses its beauty and potential in a practical way, in order to enhance the personal experience of a building. From his uniquely Bangladeshi perspective, the human being has two parts – the body as shell and thoughts as soul; and his architecture is similar, where the building manifests as the shell and nature as its soul. Considering the socioeconomic and city planning conditions of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, Azam’s architectural vocabulary is kept simple and essential, with traditional spaces like the courtyard, pond, ghat (steps leading into water) and ample internal and external greenery that merge both urban and rural typologies in an intensely urban context. He arranges water courts as swimming pools in the middle of homes, arranges natural light rooms and unfolding wall systems to emphasise the interrelationship between form and void. With more than 200 colour and black-and-white plates, exquisite design sketches and aerial views, as well as watercolour paintings and inspirational phrases, this exceptionally beautiful book is a unique introduction and insight into a visionary architect and Bangladeshi contemporary living and culture.

Through my work I return to my native roots, my youth, and the transitory world of innocence…The role of memory in art is a recognised fact, but in my case, as a painter living in a foreign city for so many years, my memories are doubly potent in sustaining my creative life.” - Sakti Burman Legends, family, and Indian gods meet and mingle in Sakti Burman’s private, kaleidoscopic universe. Sakti Burman is one of India’s pioneering painters, who was born in 1935 in Kolkata and grew up in what is now Bangladesh. This monograph is the definitive publication illustrating the evolution of Sakti Burman’s prolific paintings, drawings, and watercolors, contextualizing his lifelong exploration into alternative ways of seeing. Burman’s colorful figures hark back to a kind of ancient “lost paradise,” but also sustain a fresh and irrepressible faith in the beauty and sensibilities of Mother Nature alongside a hopeful human spirit.

This is the first retrospective monograph on artist Rashid Al Khalifa. Sheikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa is a member of the Bahraini royal family and the cofounder, first president, and current honorary president of the Bahrain Arts Society. He has painted for more than forty-five years across various genres, and his art practice has evolved into his current dual-concept work between abstraction and sculpture, using a precise color field. Rashid Al Khalifa is one of the most important artists working in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and he is a renowned patron of the arts, with an abiding passion and discerning eye for color and design. His generosity, vision, and dynamism have had a significant impact on Bahrain's contemporary-art scene and its integration in the rest of the world. Rashid initiated the creation of Art Bahrain in 2010, which has sponsored a variety of cultural initiatives, art exhibitions, and educational projects, locally, regionally, and internationally. This lavishly illustrated book includes a detailed narrative of the artist's life and achievements. It features over 200 color plates documenting the artist's output to date, including his work in oil, acrylics, and print media, as well as a selection of drawings and sculptures. Archival documents provide further depth and contextual background, with timelines of historical and artistic developments in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Founded in 1900, Nikken Sekkei is a world leader in architectural innovation, urban planning and technology. Instrumental in achieving the modernization of Japan itself, the company is both a national icon and renowned international creator of architectural, engineering, and environmental landmarks. This beautifully designed book is an elegant tribute to Nikken Sekkei s remarkable achievements and contributions to world architecture over the last 120 years. A poetic photographic journey features Nikken s approach to timeless design: its integrated perspectives, meticulous craftsmanship, and quintessential Japanese traditions. Tracing the company s exceptional story and its enduring passion for sustainability, it will delight general audiences and experts alike. Narrated from a micro to macro perspective, this book features elemental shapes and surfaces that manifest into spaces and environments, encompassing both intimate and masterful initiatives. Over twenty-four selected projects showcase Nikken Sekkei s reputation and experience. Some are iconic international landmarks and others are quietly nestled in their respective landscapes. All of them demonstrate the company s dedication to people, communities, and the natural world.

This lavishly illustrated book provides an intriguing glimpse inside the luminous world of Fatma Altinba?, an anthropology professor and the creative mind behind the heritage jewellery brand Mevaris. Born into a family of gold merchants, she had the privilege of growing up with the Grand Bazaar, immersed in the wonderfully rich history of Istanbul. Her distinctive approach as an academically minded entrepreneur is to marry the city s legacy of impeccable craftsmanship with new and alluring contemporary designs. This book is a celebration of the magnificent city of Istanbul and this designer s relationship with her creative culture. From the floral motifs in Ottoman kaftans to the enduring Byzantine architectural marvels, the beautiful imagery traces the historical and contemporary influences that have shaped the unique artistic vision guiding Mevaris s exquisite jewellery creation. It offers unique aesthetic reinterpretations of Istanbul s heritage and its renowned Grand Bazaar through a celebration of past and present, and the colours and cultural wealth of the contemporary city.

Acclaimed architect Rafiq Azam (b. 1963) has been instrumental over the course of his storied career in transforming the urban landscape in Bangladesh s capital of Dhaka. Azam s signature style finds harmony between cultural and spiritual traditions, local craftsmanship and materials, and the country s complex natural environment. No design element is too small to be poetically incorporated into his buildings and city planning projects. His attention to light and shadow, bodies of water, indigenous vegetation, and air flow shows the influence of Bengali mysticism. In 1995, Azam founded his own internationally renowned architectural firm, SHATOTTO 'Architecture for Green Living,' dedicated to creating responsible buildings while educating different community stakeholders to value environmentally conscious innovation and sustainable practices. This groundbreaking volume contains Azam s most significant public and private projects in Dhaka, alongside his other major South Asian projects in Malaysia and Bhutan. Illustrations accompanied by insightful commentary sit alongside an extensive conversation with Azam on decades of design thinking and large-scale, community-focused practice in the 'new' Bangladesh.

Ha Chong-Hyun (b. 1935, Sancheong-gun; lives and works in Seoul) is a master artist within the Dansaekhwa art movement Korean monochrome painting distinguished by its attention to the formal structure of the picture plane and the incorporation of East Asian spirituality. Amid extreme material deprivation and the authoritarian political system of 1960s and 70s Korea, Ha explored the potential of unorthodox materials such as newsprint, scrap lumber, and barbed wire attached to canvas. Working with muted earth tones on burlap and hemp canvases, and combining painting traditions from the East and West, Ha was instrumental in redefining the role of painting. In 1969, the artist cofounded the Korean Avant-Garde Association to generate new directions for Korean art through various art publications and group exhibitions. By the 80s, his practice centered on the physical act of painting and a turn to darker, more saturated colors. His long-standing focus on form and process position him as a visionary contributor to contemporary painting in the global context. Published to celebrate the artist s upcoming ninetieth birthday, this beautifully illustrated volume is a fitting tribute to a revelatory figure.

Showcasing Lee Bae s renowned 'brushstrokes' series, this book includes previously unpublished artworks and a folio of perspectives on one of Korea s most important living artists. Lee Bae s monochromatic practice is a formal and immersive journey into the abyss of 'blackness.' Subtly blurring the lines between drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation, Lee has developed his abstract aesthetics across mediums and boundaries to imbue 'noncolor' with tangible depth and intensity. Charcoal, obtained by burning wood and used to revive fire, offers a powerful metaphor for the cycle of life that has further inspired him to expand his exploration to include the fourth dimension of time.