Ludion Publishers

05/10/2023

One of the most important American contemporary artists, Kerry James Marshall is best known as a painter. However, throughout his career Marshall has also produced many prints that have been seldom seen and rarely documented. Until now. We are very proud to present the very first public survey of these important works and the first in-depth study of the role of printed images and print processes in Marshall’s work as a whole. 

🖊️ Written by Susan Tallman

📚 Now available throughout Europe
Out in the US on Nov 19, through DAP

24/09/2023

NEW! Drawing from an extensive private collection assembled over many years, Japan on a Glass Plate presents a unique selection of nineteenth-century photographs of Japan, many of which are published here for the first time. Whether cherished as souvenirs of an exotic land of fond imagination or curated as visual documents of a fast-changing society, these images by foreign and Japanese photographers enjoyed a wide circulation abroad and played an important role in influencing perceptions of Japan in the West well into the early twentieth century.

📚 Available in bookstores worldwide and in our online webshop. With a text by Sebastian Dobson and a layout by .bisschop

05/06/2023

The Garage Stills by are painterly images in which the photographer has arranged strange artefacts from traditional garages into beautiful still lifes. She was drawn to these objects because of their shapes and colors.

Here’s a sneak peek of our latest book with which contains two photographic projects: Garage Stills and Fringe Nature.

24/05/2023

With a foreword by The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades this new book by craft and circularity advocate Katie Treggiden celebrates 28 artists, curators, menders and re-makers who have rejected the allure of the fast, disposable and easy in favor of the patina of use, the stories of age and the longevity of care and repair.

Accompanying these profiles, six in-depth essays explore the societal, cultural and environmental roles of mending in a throwaway world.

📚 The book is out now in Europe and will be available in the US from May 28.

11/04/2023

After some 200 years of in-depth interest and investment in ancient Egypt, the Museum of Art & History manages an exceptionally rich Egyptian collection that ranks among the top museums in Europe, and of which the exhibition features more than 200 objects.

The eye-catchers will include the newly restored, richly decorated sarcophagi from the priestly cachet of Deir el-Bahari and the beautifully illustrated Neferrenpet Book of the Dead. Artifacts such as tomb stelae, canopic vases for the entrails of the deceased and shabti figurines that accompanied the dead into the afterlife, guide visitors into the Egyptian world of gods and eternal life.

Visit ‘Expedition Egypt’ at the Art & History Museum in Brussels from March 31st until October 1st, 2023 and buy
our richly illustrated catalogue in our web store now!

📸 Excavations of the Osireion in Abydos by the Egypt Exploration Society (1926), Detail inside of sarcophage, Stela of Paarcha (Ptolemaic period), Statue of Osiris in bronze

30/03/2023

Niet minder dan 4 sterren in De Standaard voor het nieuwste boek van Matthias Depoorter, de klepper 'De Vlaamse Meesters. Van Eyck tot Bruegel' 🤩

Fraaie details en korte, heldere teksten over net geen vijftig topwerken: De Vlaamse meesters mikt op een breed publiek.

30/03/2023

We’re very proud to present Expedition Egypt, a richly illustrated book accompanying the eponymous exhibition at
You can visit the fascinating exhibition on 200 years of expeditions and discoveries in Ancient Egypt from tomorrow March 31 until October 1.

08/03/2023

Did you know that the medium of oil painting was perfected in the Low Countries, triggering a revolution in art? Realistic vistas, a profusion of detail and brilliant colors were also key. They partly reflect the possibilities offered by oil paint, as well as the superior painterly skills that the Flemish masters possessed.

“These painters looked at the world like scientists, with almost analytical precision. Not since antiquity had portraits, interiors and background landscapes been painted so convincingly. No less characteristic and innovative was the level of detail, reminiscent of a still life, that all these paintings shared. The attention to optical lighting effects, lastly, was both crucial and groundbreaking.”

📸 Details from ‘The Annunciation’ by Joos van Cleve, ca. 1525 / ‘The Diptych of Maarten van Nieuwenhove’ by Hans Memling, 1487 / ‘The Mérode Altarpiece’ by Robert Campin, ca. 1427-32 / ‘The Baptism of Christ’ by Gerard David, 1502-08

03/03/2023

NEW! ‘De Vlaamse Meesters – Van Eyck tot Bruegel’ is here! This beautifully illustrated book illuminates and explains the unprecedented boom in painting
in the Low Countries, from the inauguration of Van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece in 1432 to the death of Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1569.

Art historian offers a representative overview of the most important and influential painters of the time and of the artistic genres that developed or innovated in this region. By describing 48 of the most significant pieces thematically as well as by generation, insights arise into the different styles, functions and genres, and the artistic and social context in which they were created.

20/02/2023

Did you know that Art Nouveau is so popular that every once in a while people will (try to) steal objects such as door handles and sculptures? Photographers Christine Bastin and Jacques Evrard have been documenting every single detail of the many private and public buildings designed by Victor Horta, and their archive and publications have served as the starting point for many restorations and refurbishments.

Buy our guide ‘The Horta Museum’ & marvel at all the stunning images taken by this renowned photographers’ duo, alongside detailed chapter and verse by Françoise Aubry, art historian and conservator of the Hortamuseum.

📸 by Bastin & Evrard + archival photos from yesteryear (the sculpture La Famille by Pierre Braecke at the axis of the first flight has vanished)

07/02/2023

In 2023, Brussels, and by extension the whole country, celebrates the year of art nouveau. And who better represents this revolutionary style in than the famous architect Victor Horta?

In anticipation of our upcoming renewed guide through Horta's Brussels, we’re taking a look back at our guide to the Horta Museum. Still available in 6 languages and lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs of the ubiquitous Art Nouveau details in the architect’s own home and atelier.

A must for any Art Nouveau lover!

📸’s by Bastin & Evrard

01/02/2023

"Arranged thematically and following a rough chronology within each theme, women and men are depicted displaying beauty, strength and sometimes the tragic circumstances of their actual existence, or of their role in the story. For each print, we analyse the details that the artist has chosen to achieve their intended effect."

In our newest publication “The Riddles of Ukiyo-e” over more than one hundred traditional ukiyo-e prints from the most renowned masters are shown and their subtle and often complex meaning explained.

📚Available in our webshop now!

27/01/2023

New! Drawing on over a hundred images of women and men from the heyday of Japanese printmaking, 'The Riddles of Ukiyo-e’ touches on Japanese history, literature, mythology, fashion, folklore and gossip of the Edo period. The at times complex symbolism of the traditional woodblock prints is often difficult to discern, let alone grasp without proper knowledge or expertise, so each print is explored in the finest detail in order to explain the many riddles of Ukiyo-e.

📚Edited by Chris Uhlenbeck, Josephine Smit and Jim Dwinger. Order the book now in our webshop, soon available in bookstores worldwide!

10/01/2023

Flower arranging or Ikebana has been as much a philosophy as an art, with a complex set of unwritten rules developed over hundreds of years, its roots in Zen Buddhism and a reverence for nature.

In ‘Modern Ikebana’ we explore a selection of a new wave of floral artists and include an introduction to the history and evolution of Japanese floral art with an illustrated glossary of flowers and plants 🪷

19/12/2022

“Na 1918 creëerde de abstracte kunst een beeldtaal voor de nieuwe tijd. Met Jozef Peeters als pleitbezorger en pionier.” Ons boek over Jozef Peeters wordt getipt in der Letteren 🤍

📚 Jozef Peeters en de strijd tegen den tingeltangel van Peter J.H. Pauwels is beschikbaar in de boekhandel en in onze webshop.
Vergeet de kortingscode HOLIDAYS niet in te geven bij het uitchecken en geniet van 25% korting.

15/12/2022

After the birth of his second child in 1926, Jozef Peeters disappeared from the artistic scene. He focused on the care and education of his children and used his time at home to turn his Antwerp apartment into a constructivist universe with geometrical wall paintings. Peeters created wall paintings in blue and grey for his bedroom, combined with a warm yellow of the birch furniture, which he also designed. He painted his children’s bedroom in pink and light grey, with foldable beds in order to create extra room for them to play.

📷 Images of Peeters’ apartment at the Statiekaai in Antwerp / Peeters’ children with toys designed by their father / Jozef Peeters, Self-portrait and Portrait of Pelagie Pruym, 1914 (Photography Cedric Verhelst)

📚 Our book on Jozef Peeters, co-published with Ronny Van de Velde and written by Peter P. H. Pauwels, is now available in bookstores and in our webshop.

14/12/2022

NEW! This richly illustrated book on the life and struggles of the abstract artist Jozef Peeters (1895–1960) offers a fascinating glimpse of the Belgian and European avant-garde of the Roaring Twenties, with Antwerp as its point of departure. It was there, shortly after the First World War, that Peeters emerged as orchestrator of the most progressive art movements.

📚 With a text by Peter J.H. Pauwels and a layout by

08/12/2022

Buy our books with a 25% discount until Dec 25 🎄Use the code HOLIDAYS at the checkout in our webshop. Happy holidays!

06/12/2022

In an era that constantly exposes us to art through an abundance of galleries, exhibitions and the internet
and in which the online trade has exploded and prices have sky-rocketed, our latest publication offers a new
approach on modern and contemporary art. In ART versus BEAUTY, author Adrian David argues that
notions like ‘beauty’ and ‘imagination’ have outlived their usefulness and does away with outdated ideas from
the past.

“Art takes no account of the viewer’s judgement and seeks out boundaries in order to push them back. Art is autonomous, now as in the past, contrary to what was expected of it. There is no objective truth about a work of art and a definition of the word ‘art’ does not exist.”

📷 Lot Number 924 by John Doe, Black-Haired Girl with Lifted Skirt by Egon Schiele, Piëta by Berlinde
De Bruyckere & Amor Vacui G26-07 by Hans Fohan.

📚Discover ART versus BEAUTY - when stones dance with eggs – in our web shop now. This new approach
on modern & contemporary art is available in English, Dutch and French.

06/12/2022

In an era that constantly exposes us to art through an abundance of galleries, exhibitions and the internet and in which the online trade has exploded and prices have sky-rocketed, our latest publication offers a new approach on modern and contemporary art. In ART versus BEAUTY, author Adrian David argues that notions like ‘beauty’ and ‘imagination’ have outlived their usefulness and does away with outdated ideas from the past.

“Art takes no account of the viewer’s judgement and seeks out boundaries in order to push them back. Art is autonomous, now as in the past, contrary to what was expected of it. There is no objective truth about a work of art and a definition of the word ‘art’ does not exist.” – Adrian David

📷 Amor Vacui G26-07 by Hans Fohan, Black-Haired Girl with Lifted Skirt by Egon Schiele, Piëta by Berlinde
De Bruyckere & Portrait of Georges Dyer Talking by Francis Bacon

📷 Discover ART versus BEAUTY - when stones dance with eggs – in our web shop now! This new approach
on modern & contemporary art is available in English, Dutch and French.

29/11/2022

Our newest publication is here! ‘ART versus BEAUTY - when stones dance with eggs’ proposes a whole new perspective on how to approach modern and contemporary art.

Author Adrian David has written several books on art and is a fervent collector and connoisseur. He has collaborated on countless high-profile international exhibitions, while many of the renowned pieces discussed in the book are featured in the collection of the International Modern Art Foundation, which you can visit in Knokke, Belgium.

‘ART versus BEAUTY’ is an accessible, trenchant and richly illustrated book for art lovers, admirers, collectors and dealers alike.

📷 Discover ‘ART versus BEAUTY - when stones dance with eggs’ in English, French or Dutch in our web
shop now!

21/11/2022

NEW! Our latest publication ‘ART versus BEAUTY’ is written and composed by art collector slash connoisseur Adrian David and published in 3 languages.

It’s a reflection on how we look at modern and contemporary art, and by extension, on what it is to be human.

Contemplating the likes of Warhol, Ai Wei Wei, Rothko, Haring, Bacon, Basquiat, Banksy and many more, the author also references historical works such as as Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna and Benini’s mysterious Ecstasy of St Theresa, providing a link to the past and its influence on our attitude and interpretation of more recent works of art.

📷 Ai Wei Wei – Venice 2017, Paramount by Andy Warhol & Jean-Michel Basquiat, Dancing Boys by Keith
Haring & The Ex*****on of Christ by Gao Brothers

📚 Buy ‘ART versus BEAUTY - when stones dance with eggs’ (EN / FR / DU) in our web shop now!

17/11/2022

We know little about the author of our Libro dell’Arte Cennino Cennini. He is thought to have been born around 1360 in Colle di Val d’Elsa, a town in the province of Siena. He learned the basics of painting from his father Andrea before moving to the Florence workshop of Agnolo Gaddi, where he spent ten years. We find him again in 1388 working on the St Stephen frescoes in the church of San Lucchese near Poggibonsi. He then settled in Padua where he wrote his famous book Il Libro dell’ Arte.

📚 Three manuscript copies of Cennini’s Il Libro dell’Arte have survived. Our recent Dutch translation is based on the oldest and most original version: a 1437 text copied by a prisoner at the Carcere delle Stinche in Florence.

📷 Image from the 16th-century medical manual Livre des simples médecines showing pigments such as lapis lazuli and dragantum. These were used for medical preparations but also for painting / Saint Gregory and The Birth of Mary by Cennino Cennini himself, ca. 1400

09/11/2022

NEW! Artists and conservators view Il Libro dell’Arte as the absolute standard work when it comes to early painting techniques. The best-preserved medieval treatise on art is cited in virtually every study on the techniques of painting and restoration.
  
Besides the clear way it sets out contemporary painting techniques, the 14th-century Il Libro dell’Arte is fascinating for the insight it offers into the mentality of the period. Cennino’s refined writing style and solid professional knowledge make this book a unique document with much for contemporary painters, restorers and art lovers in general to enjoy.

📚 Now available in Dutch in a new and revised translation by Hilde Theuns and Hendrik Van den Bosche. Layout by

09/11/2022

How to cut a quill feather for drawing? How to make different shades of black? And how to paint a mountain, or a wound? In the fourteen-century manual Il Libro dell’Arte, Cennino Cennini unveils all his secrets about materials, recipes and techniques in art. A unique manuscript which is considered (still today!) the absolute standard work when it comes to early painting techniques.

📚 Now available in Dutch in a new and revised translation by Hilde Theuns and Hendrik Van den Bosche. Layout by

31/10/2022

Unlike her male contemporaries and friends of La Jeune Peinture Belge, such as Gaston Bertrand, Louis Van Lint, Marc Mendelson or Jan Cox, Anne Bonnet had not had an overview of her work made. Until now.

Our recently published monograph, apart from a small publication in 1954 by the art critic Paul Davay, is the first retrospective and comprehensive biography of the life and oeuvre of Anne Bonnet. Beautifully written by the art historian Marcel Daloze, it takes the reader on a fascinating journey through Bonnet’s pictorial universe, from her early days painting portraits to the end of her short life at 52, by when she had become a vital member of the Belgian abstract art scene.

📷 Etude (aprox. 1950), Portrait de fillette (aprox. 1941), Trois triangles (aprox. 1953) & Anne Bonnet in front of one of her paintings (by Roland d’Ursel, aprox. 1958).

👀 Visit the expo ‘Anne Bonnet : Impressions de voyages’ at the Marthe Donas Museum in Ittre, Belgium (November 26th 2022 – January 29th 2023)

📚You can buy the book in French in our webshop now!

28/10/2022

NEW! We’re proud to present the first monograph entirely devoted to Anne Bonnet (1908–1960). The publication offers a fascinating survey of the colorful life and work of a singular female artist in early 20th century Brussels, written by Marcel Daloze, curator of the Marthe Donas Museum in Ittre.

📚 Buy the book hot from the presses in our webshop (in French only).

27/10/2022

Our latest publication finally gives Anne Bonnet (1908–1960) the attention she richly deserves. The relatively unknown Belgian artist was one of the founders of the ‘Jeune Peinture Belge’ (Young Belgian Painters) and also belonged to the ‘Kunst van Heden’ group. She embodies a crucial transition in modern art from figuration to abstraction.

Anne Bonnet was initially inspired by animism and made mainly figurative art, but increasingly integrated elements of post-Cubism into her work. Around 1950, she continued making more abstract works and in 1952 became a founding member of ‘Espace’, an assembly of Belgian abstract artists promoting non-figurative art.

📷 Anne Bonnet with one of her paintings, the "Young belgian Painters" attending Marc Mendelson’s wedding (1945), ‘Fruits et légumes dans un panier' (aprox. 1946), ‘Visage d’Orient’ (aprox. 1956)

📚 Read all about this incredible artist in ‘Anne Bonnet : La Territoire de la Peinture’ with over 200 colour reproductions and an excellently documented text in French. Now for sale in our webshop!

18/10/2022

NEW! In Miradas de Mujeres depicts an entire Frida Kahlo world – cupboards, carpets, cactuses, trees, dresses and jewellery – in paper and colours that remind us of the artist’s joie de vivre, a side of Kahlo that is frequently forgotten.

🪗 The book is a gem in the form of a leporello or concertina book. It includes a foreword by Alberto Ruy (chief editor of Artes magazine in Mexico) and Michel Draguet (director of Fine Arts Belgium] ).

📚 Miradas de Mujeres is available in our webshop and accompanies the exhibition at Fine Arts Belgium] on view until February 12, 2023.

12/10/2022

Opening today is the absolutely stunning Shin Hanga exhibition at the Art & History Museum in Brussels. This exhibition shows over 220 Japanese woodcut prints from the first half of the twentieth century. On view until January 15 2023 and not to be missed! With a catalogue by yours truly.
⁠

27/09/2022

A book, an exhibition, and a celebration!

October 2022 marks the 10 year anniversary of the opening of the London Centre for Book Arts. What better way to celebrate than to showcase the work of papermakers, printers, bookbinders, artists, designers, publishers, and booksellers featured in BOOKS: ART, CRAFT & COMMUNITY published in 2021 by Ludion.

The exhibition will be held in the new gallery space of the London Centre for Book Arts built as part of their crowdfunded project to rebuild and refurbish the studio. The private view is this Saturday 1 October and the show will continue until late December.

Exhibition & Private View
Books: Art, Craft & Community
Saturday 1 October 2022
5–9pm

15/09/2022

'A Visit to Jozef Van Ruyssevelt’ is our latest publication and presents a large number of essential works from the Belgian artist - gouaches, etchings, pastels and sketches, supplemented by as yet unpublished photographs from the artist's archive.

For Van Ruyssevelt, no subject was too small. Trivial subjects such as a kitchen table or the sunlit porch take on a life of their own. His interiors and stills bear witness to an almost abstract beauty. His landscapes,
houses and gardens invite you in, while his portraits bear witness of a secret, yet revealed intimacy.

With text by Edouard Verngon (& Dutch translation by Rokus Hofstede), this book magically invites you into the sometimes bright, often dim world of the late artist.

📚 ´Visit’ Jozef Van Ruyssevelt yourself and order the book now in our webshop, available in both its original French and Dutch

14/09/2022

Our latest book has been a long-hidden secret and we can’t be prouder to have been part of this passion project about Belgian painter, etcher and photographer, Jozef Van Ruyssevelt.

Undervalued and still too little known, Van Ruyssevelt (1941-1985) was an absolute master in the use of color and chiaroscuro, the abrupt transitions in his style a striking reflection of his sometimes overly excited, sometimes downcast personality. His pieces show an intensified reality, his vibrant and deep colors capturing the attention and evoking true emotion.

With his everyday surroundings providing an inexhaustible source of inspiration, he created a rich and intense body of work in the space of a relatively short career. His oeuvre comprises hundreds sketches, gouaches, etchings and pastels.

📷 Sitting figure (gouache 1971), Our house seen from behind (gouache 1977) & Light and Shadow (etching 1981)

📚 Discover ‘Een bezoek aan Jozef Van Ruyssevelt’ - with words by Edouard Vergnon & incredible reproductions - available in Dutch and French in our webshop

09/09/2022

In honor of José Vermeersch’s centenary there’s a new book – published by yours truly and compiled by Lilou Vidal – a unique walking tour and 3 simultaneous expositions, overseen by his artist family.

Visit Atelier José in Lendelede for a look at his visual work, De Patria in Kortrijk for a selection of paintings from the period 1968-1969 and Rumbeke Castle for a wealth of photo and film material.

100 Years Vermeersch Expo from September 17th – November 13th 2022

For more info visit the new website www.josevermeersch.be

📚 Read more about José Vermeersch in our book ‘José Vermeersch – Presences’, now available in our webshop

05/09/2022

NEW!
The Belgian artist José Vermeersch (1922-1997) would have turned 100 this year and there’s a new book and 3 expos to celebrate his legacy!

José Vermeersch is known for his ceramic sculptures of heterogeneous figures. Yet he was also a painter, weaver and designer who created a rich oeuvre infused with his passion for people, animals and life.

Our latest publication pays tribute to the genesis of Vermeersch’ figurative work and uses over a hundred sculptures and paintings to show the exceptional way in which his pictorial and his ceramic work are interwoven.

Compiled by Lilou Vidal, the book includes two new essays by the writer-curators Laura McLean-Ferris and Dieter Roelstraete, as well as a text by the artist and author Rik Vermeersch, José’s son.

📚Buy ‘José Vermeersch – Presences’ now in pre-order in our webshop in its bilingual (Enlish/Dutch) edition

17/08/2022

We have been visiting José Vermeersch’s studio in Lendelede today and loved meeting his intruiguing creatures in real life for the first time. Soon to be published in a beautiful monograph, entitled Presences, which will include numerous photographs of Vermeersch’s studio, kilns and a beautiful selection of his painted and ceramic work.

📚 José Vermeersch - Presences will be out early September

👀 More information will follow soon, so stay tuned

17/08/2022

We have been visiting José Vermeersch’s studio in Lendelede today and loved meeting his intruiguing creatures in real life for the first time. Soon to be published in a beautiful monograph, entitled Presences, which will include numerous photographs of Vermeersch’s studio, kilns and a beautiful selection of his painted and ceramic work. Out early September 👀 More info soon!

03/08/2022

‘The cut-glass bath’ by René Magritte, 1946

- as seen in ‘Magritte in 400 Images’ 📚

In ‘Le bain de cristal’ Magritte evokes a bizarre scene. Set within a barren desert landscape, broken only by a cluster of palm trees to the distance, a gigantic crystal glass appears to the foreground, holding within it a seemingly life-size giraffe. His typical method of displacing objects borrowed from reality and resituating them in an unfamiliar context had been employed by Magritte from the early 1930s and further developed the theory of the 'Surrealist object'.

- and a holiday picture from Kunene region, Namibia, this morning 🦒

28/07/2022

For pretty much every movement in art history, there is at least one Belgian artist who is world-renowned. Maybe non-more so witty and thought-provoking than our own Surrealist René Magritte.

He aimed to challenge the viewer’s perception of reality, and often used words contradicting images to do just that. The use of objects as something other than what they appear to be is characteristic of his work.

Our richly illustrated book ‘Magritte in 400 Images’ offers a selection of the most iconic paintings by René Magritte, along with a multitude of lesser-known jewels from his expansive oeuvre. Spanning seven chapters, it begins with his first forays into abstract painting in the 1920s, navigating his search for solace in his Sunlit Period, as well as his brittle ‘Vache’ Period, before finally moving on to his Surrealist masterpieces of the 1950s and 1960s, it gently guides the reader through Magritte’s world.

📚 Still a few copies left in our webshop in both English and French and reprinted by popular demand in August!

22/07/2022

‘La Malédiction’ by René Magritte to start our holiday… 🌤

- as seen in ‘Magritte in 400 Images’

For this book, Magritte expert Julie Waseige made a selection of no less than 400 images from an oeuvre of thousands of artworks.

Interspersed with many historical photographs, the novel choice of René Magritte’s works will surprise and delight readers, amateurs and connoisseurs alike, as they uncover the many facets of the master Surrealist.

📚 In French and some of our last copies in English in the webshop!