Skira Arte

06/03/2025

Hadrian’s Villa, Emperor Hadrian’s suburban residence in Tivoli, built in
the second century AD over an area of more than 120 hectares, consists
of an exceptional complex of buildings, constructions, and decorative
elements that combine Egyptian architectural features with Greek and
Roman origins in a synthesis of architecture and hydraulics that encompasses
the highest expressions of classical culture, both architecturally
and artistically. Due to this uniqueness, it was inscribed on the UNESCO
World Heritage List in 1999, with one of the criteria being its profound
influence on artists and architects of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Villa reflects the eclectic personality of Hadrian, a lover of many
arts, a great traveler, and a supporter of the empire’s universalist mission.
Driven by this vision, he designed the complex, representing an ongoing
dialogue between architecture, landscape, water, and ‘artificial nature.’
The presence of vast areas with olive groves and vineyards that were planted
over the subsequent centuries became an integral part of the Villa’s
identity and served as an exemplary reference for Renaissance gardens.

Today, thanks to the management of the autonomous Villa Adriana and
Villa d’Este-VILLÆ Institute, the archaeological complex constitutes a
dynamic entity that strongly supports the diverse interests of the international
public. Its rich offerings include exhibitions, publishing, conferences,
educational initiatives, and the promotion of musical culture,
film, and contemporary art.

28/02/2025

Featuring artworks from more than 100 artists in the collection. It serves
as an essential framing text for the ARAK Collection and provides a much needed perspective on contemporary art from the continent. Through the ARAK Collection, one is able to gain a dynamic, collective vision of Africa.

Arranged according to the selectively identified themes of Abstraction, Portraiture, and Place, each with an accompanying contextual essay by art critic and cultural theorist Ashraf Jamal, the publication also features short, informative texts on each artist written by Jamal, curator and researcher Nneoma Angela Okorie, and art historian and writer Barnabas Ticha Muvhuti.

Don't miss your chance to meet Sven Christian, chief curator of the ARAK collection, on March 6th at 6pm in our boutique (28, Rue de Grenelle, Paris), and to find out more about the book that places African art, and indeed the continent itself, at the centre of the world, and demonstrates why the rest of the globe is beginning to shift its focus toward the work of African artists.

26/02/2025

German painter and sculptor, Georg Baselitz emerged as a pioneer of an expressive style of painting in Germany in the early 1960s. Seven years old when the Second World War ended, his painterly concerns were influenced by his experience of growing up in postwar Germany. Baselitz is possibly best known for his paintings of inverted figures, animals, landscapes and still-lives that emerged in 1969. Engaging these classic figurative motifs, Baselitz created upside down works in order to re-focus the viewer on the abstract qualities of his compositions rather than their representational aspects.

A selection of his works made between 1962 and 1966 is featured in "Baselitz / Schönebeck: 1962-66", catalogue published by Skira on the occasion of the exhibition at Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg, which focuses on the subjects and stylistic shifts of German artists Georg Baselitz and Eugen Schönebeck during the immediate four-year period after their friendship ended in 1962.

GEORG BASELITZ
Fixe Idee (idée fixe), 1964-65
Oil on canvas
63-1/2 x 51-1/2 in. (162 x 130 cm)
Hall Collection
© Georg Baselitz 2024
📷 : Reto Redolfo Pedrini

25/02/2025

Tormented and provocative: it is with these words that most at the time would have described Edvard Munch's painting.
Many of his masterpieces are still able to make the viewers' souls tremble.

Despite the scandals and tensions caused by Munch's works, his contribution was fundamental to the Expressionist movement: the baton of his experience would later be picked up by the Berlin Secession.
Above all, the names of Lovis Corinth, Max Liebermann and Käthe Kollwitz should be mentioned, who looked at Munch with conviction and in some cases even managed to cause a scandal exactly as their forerunner had done.

24/02/2025

Nothing better that starting off the week reminding the highlights of the previous one.
We were so glad to host a signing session of "Abdelkébir Rabi" in our Paris boutique last Thursday, where the author Pascale Le Thorel met the audience and signed a few copies of the book.

There are some signed copies waiting for you at the boutique: don't miss your chance to grab one!

21/02/2025

A true journey through time, among frescoed ceilings and silk-clad walls, awaits those who visit Palazzo Moroni. Inhabited by the Moroni family from the mid-seventeenth century until 2009 and a FAI property since 2019, Palazzo Moroni is undoubtedly one of the most significant historical residences in the city of Bergamo.

Thanks to contributions by professionals and scholars, the volume aims to provide interesting insights into the palace: from the formation and dispersion of the picture gallery to the most curious documents; from restoration work to the historical, social and environmental context.

17/02/2025

Dedicated to the temple of San Sebastiano designed by Leon Battista Alberti, the volume was created as a catalogue-guide of the sculptures in the new museum space of San Sebastiano. It represents a significant moment in the rediscovery and enhancement of this Renaissance architectural masterpiece as well.

Accompanied by essays by authoritative scholars, the volume contributes in an unprecedented way to shed light on the Temple's complex construction history, on the workers involved, and on the culture of the intellectuals who designed the sculptural decorations, allowing one to fully appreciate one of the greatest masterpieces of the early Renaissance.

17/02/2025

«Kenna has produced over 90 books so far in his career and aims to present a narrative rather than just beautiful photos. In Venice’s case, he says, it’s situating the city within the wider lagoon, with trips to tiny islands, shots from far offshore, and even glimpses of the mainland.»

Thanks to CNN and Julia Buckley for this amazing feature of Michael Kenna's "Venice. Memories and Traces".

Beset by overtourism, rising waters and dwindling local residents, Venice is a city in crisis. But photographer Michael Kenna has found a different Venice filled with stillness, solitude and spirits of the past.

14/02/2025

Discover the world of three visionary women who influenced the history of 20th century architecture.

Crossed Histories explores the lives of G*e Aulenti, Phyllis Lambert and Ada Louise Huxtable, three women who played a major role in the construction of the post-modern city. Pioneers in a largely male-dominated field at the time, they set out to conquer a public space they shaped and built. Using archive images, drawings and photographs, this catalogue highlights some of their most emblematic achievements, from New York to Milan, via Paris with the transformation of the Orsay station into a museum, to rethink the crucial role of women in the 20th century architecture.

Save the date for the exhibition "Crossed Histories. G*e Aulenti, Ada Louise Huxtable, Phyllis Lambert, on architecture and the city" held from 13 February to 17 May 2025 at the Canadian Cultural Centre, 130 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris.



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Découvrez trois femmes visionnaires qui ont marqué l’histoire de l’architecture du XXe siècle.

Histoires croisées propose de rapprocher les parcours de G*e Aulenti, Phyllis Lambert et Ada Louise Huxtable, trois figures emblématiques qui ont joué un rôle majeur dans la construction de la ville postmoderne. Pionnières d’un milieu à l’époque largement dominé par les hommes, elles partent à la conquête d’un espace public qu’elles vont modeler et construire. À partir d’images d’archives, de dessins et de photographies, ce catalogue met en lumière certaines de leurs réalisations, de New York à Milan en passant par Paris avec la transformation en musée de la gare d’Orsay, pour repenser le rôle crucial des femmes dans l’architecture du xxe siècle.

Ne manquez pas l’exposition « Histoires croisées. G*e Aulenti, Ada Louise Huxtable, Phyllis Lambert, sur l’architecture et la ville » du 13 février au 17 mai 2025 au Centre Culturel Canadien, 130 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris.

12/02/2025

Haegue Yang: Flat Works surveys two decades of the artist’s two-dimensional explorations, including so-called Lacquer Paintings, Hardware Store Collages, Trustworthies (abstractions made from security envelopes, sandpaper, and more), wallpapers, Spice and Vegetable prints, and finally Mesmerizing Mesh (cut and folded paper collages based on international shamanistic practices).

Aspects of these series have been exhibited in the past, but never comprehensively in order to consider their cumulative impact and the throughlines across each project.

11/02/2025

Let’s travel through time and explore territories in Au fil de l’or!

This catalogue undertakes a fantastic journey through time and space – from Maghreb to Japan –, to reveal the origins of gold and its everlasting association with fabric arts. Over the pages, contemporary Chinese artist Guo Pei’s bright dresses are put in perspective with Indian gold-woven silks, shimmering kimonos from the Edo period, golden Moroccan kaftans, Iranian embroideries and even the fascinating Malagasy spider silk. At the crossroad of history, art history and anthropology but also craftmanship and haute couture, the book follows one mysterious guiding thread: gold.

Save the date for the exhibition “Au fil de l’or. L’art de se vêtir de l’Orient au Soleil-Levant”, held from February 11 to July 6, 2025 at the Musée du Quai Branly, 37 Quai Jacques Chirac, 75007 Paris.

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Voyagez à travers les époques et les territoires Au fil de l’or. L’art de se vêtir de l’Orient au Soleil-Levant

Ce catalogue entreprend une fabuleuse épopé.– du Maghreb au Japon – pour révéler l’origine fascinante de l’or et de son mariage avec les arts textiles. Il met en regard les soieries tissées d’or indiennes, les kimonos scintillants de l’ère Edo, les caftans dorés du Maroc, les broderies iraniennes ou encore l’étonnante soie d’araignée malgache avec les robes flamboyantes de l’artiste contemporaine chinoise Guo Pei. Se rencontrent ainsi non seulement l’histoire, l’histoire de l’art et l’anthropologie, mais aussi les sciences naturelles et techniques, l’artisanat et la haute couture, unis par un fil directeur et mystérieux : l’or.

Ne manquez pas l’exposition « Au fil de l’or. L’art de se vêtir de l’Orient au Soleil-Levant » du 11 février au 6 juillet 2025 au musée du quai Branly, 37 Quai Jacques Chirac, 75007 Paris.

04/02/2025

«I have a very simple method of painting. It's to paint directly on the canvas without any funny business, as it were, and I use almost pure turpentine to start with, adding oil as I go along until the medium becomes pure oil. I use as little oil as I can possibly help, and that's my method. It's very simple.»
Edward Hopper

And yet, this "very simple" painting method gave us some of the most recognizable artworks of the 1900s.

27/01/2025

Zhang Ruyi (Shanghai, 1985) has been able to create a highly cohesive yet diverse body of work. Over the past decade, she has developed a precise and delicate sculptural material language, responding to the multiple changes undergone by the micro and macro urban texture and thus becoming one of the most original voices of the contemporary Chinese art scene.

This bilingual monograph (in English and Chinese), the most complete publication on the artist to date, focuses on the main steps of the her creative path. It includes an introduction by the curator and two essays by leading scholars on Chinese art, as well as iconographic sources spanning a wide array of solo and group exhibitions.

24/01/2025

The Italian singer-songwriter, writer, screenwriter, actor and comic book author Gianfranco Manfredi (born 1948) left us.
We remember him as the author of the novel "Splendore a Shanghai", that we published back in 2017.
He will be deeply missed.

24/01/2025

«Art is the only discipline that uses matter and materials in a non-utilitarian sense, only to create new forms, new ideas, new emotions.»
Tony Cragg (Liverpool, 1949)

This volume is a tribute to sculpture, that magnificent obsession that has accompanied the artist since his beginnings.
Arranged according to stylistic and formal criteria, the works reveal a coherence and organicity intrinsic to all of Cragg's work, showing an expressive language meticulously constructed over the years, based on the idea that the creative process is also a path of discovery.
The artist always proceeds in the same way - from drawing to the choice of materials, from experimentation with technique to the selection of colour - working with the material and learning from it and its reactions.
In this way, the work unfolds step by step as it is made, revealing the infinite possibilities of form.

20/01/2025

Conserved in the Museum of Santa Giulia in Brescia, the Boethius Diptych is an ivory consular diptych made in 487 A.D. on the occasion of the assumption of the office of consul by Narius Manlius Boethius, father of the philosopher Boethius.
It is a representation of representation, where the consul appears detached from the world, like a sovereign or a saint, fixed and motionless in his sober and restrained gestures.
Over the centuries, this precious artefact has undergone a radical transformation, passing from profane to ecclesiastical use in the liturgy of the Western Church.
The reuse of the diptych in the Christian sphere as a memorial to deceased or living benefactors of the Church is testified by the elegant miniatures of a Christian character and the underlying lists of names from the 7th century, added later.
Donated to the Municipality of Brescia and kept in the Museum of Santa Giulia, the Diptych of Boethius is the protagonist of this volume that reconstructs the events it was a part of through the essays and in-depth studies of important scholars who retrace its dual history as a pagan object reused in the early Middle Ages for devotional purposes.



Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

13/01/2025

«Exaggeration is a form of creativity that belongs to art. Art is the expression of emotions, and exaggerating is good for us; it's an exercise of the passions, from which we are increasingly removed by the analgesic reality in which we live.»

Oliviero Toscani (1942-2025)

From iconic fashion covers to strongly controversial media campaigns, Oliviero Toscani changed the world of contemporary photography.
He will be deeply missed from the art and photography community all around the world.



📷 : Leandro Manuel Emede | OLIVIEROTOSCANISTUDIO

10/01/2025

Discover the meditative appeal of Abdelkébir Rabi’s body of work!
Abdelkébir Rabi’s works arouse the desire for contemplation and seem to be freezing the passing of time. Inn his large-scale drawings he meticulously depicts the details of an imperturbable nature, and his paintings are punctuated by his inner impulses, with a gesture which seems almost instinctive. Both sides of the artist's work reflect the same duality between black and white, light and shadow, fullness and emptiness, visible and invisible, a desire to bring together the soul and its manifestation. Both reflect the quest for the absolute, transcendence and spirituality that drives Abdelkébir Rabi.

Laissez-vous happer par la force méditative du travail d’Abdelkébir Rabi !
Les œuvres d’Abdelkébir Rabi suscitent le désir de contemplation et semblent figer le temps. Ainsi, ses grands dessins figurent minutieusement les détails d’une nature imperturbable, et ses peintures sont rythmées par ses impulsions intérieures, en un geste presque instinctif. Les deux versants de l’œuvre de l’artiste manifestent une même dualité entre noir et blanc, ombre et lumière, plein et vide, visible et invisible, une même volonté de faire coïncider l’être et son expression. Ils traduisent tous deux la quête d’absolu, de transcendance et de spiritualité qui anime Abdelkébir Rabi’.