6 Coffee Table Books Any Art or Design Aficionado Should Own
The Best Part…Books #2-#6 Are All Full Color Hardcover Books Are Under $50 (Free 2-Day Amazon Prime Shipping)!
1. Louis Vuitton: Virgil Abloh (Classic Cartoon Cover) — Assouline Coffee Table Book
When Virgil Abloh took his first bow for Louis Vuitton in June 2018, fashion changed forever. The newest addition to the Classics Collection, Louis Vuitton: Virgil Abloh honors the designer’s boundary-breaking creativity on and off the runways. With over 250 stunningly iconic images and personal reflections from Abloh’s inner circle, including Nigo, Naomi Campbell, Luka Sabbat, Kendall Jenner and Kid Cudi, the book is the definitive chronicle of a partnership that redefined not only dress codes but their very vocabulary.
Made in Italy, the Classics collection editions are available in two different silk hardcovers. One cover features a cartoon artwork from Virgil’s spring-summer 2021 show by cultural icon and artist Reggieknow, and the other cover is taken from Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton’s spring-summer 2022 spinoff show in Miami. *Please note that the interior content is the same for the Classics and Ultimate editions.*
2. Virgil Abloh. Icons — Coffee Table Book
In 2016, sportswear manufacturer Nike and fashion designer Virgil Abloh joined forces to create a sneaker collection celebrating 10 of the Oregon-based company’s most iconic shoes. With their project The Ten—which reimagined icons like Air Jordan 1, Air Max 90, Air Force 1, and Air Presto, among others—they reinvigorated sneaker culture.
Virgil Abloh’s designs offer deep insights into engineering ingenuity and burst with cultural cachet. Drawing on the genius of the original shoe using lettering, ironic labels, collage, and sculpting techniques, Abloh played with language and sculptural elements to construct new meaning. Inspired by the wit of Dadaism, architectural theory, and avant-garde happenings, he analyzed what makes each shoe iconic and deconstructed it into an artistic assemblage, making each shoe into a piece of industrial design, a readymade sculpture, and a wearable all at once.
ICONS traces Abloh’s investigative, creative process through documentation of the prototypes, original text messages from Virgil Abloh to Nike designers, and treasures from the Nike archives. We find Swooshes sliced away from Air Jordans and reapplied with tape or thread, Abloh’s typical text fragments in quotation marks on Air Force 1, and All Stars cut into pieces. We take a look behind the scenes and witness Virgil Abloh’s DIY approach, which gave each model in the Off-White c/o Nike collection its own unique touch. His deconstructive vocabulary is reflected in the Swiss binding, which showcases an open spine and discloses the production of the book.
The book documents Abloh’s cooperative way of working and reaffirms the power of print. For its design Nike and Virgil Abloh partnered with the acclaimed London-based design studio Zak Group. Together they conceived a two-part compendium, equal parts catalog and conceptual toolbox. The first part of the book presents a visual culture of sneakers while a lexicon in the second part defines the key people, places, objects, ideas, materials, and scenes from which the project grew. Texts by Nike’s Nicholas Schonberger, writer Troy Patterson, curator and historian Glenn Adamson, and Virgil Abloh himself frame the collaborative work within fashion and design history. A foreword by Hiroshi Fujiwara places the project within the historical continuum of Nike collaborators.
3. Virgil Abloh — “Figures of Speech”
The essential volume on the great fashion designer, entrepreneur and Louis Vuitton artistic director, back in print. This authoritative Virgil Abloh compendium, created by the designer himself, accompanies his acclaimed landmark 2019–23 touring exhibition and offers in-depth analysis of his career and his inspirations. More than a catalog, Figures of Speech is a 500-page user’s manual to Virgil Abloh’s genre-bending work in art, fashion and design.
The first section features essays and an interview that examine Abloh’s oeuvre through the lenses of contemporary art history, architecture, streetwear, high fashion and race, to provide insight into a prolific and impactful career that cuts across mediums, connecting visual artists, musicians, graphic designers, fashion designers, major brands and architects. The book also contains a massive archive of images culled from Abloh’s personal files on major projects, revealing behind-the-scenes snapshots, prototypes, inspirations and more―accompanied by intimate commentary from the artist. Finally, a gorgeous full-color plate section offers a detailed view of Abloh’s work across disciplines.
Virgil Abloh (1980–2021) was a fashion designer and entrepreneur, and the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s wear collection from 2018 to 2021. He was also CEO of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013. Born in Rockford, Illinois, to Ghanaian parents, he entered the world of fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009 alongside rapper Kanye West. The two began an artistic collaboration that would launch Virgil Abloh’ career with the founding of Off-White. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.
4. KAWS Hardcover — Illustrated
A vibrant look at the celebrated artist and designer KAWS.
Multidisciplinary artist KAWS was first known for his work as a graffiti artist and his subersive approach to poular imagery on bus shelter and phone booth advertisements. This is the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s body of work.
Multidisciplinary artist KAWS was first known for his work as a graffiti artist and his subversive approach to popular imagery on bus shelter and phone booth advertisements. This is the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s body of work.
5. “KAWS: WHAT PARTY (Black on Pink edition)
A comprehensive monograph on the work of KAWS, one of the most sought-after artists and creative forces of our time
Drawing from Pop art traditions, KAWS’s work straddles the line between fine art and popular culture, crossing the mediums of painting and sculpture, along with fashion, merchandise, vinyl toys, and, most recently, augmented reality. This book, made in close collaboration with the artist, features his most well-known works alongside sketches, preparatory drawings, and never-before-seen images of KAWS at work, revealing the meticulous process behind his iconic artworks. Accompanying a major retrospective exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, it captures the artist’s unique ability to reshape the ways we think about contemporary art and culture today.
6. KAWS: He Eats Alone
A clothbound collection of KAWS’ instantly recognizable riffs on pop culture, featuring bold graphics and a familiar cast of characters
Few artists have managed to bridge the gap between high and low culture as seamlessly as KAWS has since his career took off in the 1990s: his iconic cartoon-inspired designs have graced fashion collections, vinyl figurines, and skateboards as well as canvases sold for millions of dollars. Frequently portraying familiar figures such as Mickey Mouse and Spongebob Squarepants with cauliflower ears and X’ed-out eyes, KAWS employs a sophisticated dark humor throughout his work, exploring the relationship between art and consumerism.
This publication documents the artist’s first exhibit in the Middle East, with more than 40 key pieces in sculpture and painting from the last two decades. The exhibit in Doha, Qatar, and its accompanying catalog also feature a number of KAWS’ commercial collaborations alongside his 5-meter-tall sculpture Companion (Passing Through) and his inflatable 40-meter-tall piece Holiday. Bound in cloth, this volume is a gorgeous collection of KAWS’ most exciting work.
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