Books published by publisher Prestel

Now available in a newly revised and expanded edition, this book offers the definitive critical examination of one of America’s most celebrated living artists. Chuck Close reinvented portraiture more than four decades ago with a series of nine-foot-tall, black-and-white likenesses of himself and fellow artists, which astonished an art world dominated by Minimalism and Conceptualism. Close has since explored the possibilities implicit in his original breakthrough in an array of media. This lavish, large-format volume deals with all aspects of Close’s career and places them in a biographical context. Christopher Finch’s insight into Close’s achievement comes by way of hundreds of studio visits and thousands of hours of conversation since he met Close in 1968. The author provides an engaging, in-depth analysis of Close’s portraits on canvas, from the continuous-tone airbrushed heads of the 1960s and 1970s to the painterly “prismatic grids” of the past decades. Featuring 365 illustrations, the book surveys almost all of Close’s paintings, including his most recent work, together with a selection of prints and multiples and examples of his photographic oeuvre. This beautifully designed volume reveals not only the variety of pictorial strategies Close has devised, but also the extraordinary personality of the artist behind the work.

In this colorful, imaginative and fun-filled book, a distinguished illustrator and graphic designer shows readers how to create their own typefaces and use them in endlessly inventive ways. Whether you love the feel of pen on paper or are attached to your keyboard, this unique book will open you up to the fascinating world of letters. No skill is required, just an imagination and a willingness to scribble, draw, color, and play. In quirky, uniquely designed spreads, Julia Kaergel demonstrates how entire alphabets can be created with the simplest of tools: pencils, pen and ink, paintbrush, markers, quill, sticks, and even junk. Her encouraging step-by-step instructions are accompanied by examples of her own creative expressions that are sure to inspire all doodlers. In addition, she offers great ideas for ways you can incorporate your typeface creations into invitations, posters, t-shirts and even cake decoration! Whether you’re a budding graphic artist or obsessed with fonts, this book serves up endless ideas to let your imagination run wild.

This delightful art activity book will spark creativity and entertain kids of all ages. This ingenious book shows how to make wonderful art with everyday objects―including the dreaded stalks of broccoli! The materials are simple: paint, a stamp pad and ink, scissors, a pen or pencil―and you’re ready to create beautiful works of art. Find out how to make all kinds of animals, a forest filled with birds, bees, butterflies, a car, a dragon, and a building. Put these prints together and you have a birthday card, a name tag, a place mat, or even a storybook. Playfully designed and written in an enthusiastic tone that will appeal to children as well as adults, this art activity book shows how art can be created from almost everything and provides hours of entertainment for every member of the family.

In this book for young readers, one of the world’s leading marine archaeologists tells the incredible story of his adventures discovering ancient treasures at the bottom of the sea.This remarkable children’s book takes readers on an undersea adventure as they follow Franck Goddio and his daring team of underwater archaeologists searching for artifacts from lost cities. Spellbinding photographs show how, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, finds from the seabed provide a new picture of what life was like in Egypt during the age of Cleopatra. Goddio and his team invite young readers to accompany them in their exciting work, and to experience the difficulties, successes and surprises of a present-day adventure. Children will enjoy hours of entertaining and informative reading as they learn exactly what it’s like to discover history at the bottom of the sea.

Accompanying Sharjah Biennial 14, this volume provides a generative and global reading on performance.Accompanying Look for Me All Around You, one of the three sections of Sharjah Biennial 14, this book charts a non-chronological time-space (dis-)continuum between the Americas and the Emirates, building unexpected trans-oceanic and multi-diasporic bridges for a global history. This volume provides interpretative, discursive, poetic, political, and theoretical tools to compare and contrast modes of migration, production, extraction, and exploitation through a series of 30 newly commissioned context-specific works and critical texts. Look for Me All Around You also operates as an artists' book generative of readings on performance.Copublished by the Sharjah Art Foundation