The limited edition Shelf X design created by Naoto Fukasawa is limited to 300 pieces worldwide.

It took us several hours to de-crate the Shelf and get it into position. Davide at Santiccioli fabricated an excellent container that made the trip from Florence to Seattle. Above the shelf hangs Tony de los Reyes’ The Imago Sea Series no. 12. 

We liked the idea of the white corian  Shelf X against a white surface so we painted three walls in the room a modern bright white. This color scheme allows rich grey shadows to wander across the wall throughout the day. 

Notice how the Shelf appears to float.

On top of the shelf sits a series of 8 beakers by Pieter Stockmans.

Unique spaces are created between the vertical forms. Books can stack flat or stand conventionally with vertical bindings.

There are no visible seams in the piece which gives the impression it’s been cut from a single piece of stone. Although the overall appearance is thin and light, the corian is absolutely rigid and can easily withstand the weight of a collection of books and objects. 

The editors have done a great job listing 1,000s of artists, with concise biographical information for the majority of the artists and elaborated descriptions for well known artists like Boyd, Perceval, Shead, Smart, etc. Believe it or not, this isn’t 100% complete. There are still artists missing from the guide; not just new artists — mid-career too. That’s not a criticism at all. This is a great resource. The art scene is growing rapidly in Australia and it’s difficult for a book of this scale to keep up with the times. Maybe they could publish an annual soft-cover update …

$295 + shipping. Ship this behemoth by boat. Air mail cost would be frightening.

Lux Et Nox
Photographs by Bill Henson
Scalo, Zurich, 2002. 192 pp., 125 color illustrations, 16×12in.

I bought this title after viewing the Bill Henson exhibition at The Art Gallery New South Wales in January, 2005. It’s a unique configuration at 16in. on the long edge which makes it 32in. when opened.

Mnemosyne
Photographs by Bill Henson. Essays by Judy Annear, Jennie Boddington, Edmund Capon, Dennis Cooper, Peter Craven, Isobel Crombie, John Forbes
Scalo, Zurich, 2005. 504 pp., 407 color and b&w illustrations, 10×12in.

I purchased this book at the exhibition as well. This is a very heavy book that catalogs many of Henson’s different series and photographic styles.

Bill Henson
Ediciones Universidad Salamanca, 2003
Oversize Softcover
91 pp, 37 large color illustrations, 9.5×13in.

Bill Henson, Ediciones Universidad Salamanca focuses on a selection of work from the Untitled, 2000 – 2003 series. The first section of the book begins with a couple of essays written in Spanish and English: Naked Youth: The Photography of Bill Henson written by Dennis Cooper and Why is that girl crying? and other formal emotions. Notes on the photography of Bill Henson written by F. Javier Panera.

Official artist website here. Represented by Roslyn Oxley9.

There are only a few places where you can actually view this edition; one of those places is Peter Miller Books, located in Seattle.

I first learned of Dale Frank’s work from Roslyn Oxley9 gallery in Sydney. On a recent trip down under I read a book review in the The Australian which described Frank’s new book titled So Far The Art of Dale Frank 2005-1980. The scope of the book and the production details sounded intriguing. I’d recently become interested in the artist’s work so I thought this title would be a must-have addition to my library.

Itinerary update: locate So Far.

Following my morning coffee at the Illy Cafe, I knew I could probably find this Dale Frank book by visiting his art gallery but I was in the CBD and didn’t feel like taking a cab anywhere. First stop: Art Gallery of New South Wales. The sales person here said they received one of the books but sent it back due to a binding defect. Hearing this got me a little concerned about the overall bindery quality. I knew the book had to be pretty heavy so maybe the damage could have been caused in transit to this one title. The salesperson agreed with that and kindly referred me to Kinokuniya Bookstore located downtown at The Galeries Victoria, level 2. I had lunch at AGNSW and then headed over to Kinokuniya.

Kinokuniya is The Place for all things books, magazines and printed matter. The store is a treasure trove. I asked a sales person whether they had a copy of the Dale Frank book. She searched for it on her computer system and came up with one copy. A-ha! Excellent news and now we simply had to find that one copy in the store. Believe it or not, it took about 60 minutes of hunting back and forth, aisle after aisle, several computer checks, speaking with other co-workers, etc. but we finally found it on their new books shelf. The reason we didn’t immediately see it? Stealth packaging: all white slipcase with a discrete sans serif type style treatment. The kind of thing easily missed amongst 100,000 other titles.

You know the smell of newly printed magazines or marketing collateral – that’s the smell of printer’s inks. If you’re a graphic designer you know what I am referring to. Slipping the book out of its case and a strong aroma wafts out. Smells like it was dunked in ink and paint.

Nice details: the cover has an interesting die-cut and the edges of the book have been gilded in primary yellow.

So Far The Art of Dale Frank 1980-2005
Published by: Black Inc (trading as Schwartz Publishing)
February 2008
Hardback, 432 pages

According to the Anna Schwartz website, “(So Far) … is considered to be a ground-breaking publication that will recontextualise Australian art literature, and further contemporary painting.”

I’d seen Frank’s work a few times over the past five years but I didn’t get it. Honestly, his varnish paintings remained a little too < other > for me. Maybe I thought the painting style was an effect; it was closer to chemistry than painting. Then I read the articles featuring Dale Frank’s work in Art & Australia vol.42, #2, Ticket to Ride written by Jane Ranikin-Reid and Dale Frank written by Ashley Crawford. The work clicked. My next experience with his work was the Sore Throat exhibition at RO9. The deep blacks and darker colors in his canvases were producing a murky evocative depth I hadn’t seen before. I loved each sinewy ribbon of color emerging from the blackness.

Conclusion: Now that I have the book, I think I need a Dale Frank painting in my life …

Represented by Roslyn Oxley9, Anna Schwartz.
So Far… review in The Australian.
Dale Frank, by Ashley Crawford, Art & Australia vol.42, #2.
Ticket to Ride Dale Frank’s Conceptual Abstraction, by Jane Rankin-Reid, Art & Australia vol.42, #2.
Queensland homestead at Shentel’s Blog.

The first title is an oversized book featuring the artwork of John Olsen titled John Olsen: Journeys into the You Beaut Country by Jenny Zimmer and Ken McGregor.

I picked up this title at a bookstore in Ballarat: Pier by Greg Doyle, Grant King and Katrina Kanetani. Pier is arestaurant located in Sydney. I ate here recently and it was definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in the city. Their approach to seafood is very light and very Sydney. I am looking forward to trying some of the recipes and techniques from the book.

This is a beautiful book all about Thai cooking from David Thompson of Sailor’s Thai: thai food. I ate at theSailor’s Thai canteen — the one with the communal table — great curry.

Head chef and co-owner of Aria restaurant Matt Moran’s self titled book: Matt Moran. I haven’t eaten at Aria yet however I’ve read nothing but good things about the place. Maybe on my next trip to Sydney!

Maurizio Terzini has a number of restaurants to his credit in Sydney … this is his book titled Something Italian. I bought this after a meal at Icebergs in Bondi.

While at the Art Gallery of New South Wales I bought this book: Brett Whiteley Art & Life.

I have more books to post but I’ll save those for another entry (or two!).