Art & Design

It is entirely possible to immerse oneself in the glories of European art without having to travel to the Louvre, the Uffizzi, the Tate or the Frick. That's because New Zealand's public art galleries are richly studded with works collected by benefactors over the last 150 years and generously gifted to the nation. Many are in... read more

Artistic genius, political activist, painter and decorator, mythic legend or notorious graffiti artist? The work of Banksy is unmistakable, except maybe when it's squatting in the Tate or New York's Metropolitan Museum. Banksy is responsible for decorating the streets, walls, bridges and zoos of towns and cites throughout the... read more

Being a writer is good because you get paid to write stuff up, you can stay home and work in your pajamas and you get to travel because it's research. Being a writer is bad when you're sitting all by yourself staring at a blank page. Brigid Lowry knows the highs and lows of being a writer, but she still thinks it's a joy. In ... read more

Kura Koiwi is both a personal account of Brian Flintoff’s career as a carver, but also an important exploration of Maori art and how it relates to carving.
Heavily illustrated with exquisite examples of his, and other people’s work, this book explains the mythology and symbolism behind his work, and in doing... read more

A magnificent colourful monograph from the series of major New Zealnd artists by Ron Sang Publications.
Over a career spanning four decades, Pat Hanly proposed a new manner of looking at New Zealand - the land and its people. His art heralded new ways of thinking about this country - as a nation that belonged to the... read more

Colour is intrinsically linked to how individuals make sense of the world. It has the power to completely transform mood, often subliminally. It's capable of being energetic or restful, passive or aggressive, harmonious or dull, and that's just the beginning. Colour: A Journey explores the implications, history and cultural m... read more

A tour de force of writing on art
This legendary book has been universally hailed as the best, the most readable and the most provocative account of modern art ever written.
Through each of the thematic chapters Hughes keeps his story grounded in the history of the 20th century, demonstrating how modernism sou... read more

"The Gift" brilliantly argues for the importance of creativity in our increasingly money-driven society. Reaching deep into literature, anthropology and psychology for striking examples, the heart of Lewis Hyde's modern masterpiece is the simple and important idea that a 'gift' can inspire and change our lives, art and cultur... read more

All that stuff you're tempted to throw away isn't rubbish, it's a new beginning! If it's broken, Judith Miller will show you how to fix it; if it's past its prime, learn how to give it a stylish revamp for next to nothing; and if it's in good nick or a valuable antique but you just don't want it anymore, discover how to turn ... read more

This lavishly illustrated history of the golden age of cartography, from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries, explores not only the embellishments on maps but also what they reveal about the world in which they were created. Here there be monsters real and imagined; ships actual and archetypical; newly discovere... read more

Sark invites the journal writer to compose his/her own creative companion through gentle instructions and playful directions toward artistic freedom. "We need your creative spirit in action, " says Sark, "because there is only one of you. . . . So share your dreams and let them get really big."

210 x 280mm / 120pp Dean Buchanan is one of New Zealand's best-known artists. From an early age he showed immense talent, painting large oils that demonstrated both technical brilliance and a close affinity with the natural world. During the past thirty years he has become probably New Zealand's most prolific (and also mos... read more

Well-known as a printmaker, Webb also creates pastels that evoke wilderness areas in her home of southern New Zealand. Lonie provides a biography of the artist and her development, illustrated with many personal black-and-white photographs, that is followed by 62 of Webb's environmental-and conservation-inspired images, in co... read more

Mervyn Taylor (1906-64) is the greatest exponent of the art of wood engraving New Zealand has known. His images have enduring power and a beauty which has been matched by no other artist. This is the story of his life and work. First published July 2006.

This book is a rare and fascinating picture of contemporary New Zealand artists in their studios. It provides new insights into the practical aspects of how artists embark on their creative processes. The 24 painters and sculptors were chosen by well-known writer and art commentator Richard Wolfe and photographer Stephen Robi... read more

"Girls! Girls! Girls!" explores the representation of girls in contemporary women's art. Since the 1990s, women artists have for the first time dominated the creation and evolution of work depicting female bodies, producing what are arguably the most challenging, critically debated, well publicized, and highly collected repre... read more

European explorers of the Pacific in the 18th and early 19th centuries faced a problem - how to describe the people they met and report what they had seen and found. From Cook onwards, a serious expedition included artists and scientists in its ship's company. An ambitious journey of the 19th century was the third voyage ... read more

Showcasing one hundred years of innovation and environmental sensitivity, "Handmade Houses" celebrates some of the world's most idiosyncratic homes from Big Sur to Sardinia. Author Richard Olsen unveils the components used for their construction, including driftwood, boulders, and even old wine vats. The first study of the ha... read more

Viennese-native Friedrich Stowasser (1928-2000) called himself Hundertwasser Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt. True to the colorful variety of his names, he pursued many activities as a painter, architect and ecologist, and as "one who awakens identities." This presentation of Hundertwasser's work in all of its different fac... read more