Len Castle: Making the Molecules Dance : Ceramics, 1948-2008 by Len Castle

$165.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: near fine

Len Castle's potting career, which started in 1947, spans the emergence, flourishing and subsequent transformation of the craft movement of the twentieth century. His work epitomizes its vitality, its deeply indigenous origins and the sophistication of its craftsmanship and artistry. When he decided to become a professional potter in 1963 he soon forged the first steps to establish an international reputation. He has exhibited world-wide, including Australia, Taiwan, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, USA and England (at the Victoria and Albert Museum). He has been described as a 'national treasure'. Len Castle - Making the Molecules Dance is a high quality companion volume to the Montana Award winning publication Len Castle Potter. ...Show more

The Life and Times of James Walter Chapman-Taylor by Judy Siers

$210.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: near fine

This is the story of James Walter Chapman-Taylor - architect, craftsman, furniture designer, builder, photographer, astrologer and family man. The biography unfolds chronologically from Chapman-Taylor's birth in London to his childhood in Taranaki, New Zealand, and traces his career from his early years in Welington, to Hawke's Bay, Auckland, Taranaki and finally Upper Hutt. Each building has its own history, the clients, the design, the construction and locations are all explored. This book is the result of research over 30 years; a volume that will appeal to home lovers and social historians, architects, designers and students. It captures an era in New Zealand's architectural history that must be treasured, and tells us a great deal about how attitudes ands tyles have evolved from colonial times to New Zealand's contemporary identity. Chapman-Taylor played his part in this transformation with a belief in himself, the confidence to express his individuality and a sense of freedom to explore and experiment, the essence of Kiwi spirit and ingenuity. This is a literary landmark in New Zealand's architectural history and biography. ...Show more

Chinese Domestic Furniture by Gustav Ecke

$195.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

New Territory - Warren and Mahoney: 50 Years of New Zealand Architecture by John Balasoglou

$160.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: near fine

First published 2005.

Kairuri - Measurer of Land by Nola Easdale

$45.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

Biographical Journeys 100 Favourite Bookplates by Ian Thwaites

$100.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: Fine

Long Live the Modern: New Zealand's New Architecture, 1904-1984 by Julia Gatley

$150.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: near

Long Live the Modern celebrates 180 iconic buildings, sites, and neighbourhoods, designed by many of New Zealand's most celebrated architects. In succinct entries, the 45 contributing writers document the structures' design, construction, context and history, assisted by historic and contemporary photog raphs and floor plans. Auckland's Civic Theatre, Parnell Baths, Harbour Bridge and Tamaki state houses appear, alongside Wellington's Overseas Passenger Terminal, Freyberg Pool, Athfield House and the Beehive. Other buildings include Ernst Plishke's Church of St Mary in Taihape, Warren and Mahoney's Dorset St Flats in Christchurch, Cedric Firth's Monro Building in Nelson, the Putaruru Post Office, the Dunedin Public Library buildings and the Featherston County Council Office. They show an acclimatised modernism, increasingly adapted to suit the New Zealand conditions and a precious part of New Zealand's constructed landscape. First published October 2008. ...Show more

Mrkusich: The Art of Transformation by Alan Wright and Edward Hanfling

$70.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good

The story of twentieth-century art is dominated by a major shift from representation to abstraction, from Cezanne's paintings of hills and houses to Pollock's pictures of nothing. Yet in New Zealand we know a lot about Rita Angus and Colin McCahon but little about the post-representational art that now dominates the art world. This book is the first account of the work of New Zealand's leading abstract painter, Milan Mrkusich. Trained as an architect and working for the innovative design firm Brenner Associates in the 1940s, Mrkusich quickly established a new mode of painterly abstraction. Drawing on ideas from alchemy, phenomenology, and modernist thinkers, Mrkusich soaked up the work of international artists to establish his own New Zealand modernism. This book traces Mrkusich's work from the early emblem paintings, through the triumphant corner works of the 1960s, and on to the artist's broad recognition from the 1970s. Milan Mrkusich is New Zealand's most powerful modernist. For him, a painting is paint on canvas first and foremost: 'it's not the Kaipara mudflats. It's a painting. It's paint. To me it's just a whole lot of grey paint.' MRKUSICH shows how an artist growing up around the Kaipara mudflats can produce abstract art admired around the world. ...Show more

Rita Angus: Life and Vision by Jill Trevelyan

$80.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: Very Good

Published to celebrate the centenary of Rita Angus's birth marked by a major new exhibition of her work at Te Papa. This catalogue will be the first to acknowledge Angus's status as an artist, with full-page colour reproductions of every work included in the show. Drawing on public and private collectio ns, it will present a range of Angus' work never seen before, from iconic paintings like Rutu (1951), Cass (1936) and Flight (1969) to Angus's celebrated and intriguing self-portraits, and previously undocumented works in a surprising range of media and styles. A substantial introduction places Rita Angus as a pioneer of modern painting in New Zealand and examines her legacy. Fourteen writers and critics present all-new criticism on every period of the artist's work, revealing what makes Rita Angus so significant - her vision, her virtuosity and above all her commitment. First published July 2008. ...Show more

Andy Goldsworthy: Touching North

$70.00 NZD

Category: Maud’s Picks | Reading Level: very good