Challenging power, control, capitalism and patriarchy, legendary artist Barbara Kruger wields words and visuals to delve into systemic failures. Her work can be traced across five decades in Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You, a comprehensive book featuring her paste-ups from the 1980s, digital creations from the past decades, site-specific installations, commissioned work and multichannel videos. Altogether, this volume (published by DelMonico Books and Los Angeles County Museum of Art), captures how Kruger’s vast body of artwork remains critical today.
Iconic American artist Marilyn Minter’s trademark blend of playful, nasty and erotic is on full display via these postcards, featuring works from her 1990s Food Porn series. Desire, disgust and defamiliarization feature heavily here. Minter’s critical work makes for provocative and mesmerizing postcards that will thrill recipients.
Illustrator and graphic novelist Brian Blomerth (who wrote 2019’s Brian Blomerth’s Bicycle Day about the discovery of LSD) returns with Mycelium Wassonii, the story of scientist couple R Gordon and Valentina Wasson—the duo credited with introducing the use of psychoactive mushrooms to a wide audience in the United States. The Wassons’ tale takes readers from escaping the Russia during the revolution to honeymooning in the Catskills, working with the CIA and traveling to Mexico in order to study the religious use of mushrooms. The beautiful, playful illustrations will delight readers as much as the story itself.
Released by independent publisher Blue Crow Media and printed on heavyweight paper by a family-owned printer, the Brutalist Calendar 2022 celebrates Brutalist architecture from around the world. Made in a limited edition, the calendar’s layout and lettering perfectly match the photographs of these concrete icons. Measuring 340 by 240mm when closed and 340 by 490mm when opened, this calendar includes 12 black and white photographs. Price is in Pounds.
Northumberland, UK-based ceramicist Claudia Rankin’s knack for crafting heartwarming pottery, imbued with fantasy and the wonder of nature, shines through in her pink and yellow bird candleholders. Standing 31cm tall, this handmade ceramic piece holds two candles that spring from lightly twisted branches. With charming birds perched in between, this candleholder makes for an eye-catching, charming object whether in use or on display. Price is in Pounds.
This long-sleeve shirt from Actual Source Books—a publisher, bookstore, brand and collective design studio—features an illustration by LA-based artist Chris Lux. Considering their design focus, it’s no surprise their apparel, homeware and accessories are an elevated, playful take on traditional merch. This periwinkle shirt—intended for all genders and available in size small to XXL—has been screen-printed with two colors.
The late architect, designer and artist Alexander Girard’s playful suns—outlined in this new coloring book, which has been named for the solar motifs within the design of the NYC restaurant La Fonda Del Sol—were a study in visceral composition and expressive detail. In the book, countless iterations of Girard’s famed suns await decorating and coloring from artists of all ages. Price is in euros.
An art deco tour around London, a brutalist exploration of Paris and a dive into the architecture in Tbilisi are just some of the inspiring plans in Blue Crow Media’s set of architecture and design maps. Spanning postmodernism, constructivism, metro design and more, this bundle of 33 maps takes a comprehensive and tasteful approach to urban art, breathing new life into familiar cities and guiding travelers through new ones. Price is in Pounds.
The 2022 TOILETPAPER calendar offers all the surreal, bold and sultry imagery fans of artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari’s magazine are accustomed to. This year’s food theme incorporates everything from chicken drumstick microphones to women sitting on fruit tarts—placing this calendar somewhere between ’70s cookbook and kitsch pin-ups. Juicy, glossy and off-kilter, this is a playful way to keep track of your days.
On the Magnetic Fields’ 11th studio album, 50 Song Memoir, singer-songwriter’s Stephin Merritt once again exhibited his unparalleled penchant for clever lyricism. The 50 songs (one for each year of Merritt’s life) incorporated 100 instruments, creating a layered and masterful album. Soon after the release of the 2017 album, the band played two shows at the The Apollo Theater, and this limited edition poster commemorates the performances.
Yayoi Kusama’s dazzling universe of polka dots is given a charming, kid-friendly rendition through Fausto Gilberti’s book, Yayoi Kusama Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn’t Sorry. Written from the Japanese artist’s point of view and spanning 48 delightful illustrations, this children’s book details how Kusama got her start, following her journey from Japan to the United States in order to realize her passion for a dot-filled world. This enchanting story promises an inspiring read for children aged four to seven.
Juxtaposing beauty and destruction, the realistic and the uncanny, artist Jessica Bellamy crafts portraits inspired by her Southern California roots. In “Ambivalent Sunrise,” the artist highlights a burning palm tree amidst a dreamy sky to capture the critical state of the environment from a local, focused perspective. The 16 by 20 inch print, issued in a limited edition run of 10, is dated and signed by Bellamy and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Printed on FSC accredited paper, this official David Shrigley calendar is full of the multi-disciplinary artist’s off-kilter, angsty and sweet illustrations. From drawings of drunken stupors to domestic anxieties and dog accidents, this humorous calendar—complete with a dozen stickers—is an apt, functional collection of Shrigley’s art.
Portland, Oregon-based artist Lan Truong’s “Lit” risograph print is a playful celebration of a ritual. Truong’s colorful work (which bounces between erotic, witty, naive and trippy) has been featured in The New York Times, WIRED, The Atlantic and more. This particular piece channels the artist’s penchant for texture and vibrance. Measuring 11 by 14 inches, each print has been signed.
Alltimers partnered with Oakland-based non-profit Creative Growth (the country’s oldest art and exhibition space dedicated to artists with developmental disabilities) for this dynamic skate deck. The eight-inch board is designed by Paul Fields, an artist from Creative Growth, and features his original cartoon animals, which are alive with character. All profits are donated to Creative Growth, and Alltimers has two other artist collab decks with the organization available.
Designed by Amsterdam-based Studio Roof, and printed on recycled cardboard with vegetable ink, these 3D insects tether the home to nature’s vivid cornucopia. Part decor and part puzzle, they are intended for kids four and up, and come as various creatures in assorted colors: orange and red-hued honeybee, blue copper butterfly, contrasting longwing butterfly, peacock butterfly, pink bee and bright yellow butterfly. Hung on a wall or resting on a desktop, each of these puzzles comes alive thanks to their rich colors and multi-dimensional design.
