This timely and visually striking volume offers a long-overdue exploration of Dr. Esther Mahlangu (born 1935), the internationally acclaimed South African artist whose practice defies divisions between traditional and contemporary art. Grounded in the visual language of her Ndebele heritage, Mahlangu transforms this lineage into a powerful tool for self-expression and global dialogue. She has exhibited at major institutions, including the Centre Pompidou and Louvre Abu Dhabi, and in 1991 became the first woman and African artist commissioned to create a BMW Art Car—joining a legacy that includes Andy Warhol and David Hockney. Mahlangu expands painting's role in contemporary life, . . . .go to book page >>

Among the most recognizable motifs of Jean-Michel Basquiat's oeuvre is the human head. Whether colorful, bald, crowned or simply disquieting, his expressive approach evokes the skeletal aspects of these faces, reminding us of the skull beneath the skin: a memento mori for the modern age. The Head—The Mind explores the artist's fascination with the head as a vessel of identity, emotion and intellect, expressed through raw, gestural lines that capture the tension between inner thought and outward expression. Introduced by Sophia Herivaux, Basquiat's niece, this selection of portraits is interspersed with quotes from interviews and other primary sources, delving into . . . .go to book page >>

Emerging from a tumultuous background of political and cultural critique, Ai Weiwei (born 1957) uses a diverse range of mediums—including sculpture, photography, film and even social media—to confront issues from human rights abuses to democracy, censorship and the role of the artist in society. Many of his interventions directly confront Chinese history and its current political climate, such as his infamous photo series Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995) or his poignant response to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, Straight. Other, more recent artworks address global crises including the plight of refugees and forced migrants commemorated in Law of the Journey . . . .go to book page >>