Ceramics: An Atlas of Forms
By Glenn Barkley

As a curator, writer and creator of beguiling ceramic forms himself, Glenn Barkley is a master of the medium: he’s a knowledgeable, delightful guide through the global history of ceramics. Spanning ceramic works from 4000 BC to today. One can read about Cypriot pots from 2400 BCE to the famous cabbage tureen ceramics, to modern day makers like Honor Freeman and Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, discovering the detailed stories beyond works and artists. Barkley also doesn’t shy away from questioning the collecting habits of major institutions, and he pivotally celebrates many non-Western artefacts. It’s a brilliant excursion into who has made ceramics—and why and how.

Local bookstores | Booktopia | Thames & Hudson

The Other Side: A Journey into Women Art and the Spirit World
By Jennifer Higgie

Ever since the Guggenheim’s 2018 ground-breaking show exhibiting the staggering albeit forgotten works of Hilma af Klint, there’s been growing interest in the historical and contemporary links between women’s art practices and spiritualism. As Jennifer Higgie shows us, there’s much to consider. Higgie takes us through a history of women artists and the magical, from Hildegard von Blingen who worked in 1100 BC, to the story of 19th century painter Georgiana Houghton, to 20th century artists. In blending memoir, personal observation and art history, Jennifer Higgie isn’t just an arts writer, but a generous, inquisitive writer in the most literary sense, giving voice to the neglected history of women in art.

Local bookstores | Booktopia | Hachette Australia

Ornament Is Not A Crime
By Rebecca L Gross

This book is for anyone feeling rather tired of minimalism and sad beige. Overturning the modernist creed that “ornament is a crime”, Gross focuses on a postmodern celebration of diversity, colour, curves and informality by taking us through 21 homes around the world. Through stunning photography, we can enter a Melbourne house given new life by Australian designers WOWOWA, with soft wood curves and yellow and pink kitchens; or into wondrous London homes that play with colour in inventive ways. It’s a book as much about taste as it is documenting feats of domestic design.

Local bookstores | Booktopia | Thames & Hudson

Ken Whisson: Painting & Drawing
By Quentin Sprague

This is a mammoth monograph (over 500 pages) on the life and art of Ken Whisson. Born in 1927, Whisson died last year and was remembered by the Sydney Morning Herald as “one of the great originals of Australian art.” If you haven’t heard of Whisson, don’t worry, as the SMH obituary also says, “Had he ever become a household name he would have felt something was wrong.” Esteemed art historian Quentin Sprague takes us through the painter and drawer’s life in seven sections, with much of the book is dedicated to reproductions of Whisson’s work.

Local bookstores | Booktopia | Melbourne University Publishing

Vincent Namatjira

It’s always exciting when contemporary artists get the monograph treatment, perhaps especially so when they’re as beloved as Vincent Namatjira. The award-winning portraitist and art fair-mainstay from Indulkana has won many fans with his brand of subversive observation and witty social commentary in paint. This publication offers insight into his history and style, but relies mostly on Namatjira’s art, making the book akin to art itself.

Local bookstore | Booktopia | Thames & Hudson Australia

Art Monsters
By Lauren Elkin 

Women’s bodies have a fraught history with art; so often objectified, fetishised, and subjected to the omnipresent male gaze. So, what happens when women artists reclaim their bodies, as both art and artist? In Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art, Lauren Elkin explores the different roles women’s bodies play and have played in art, whether they be queer bodies, sick bodies, racialised bodies, or female bodies. Elkin explores how feminist artists have reframed the way we observe and consider our bodies, examining the work of a diverse array of artists: Vanessa Bell, Carolee Schneeman, Kara Walker, Betye Saar, Sutapa Biswas, Lubaina Himid, Howardena Pindell, Ana Mendieta, and many more. Art Monsters is a timely read for art lovers and feminists alike.

Local bookstore | Booktopia | Penguin

Iwantja

The Indigenous owned and governed Iwantja Arts, located in the Indulkana Community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia, is home to some of the most exciting artists in the country. From founder Alec Baker to Vincent Namatjira, Betty Muffler and Kaylene Whiskey, along with so many emerging artists destined to become household names, the centre is a true celebration of Anangu talent. Iwantja is a comprehensive bilingual monograph, told by the artists themselves. It is impressive in scope—offering both historical overview and contemporary focus, and rich in content: from interviews, photographs, and reproductions of art and illustration. And the bold, vibrant design of the book is indicative of the exuberance of the art coming out of Iwantja.

Local bookstore | Booktopia | Thames & Hudson Australia

Groundswell: Women of Land Art 

Like so many movements from history, land art was, and often still is, dominated by the men in the field—most will immediately recall Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. And like so many other movements, closer interrogation will reveal that women have always been there. Groundswell: Women of Land Art is something of a reappraisal of the movement. Initially an exhibition catalogue for a show of the same name at Nasher Sculpture Centre in Dallas, Texas, the book is part essay collection and part illustrated biography of the artists featured—Lita Albuquerque, Alice Aycock, Beverly Buchanan, Agnes Denes, Maren Hassinger, Nancy Holt, Patricia Johanson, Ana Mendieta, Mary Miss, Jody Pinto, Michelle Stuart and Meg Webster. It’s also an impressively designed publication—Lita Albuquerque’s Spine of the Earth photographed and printed to cloth binding makes for an incredible cover.

Local bookstore | Books at Manic

Honourable Mentions

Coming out soon is Helen Molesworth’s Open Questions: Thirty Years of Writing About Art—she’s an American curator and the genius behind the podcast Death of An Artist. We haven’t read it yet, but we’re very keen. There’s also the much-touted essay collection on artist Norman Lindsay, Venus in Tullamarine: Art, Sex, Politics and Norman Lindsay. And this year also saw the release of the National Gallery of Australia’s Cressida Campbell catalogue, and a comprehensive publication on Emily Kam Kngwarray, related to exquisite current retrospective of her work at NGA.