Art books: Santiago Calatrava and structural anatomy

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ART BOOKS

Our art books pages this month we look at a world-renowned architect, structural engineer, sculptor and artist.

From the Athens 2004 Olympic Sports Complex to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in Manhattan, he exhibits a remarkable aesthetic and engineering prowess with a simultaneous sensitivity for both the appearance and the anatomy of a structure.

With influences ranging from NASA space design to da Vinci’s nature studies, Calatrava’s creations are at once aerodynamic and organic in their associations. Natural forms and human movements inform a number of his projects, with a particular interest in the meeting point of equilibrium and dynamism.

ART BOOKS
This updated monograph gathers detailed entries, photography, and the original watercolor sketches that set Calatrava aside as a unique creative master. It includes all of Calatrava’s original collaborative input, as well as new projects including the Mediopadana Station in Reggio Emilia, Italy, the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, and ongoing works such as the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai. Complete works 1979-Today.

Taschen is an art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen.

ART BOOKS
Taschen
The company began as Taschen Comics, publishing Benedikt’s comic collection. Taschen has been a pioneer in making lesser-seen art available to mainstream bookstores, including some fetishistic imagery, queer art, historical erotica, pornography and adult magazines (including multiple books with Playboy magazine). The firm has brought potentially controversial art into broader public view, publishing it alongside its more mainstream books of comics reprints, art photography, painting, design, fashion, advertising history, film, and architecture.

Taschen publications are available in a variety of sizes, from oversized tomes to small pocket-sized books. The company has also produced calendars, address books, and postcards sets.

In 1985, Taschen introduced the Basic Art series with an inaugural title on Salvador Dalí. The series today comprises over 100 titles available in up to thirty languages, each about a separate artist, from classical to contemporary. Further series followed, alongside an expansion into new themes like architecture, design, film, and lifestyle. As an example, the firm also publishes a “Basic Architecture” series in the same style as “Basic Art” that covers some of the most prominent architects in history.

Bookshop in Brussels at 18 Rue Lebeau, 1000.

www.taschen.com