The aesthetically truly incredible magazine foam is always one step ahead in contemporary photography. The latest issue is all about food. But of course not in the way of a cooking magazine with recipes and so on. Rather, it's about using photography to explore what food means culturally and to society.⁠ ⁠ FOOD! The Nourishing Issue looks at what we are made of, focusing on the ways food drives us apart, brings us together and moves us further — all at the same time. Food fuels us, heals us and brings people together. Yet there is another side to food, which is more political and complex than it appears. Nourishment, ritual, sustainability, economy, labour, culture, ecology, community, exploitation, identity, politics: the collection of portfolios included in this issue are a testament to the variety of visual strategies addressing a few of such matters.⁠ Buy

Meticulously, Christoph Hänsli paints and works his way through 166 slices of a whole mortadella, and not only that, he paints each piece from the front and back. In the end, there are 332 pictures.⁠ ⁠ Approaching the essence of a sausage, the slowly changing pink constellations turn into an almost hypnotic universe of meditative mortadella mandalas.⁠ ⁠ This world of sliced sausage is accompanied by an exclusive text on Hänsli's work by the renowned British writer John Berger. Buy

These fluffy animals are sure to be a cute companion for the coming year. The playful and quirky creatures were created using a wet-on-wet technique in which liquid watercolours run freely over a painting ground moistened with a sponge. The artist Rop van Mierlo has always been fascinated by modern man's urge to tame nature. On the contrary, he wanted to create wild animals that he could not control. The wet-on-wet technique seemed perfect for Rop's concept, as it allows for chance. And now these soft but uncontrollable creatures are coming to help you take control of the year ahead. Sounds like a winning team to us! Buy

Pierre Charpin's new monograph does not show the product designer's objects but covers 17 years of his drawings!⁠ ⁠ French furniture designer Pierre Charpin's new book titled Avec le dessin takes a deep dive into his expansive visual oeuvre, exploring the many styles and approaches that he takes when drawing.⁠ ⁠ By adopting various techniques and tools, he develops forms, investigates structures and discovers colours and their combinations. But his enchanting lines, loops, ribbons and shapes are much more than just a tool for creating a product. They have the power to stand for themselves, giving us an insight into the designers mind.⁠ ⁠ "Like any child, I drew. Drawing comes before writing. A sort of original gesture, a primitive impulse, an imperative need to project tangible figures of one’s own experience and presence in the world outside oneself, for oneself, and for others”, Charpin writes in the introduction. But even though he grew up in a family of creatives, he was slow to assert real passion for any particular field – including that of drawing. It was only many years later, after entering the world of furniture and object design, that he would discover that drawing was a practice within itself.⁠ ⁠ Ranging from figurative to abstract and beyond, Avec le Dessin is a testament to the designer's versatility - and his "primitive impulse" to draw. Buy

In recent years, a young and dynamic scene has emerged dedicated to so-called queer tattooing. This particular community has emerged out of a desire to break with hierarchies and patriarchal structures. In their work, many tattoo artists liberate themselves from heteronormative and capitalist ideals of beauty to experiment outside the mainstream and develop their own individual styles and techniques. Their designs are a testament to a uniquely creative sense of queer iconography. ⁠ ⁠ This book is the first comprehensive introduction to this vibrant and diverse queer tattoo community. It introduces 50 international tattoo artists through in-depth portraits, texts and photo spreads.⁠ Buy

Berlin, our home and favourite city. Populated by strong characters, pigeons, open-minded hedonists, grumpy misfits, dogpiles, nightshade plants dressed in black, opinionated daydreamers - and simply the best people in the world. And who better to portray all these than Stefan Marx, scribbling all their uniqueness and characteristics in his notebook. On the train, in the park, at the Späti, in the supermarket, at the airport. Buy

Famous as a designer and founding member of the Memphis Group, Nathalie Du Pasquier’s main medium became painting, and that since 35 years. For Nathalie Du Pasquier, the boundaries between design and art are fluid. Easily navigating between pattern, textile, ceramics, and painting, she allows shapes, spaces and forms to interrelate. Her use of colour is unparalleled. ⁠ ⁠ This book, accompanying Pasquier's exhibition at MACRO in Rome, moves between exhibition catalogue and artist's book. Photographs of Nathalie Du Pasquier's works, installation views of the exhibition are juxtaposed with excerpts from texts by various authors and personalities that are fundamental to Pasquier's practice. The pages of this wonderfull publication become exhibition spaces themselves, allowing associations and combinations. They enable a deeper understanding and engagement with Nathalie Du Pasquier's work and her imagination.⁠ So instead of merely being an exhibition catalogue, this publication can be seen as an extension of the exhibition itself.⁠ Buy

During the pandemic, Kara Walker made a series of drawings in the style of a medieval "Book of Hours". The disturbing images show the ways and extent of human suffering. They are reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's macabre and nightmarish depictions of hell, except that in this case it is not about the afterlife, but about our earthly lives. From scenes of biblical and mythological origin to images of historical violence and others suggestive of more recent political unrest, Walker's enigmatic images traverse time and place. Buy

After two years of a global pandemic and people hiding behind masks, FUKT explores and celebrates the human face. One of the most inspiring drawing magazines, at least in our opinion, looks with its 20th issue at the art of portraiture in drawing. ⁠ ⁠ Creating portraits is as old as humanity, but what does it mean today, especially in the age of selfies and social media? Featuring drawings by 34 contemporary artists, FUKT explores the face in contemporary art. Inside the magazine you'll find a range of perspectives and themes, from face blindness to courtroom drawings and Lockdown portraits to face recognition - a selection of drawing positions that offer a unique look at the face.⁠ ⁠ One particularly beautiful detail is the cover. While there are 24 different faces, if you unpack the magazine from its foil, you also detach the facial expressions. What remains is a cover with an outline of a face and space for doodling, portrait drawing, simple or elaborate, everything is possible.⁠ Buy

Enjoy a hint of colour and fluidity thanks to the collection of drawings by renowned designer Ronan Bouroullec! Each publication of his drawings shows transformations in style and concentration of details while remaining all very unique Ronan Bouroullec.⁠ Ronan Bouroullec is probably best known for his furniture design practice alongside his brother - but he's also a painter. His works on paper follow the idea of so-called intuitive drawing. This technique allows him to develop new images and reach the subconscious layers of the mind. Even though these are abstract, they give the impression of fabrics, folds, upholstered furniture or wavy glass. The balance of form and color within a few simple lines is astonishing and reassuring.⁠ Buy

Best known for his furniture design practice side by side with his brother, not many know that Ronan Bouroullec is also a painter. His works on paper follow the idea of what he calls intuitive drawing. This technique allows him to develop new images and reach the subconscious layers of the mind. Experimenting with shapes and lines "Crayon Pinceau" is a pure black and white series, this time focusing on shades and fades instead of color. The harmony of shapes within a few simple lines is striking.Although abstract, these drawings give the impression of fabrics, folds and upholstery, showing us yet another way into the visual mind of a designer. Buy

When Josef and Anni Albers traveled to Mexico they realised that they were in "a country for art like no other". They would make several trips to Mexico throughout the years exploring sites in Oaxaca and Yucatan. Fascinated by the geometrical shapes, they translated and interwove their found inspiration into their own works of abstract modernism. The book shows photographs made by the Albers of archaeological sites next to their painting, drawings and weaving and the correlations are staggering. Who would have thought that the basis for modernism was built on Mexican ruins.⁠ Buy