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Assouline, the luxury publisher of books and gifts celebrating culture, design, and lifestyle, celebrates summer with four new design releases to set hearts aflutter and turn spirits aspirational. Here’s a sneak peek at the new titles.
“The Movie in My Mind”
For Ken Fulk, interior design has always felt like movie-making: The designer even starts with a script. For more than 30 years, the interior designer has built extraordinary worlds around the globe in homes, hotels, restaurants, bars, and members clubs with cinematic flair. “The Movie in My Mind” captures the magic, juxtaposing gorgeous photography of his extravagant interiors with his personal stories relating his inspiration for the work.
“Orientalism Style”
Orientalism is the study—by Western scholars—of Near and Far Eastern cultures and societies. The term also refers to Western writers, artists, and designers’ imitation or depiction of Eastern cultures. Assouline describes the term, the focus of the newest book in its Style series, “Orientalism Style,” as “a way of seeing, of perceiving, of sharing emotions and palettes of colors, sensations.” The book includes the ways in which “orientalism” found its way into Western architecture, literature, visual art, décor, fashion, and film.
“Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage”
A ritual largely unfamiliar to the Western world is the Hajj, an Islamic religious gathering. In “Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage,” 5,000 objects from the 8th to the 21st centuries related to Hajj—and hailing geographically from China to India to Morocco and the United Kingdom—are included in this volume. Textiles, books, coins, painting, prints, and sacred manuscripts are elucidated with insightful chapters on the Islamic principles of Hajj in order to enrich public understanding of the holy ritual.
“Gold: The Impossible Collection”
Assouline is revered for its Impossible Collection series—and its reputation will acquire a further sheen with the publication of “Gold: The Impossible Collection” (coming in July). This volume showcases 100 of the rarest gold treasures selected for the ways in which the artisans who made them marry natural splendor and human craftsmanship. Richly detailed artifacts from ancient civilizations to museum-quality modern artworks grace the pages of this finely wrought book.
