This long out-of-print publication by American photographer Peter Hujar, the only monograph he produced in his lifetime, has finally been reissued by Liveright, with a new introduction by Susan Sontag’s biographer, Benjamin Moser. Sontag herself contributed an essay to the original publication, arguing for Hujar’s place among the great portrait artists of the last century. As his posthumous fame only increases, this tightly curated collection of photographs of Hujar’s friends and peers (Paul Thek, Anne Waldman, John Waters and Robert Wilson among them), paired with a haunting series of 1963 photographs of the dead in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, will remind fans of what makes him such a singular and original American artist.
During this year’s Frieze Seoul, I caught up with longtime frieze contributor Andy St. Louis, who gifted me his latest book, Future Present: Contemporary Korean Art (2024). Issued by Skira, the publication provides a snapshot of South Korea’s vibrant contemporary art scene, offering introductions to the practices of 25 artists working in the region. St. Louis, a native of Southern California, has spent the better part of a decade writing about art in Seoul, where he now lives. With additional essays from Joowon Park and Hyo Gyoung Jeon, the volume explores the diverse practices – from traditional media to digital artworks – of artists documenting South Korea’s rich cultural heritage and its rapidly evolving present.
Given that I have now entered into a phase of life that requires reading glasses, I find myself compelled to buy multiple pairs from Izipizi. Offering great quality and style in an array of colours at a reasonable price, Izipizi’s glasses allow me to reflect the fashion of the day – although I would be remiss if I didn’t add that the real reason for the ‘statement’ may simply be my propensity to misplace things.
I’m a longtime admirer of French conceptual artist Sophie Calle, who boldly applies game- and rule-based frameworks to lived, intimate scenarios – while shedding light on the rules by which our intimacies are already governed. Her works often take the form of installations in gallery settings, but they are also stories and, fittingly, play double-duty as books. Newly translated into English by Emma Ramadan, The Sleepers (Siglio Press, 2024) is devoted to Calle’s fascinating breakout work of the same name. In 1979, the artist invited 27 individuals to occupy her bed for eight hours each, producing achromatic photographs of her ‘sleepers’ accompanied by time-stamped captions with evocative details. Fleshing out these strange portraits, this handsome tome incorporates Calle’s extensive notes on the participants, including their responses to her questions. (‘I’ve often dreamt of an egg. An egg as a forbidden object ...’) This is a gift best read in bed.
I started my garden in a drought year, so I planted Mediterranean vegetation. The following two summers were washouts and everything sadly rotted. Next year, I plan to start again from scratch and this time I will stick with the traditional English garden repertoir.
Established in 1970, Anthology Film Archives is a home for avant-garde film and astutely curated programming that has significantly contributed to the promotion of a non-commercial history of cinema. Its originating ‘Essential Cinema’ series still screens today, often on analogue 35mm and 16mm formats, as the films were originally intended to be shown. Anthology’s preservation efforts and collections include innovative works that reinforce its guiding conviction of cinema as an artform. It was here that I first encountered F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise (1927), Michael Snow’s Wavelength (1967) and Jean-Luc Godard’s magnum opus Histoire(s) du Cinéma (1988–98). An annual membership to this vital New York institution gives you free access to any Essential Cinema screening, discounted tickets and many other great perks.
Few things are more exciting than receiving a package with your name on it, especially when you have no idea what’s inside. A Stack magazine subscription delivers that excitement to your doorstep each month, with a handpicked independent magazine chosen just for you. One month, you might find yourself reading about Estonian ghosts; the next, a collection of literary experiments laid out in Microsoft Word. There has even been a magazine with an issue dedicated to ‘space’, complete with a hole punched through its centre. A Stack membership guarantees a year of surprises, ideal for the reader who craves the niche and worships the new.
A trio of small Diptyque candles in Figuier, Tuberose and Jasmin. The combination reminds me of summer in a Greek garden. I like the smaller size as the wax melts evenly, releasing a deeper fragrance.
Nathan Clements-Gillespie, Director of Frieze Masters
The perfect affordable gift for a discerning family member or friend, The September Issue (2024) by Bruno Zhu offers a fresh take on traditional flip calendars. A new release from Glasgow-based publishing house 5b, which arrives ahead of the artist’s solo show at Chisenhale Gallery in London this November, the calendar features elaborate, staged photographs of the artist’s mother and continues his interest in involving his family in his work. The sequence starts in September 1972, the month and year of his mother’s birth, and continues in a 12-year cycle to span 132 years. In a video for the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology in Lisbon, Zhu said he thinks of his family as ‘a set of characters or agents that can reconstruct a scene, that exists halfway between a symbolic plane and an affective one’.
Liberté, Égalité, Beyoncé! So the famous saying goes. I’ve been waiting for Beyoncé’s Cécred haircare line to drop for what seems like an age, so I am ecstatic to finally be able to get my hands on it. Cécred’s Fortifying Treatment Kit – which includes travel-size bottles of the Reconstructing Treatment Mask and Nourishing Hair Oil, as well as a Fermented Rice & Rose Protein Ritual – is particularly well-priced given the quality of the range. I firmly believe that every celebrity beauty line should feature at least one slightly inexplicable yet fabulous-looking product, so, with that in mind, I am looking forward to giving the Ritual a whirl.
Claudia Kensani Saviotti, Publishing and events manager of frieze
As we enter a quieter, more reflective season, I wanted to share a gift idea that enhances one of my favourite activities – reading. There are many book lights available on the market currently, but I favour the Gritin 19 LED, which provides an even, soft light in three different colour modes – white, amber and mixed – and has a rechargeable battery, making it ideal for travelling. Although perhaps not the fanciest gift one could give, the Gritin 19 makes for an exceedingly useful, inexpensive tool for anyone who treasures the companionship of a great novel – particularly whilst on the move.
The festive season reminds me of what I value most in life: the people I love. But, with family members scattered across the globe, I often experience a wistful longing to have everybody in the same place instead of trying to schedule Zoom calls or sharing photographs in WhatsApp groups. Sohrab Hura’s latest book draws on themes of familial connection to provide affectionate depictions of love and togetherness. Better known for his photographic work, the artist here uses pastel to illustrate elderly grandparents, family pets and convivial scenes of shared meals and get-togethers. Hura’s drawings capture a tenderness that photography may have struggled to convey: quotidian family gatherings are suffused with elements of surrealist fantasy, with imaginative whimsy and real life merging to moving effect. Published by MACK, Things Felt But Not Quite Expressed is a book you should gift to everyone you love.
Rebecca Horn’s extensive retrospective, which opened earlier this year at Haus der Kunst in Munich, spanned six decades of the German artist’s career. Curated by Jana Baumann, the show focused on the performative aspects of her oeuvre. Horn’s beautiful, almost magical works are infused with tenderness and pain – a sensibility informed by an extended period spent in isolation at a sanatorium after developing a lung infection in her early 20s. Documenting the career of one of the most important artists of the 20th century, who died this year at the age of 80, the exhibition catalogue is an ode to her work that should be part of everyone’s home library.
Does your loved one need a moka coffee pot designed by the most famous living architect? No. Would they want one? Absolutely. William Morris famously said that you shouldn’t have anything in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful, and this espresso-maker is both. I bought myself one last year and, with its elegant chrome finish and flat top to warm your cup, it truly does bring me joy every morning. To get the full effect, you could also buy some coffee cups from another great Alessi collaboration, PlateBowlCup, by British designer Jasper Morrison. Known for his elegant tableware and furniture, Morrison’s refined designs epitomize quiet luxury.
Like many people during the pandemic, I hyperfixated on a new hobby: cooking. Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries (Fourth Estate, 2005) was one of the many cookbooks my mother had collected in the family home I was now confined to. The premise is simple: for one year, the acclaimed chef documented all the meals he cooked for himself and his loved ones and presented it as a wonderfully illustrated diary. Slater’s carefully curated anecdotes are illustrated by grainy close-ups of homemade meals alongside shots of cool gardens in spring and warm, rustic kitchen tables. The Kitchen Diaries is not a fancy endeavour: it does not require hard-to-obtain ingredients or an industrially equipped kitchen. The recipes are straightforward, their execution comforting. Personal favourites include my very good chocolate brownies recipe and zucchini cakes with dill and feta.
A friend gifted me a bottle of Everyday Oil about five years ago, and it’s been one of my go-to products ever since. Over the years, the brand has added several new scents, but I tend to honour originals, so I stick to Mainstay, their first, which has notes of Palo Santo, Lavender, Geranium and Clary Sage. I use Everyday Oil as part of my daily routine. I keep a large bottle at home, and I carry the travel-sized version in my bag to put on my hair and skin throughout the day.
