Phaidon

‘The paintings are technically about astronauts, but they’re also about distance, pressure, performance, loneliness, ambition — things that feel very contemporary.’ — Michael Kagan You can look at Michael Kagan’s paintings and see grit, determination, and bravery — but beneath the layers of thickly applied paint, there is also an undeniable vulnerability. ‘I’m less interested in astronauts as flawless heroes than as vulnerable human beings inside enormous systems and machinery,’ the artist explains. Look closely at the astronaut’s visor: that’s where ‘everything collapses together — the astronaut, the landscape, the machinery, the photographer, history, light,’ he told us. ‘The visor becomes this distorted psychological space rather than just a reflective surface.’ Read the full interview and learn more about the artist’s new limited-edition silkscreen print. Link in bio.

Celebrate the publication of Tavares Strachan’s first comprehensive monograph, published by Phaidon, during the public opening of “The Day Tomorrow Began” at The Pizzuti on Saturday, May 16 at 2:30 PM.
 Released at this event nearly three weeks ahead of its global debut, attendees will have the opportunity to purchase an advance copy and have it personally signed by the artist. 
This timely monograph, created in close collaboration with Strachan, reveals the breadth and impact of his work. Part of Phaidon’s acclaimed “Contemporary Artists Series,” the book includes a conversation with Strachan; text contributions from writers and experts including Emma Dabiri, Gavin Delahunty, and Michele Robecchi; a studio visit with specially commissioned photography; and a comprehensive chronology of Strachan’s career.
 This event is free with registration. Please note that advance copies are limited.  Pre-purchase from the @cmamuseumstore is recommended — link in bio.   @PhaidonPress

We’re proud to announce that ‘CAT’ has been awarded a Silver Cube for book design as part of the 105th Annual ADC Awards. The book, designed by Phaidon Creative Director Julia Hasting (@julia.hasting ), is a whimsical visual survey of the house cat in art and popular culture. Thank you to @artdirectorsclub @theoneclubforcreativity for the recognition! #ADCAwards

A celebration of all things homegrown 🪴 Created in collaboration with @phaidonpress , this generous hamper takes inspiration from The Kitchen Garden by @toby_musgrave - an illustrated exploration of some of the world’s most remarkable productive gardens. Alongside a hardback copy of the book, you’ll find preserves and sweet treats inspired by our own gardens here in Somerset, plus seed packs and gardening gloves for time spent outdoors this season. A fitting accompaniment to our Great Garden Show. 🔗 Explore via the link in bio. #thenewtinsomerset #thekitchengarden #thegreatgardenshow

Last Friday, we gathered at @restaurantdaniel in NYC to celebrate the publication of ‘Odette: Terroir to Table, Heart to Plate.’ Author and chef Julien Royer (@chef_julien ) was hosted by chef Daniel Boulud (@danielboulud ), who welcomed chefs, writers, tastemakers, and friends who make this culinary world so extraordinary. Guests enjoyed signature grignotages from Odette, Royer’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Singapore — including Onion Tart, Coffee Liquorice; Verbena Marshmallow Lollipop; King Crab Dumping; Kampot Crusted Pigeon. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to our hosts at DANIEL for making the evening so memorable. ‘Odette: Terroir to Table, Heart to Plate’ is available worldwide on May 20th.

We are proud to share that Matthew Biggs (@matthewbiggs55 ), author of our children’s book ‘A Home for Every Plant’ was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society (@the_rhs ) for his outstanding contribution to horticulture. The VMH is one of the RHS’s most prestigious accolades, with only 63 recipients permitted to hold it at any one time. In a notable departure, the RHS has awarded a 64th medal for the first time, recognizing the scale and depth of Biggs’ contribution. Despite having battled cancer for almost 6 years, Matt is still championing plants and gardens for all, and with a smile on his face – sharing his book with the children’s cancer unit at Royal Marsden, his nurses, consultant, and their families, and raising money for the garden that he’s been creating at the Mount Vernon cancer center, where he’s been treated these past 5 years. Congratulations, Matt, on your incredible achievement! Phaidon is proud to publish your work.

Danielle Mckinney, Morning Glory, 2023. © Danielle Mckinney, courtesy of the artist, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York and Aspen, and Galerie Max Hetzler Berlin, Paris, London, Marfa / Photo credit: Pierre Le Hors

Anicka Yi turns hidden ecosystems into ‘living paintings.’ By enclosing soil between acrylic panels, Yi (@anickayi_studio ) allows self-organizing microbial ecosystems known as Winogradsky cultures to unfold over time into layered, painterly fields of color – organic compositions shaped by their environment. ‘With the Winogradsky cultures, the essential quality is instability,’ explains Yi. For her Artspace limited-edition print, Yi chose a lenticular surface that ‘behaves almost optically the way the bacterial cultures behave temporally.’ As Yi explains, ‘What changes over weeks in [a] vitrine, the lenticular gives you in the gesture of shifting your weight from one foot to the other, which helps it resist the flattening that reproduction imposes.’ Read more from our interview with Anicka Yi – link in bio.

Congratulations to the winner of the Phaidon Kids Student Scholarship Illustration Award, Xuan Chen! 🏆️ Xuan Chen, The Amazon Rainforest, Pencil, ink, digitally colored School: @risd1877 Instructor: Allison Cole This award reflects Phaidon Kids’ longstanding commitment to publishing beautifully illustrated books that spark curiosity, celebrate creativity, and invite children to explore the world. Thank you to our partners at @phaidonpress for making this award possible. Join us at the Society tomorrow, May 8, from 5:30pm-9:00pm to celebrate all of the featured students in the 2026 Student Scholarship Exhibition. Tickets are available at the link in bio. . . . #societyofillustrators #PhaidonKidsAward #PhaidonKids #illustration #illustrator #studentart #artcompetition #phaidon

INTRODUCING: BLUSH, BEYOND THE PAGE A four-part series to take you inside ‘Blush: Contemporary Makeup Artists’ the new book by @phaidonpress celebrating the world’s most brilliant, bold, and boundary-pushing makeup artists. For the profiles I authored in the book, I was adamant that I speak to the artists themselves—to really understand the texture of their mind and hands at work. What was beautiful to see and hear through these interviews is that make-up, to them, is a means of experimentation, reinvention, provocation, disguise, and protection. For these visionaries, it is an opportunity to study the people that sit in their chairs — their preferences, interior lives, and inner worlds. It is an act of artistic expression, and sometimes, a healing process that moves from palette to fingertip to face. Here, we look at the work of artist Lynsey Alexander (@lynseyalexander ), inaugural global creative make-up artist for @pradabeauty , whose philosophy often challenges the very definition of “beauty.” “I used to ask myself the question, ‘What can I add to this make-up to make it better?,’ she says in our call. “Now, I am switching that on its head and saying, ‘What can I remove?’” Go behind the artist’s eye with us as we explore the minds reshaping contemporary beauty today. Blush is available now on phaidon.com/blush. For a special discount, use code PHAIDON20. Video concept: Akanksha Kamath (@kamathakanksha ) Video art direction: Shagun Jangid (@shagun_jangid ) #blush #phaidon #lynseyalexander #makeup #beauty

The Rise of Indian Food: Recipes Reimagined by Trèsind Studio is OUT NOW! Led by @chefhimanshusaini and Co-Author @itsliamcollens published by @phaidonpress . With forewords by @massimobottura and @chefmanishmehrotra . A project that feels far bigger than a cookbook, this is a reflection of Indian cuisine through the lens of Trèsind Studio. Each dish in the book reimagines familiar Indian flavours with precision, storytelling, and modern technique, capturing where Indian cuisine is headed globally while staying deeply connected to its roots. Truly grateful to have been a small part of bringing this beautiful project to life. Order now Phaidon : /en-int/products/the-rise-of-indian-food-recipes-reimagined-by-tresind-studio?srsltid=AfmBOoonRyJGDbec2RY0F4lJcx3YRo00pHxGvUtOy2K4HzHTgfhDYmcS&variant=47539259932772 Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/00f18goP #IndianCuisine #FoodPhotography #Cookbook #MichelinGuide #Dubai (Indian cuisine evolution, modern Indian recipes, progressive Indian cooking, Trèsind Studio cookbook, Himanshu Saini recipes, Liam Collens cookbook, Phaidon cookbooks, fine dining Indian food, global Indian gastronomy, reimagined Indian dishes, contemporary Indian cuisine, Michelin level Indian cooking, Dubai fine dining scene, gourmet Indian cookbook, innovative Indian recipes)

We are proud to announce ‘The Eames Houses: Charles and Ray Eames Residential Architecture,’ the first comprehensive sourcebook dedicated to Charles and Ray Eames’s residential architecture. Authored by Eckart Maise, with text contributions from Catherine Ince, and forewords by Norman Foster and Eames Demetrios, the book firmly establishes architecture as a central pillar of the Eames legacy. ‘The Eames Houses’ presents all eight houses designed by the powerhouse couple between 1944 and 1955. Beautifully designed and richly illustrated, the book features both newly commissioned photography and a wealth of materials from the Eames Office’s archives – sketches, drawings, letters, and photographs – many of which are published here for the first time. Accompanying the recently debuted exhibition of the same name, ‘The Eames Houses’ brings the couple’s human-centered approach to modernism firmly into the present. Go to the link in bio to pre-order. Available beginning in May. @eckartmaise @catherineince75 @eamesdemetrios @officialnormanfoster