BELLAS ARTES

Growing up in America’s heartland, Kansas, and hitting New York City at age twenty-one, the young designer Andrew Torrey brought his big dreams, ambition, and strong work ethic with him. The self-taught Torrey took the leap and founded his eponymous firm in 2013. This first monograph showcases twenty-three of the designer's extraordinary projects, from vibrant Manhattan and sun-soaked Miami to London, Los Angeles, and Cabo San Lucas. This debut book explores Torrey’s distinctive approach: a seamless blending of cool, clean, modern designs with opulent finishes, sumptuous materials, and a reverence for the historical and vintage. A passion for contemporary art and an approach combining modern glamour with effortless charm also define Torrey’s signature.

Henry Bourne’s photographs of the residences and workspaces of a who’s who of creative people open windows onto the groundbreaking design approaches and trends of the last three decades. For nearly thirty years, Bourne has been photographing the residences and studios of, or those designed by, some of the world’s most important artists, architects, designers, and innovators. Culture and society are constantly evolving, and changes, both aesthetic and sociological, are reflected in our physical surroundings. Spaces and portraits in this volume range from the Upstate New York studio of artist Richard Prince, Vincent Van Duysen’s early apartment in Antwerp, and Marc Newson’s residences (his modern former bachelor pad as well as the more textured apartment he shares with Charlotte Stockdale today) to the joyfully chaotic London atelier of artist Paula Rego, the Villa Volpi by architect Tomaso Buzzi near Rome, the London studio of artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster—before and after its sleek renovation, designed by architect David Adjaye.

A new tower stands out against the city skyline: the Unipol Tower designed by Mario Cucinella Architects, an internationally renowned architecture studio based in Milan and Bologna. The Unipol Tower is a 124-meter elliptical tower in the Porta Nuova area, in the heart of the city. Made from glass and steel, it has a glasshouse on the rooftop serving as a cultural venue. Commissioned by Unipol, the leading Italian insurance company, the tower looks beyond the corporate identity and headquarters of Unipol and has been acclaimed as one of the most advanced architecture projects ever created.

Today, the works of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) are among the most well known and celebrated in the world. In Sunflowers, The Starry Night, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, and many paintings and drawings beyond, we recognize an artist uniquely dexterous in the portrayal of mood and place through paint, pencil, charcoal, or chalk. Yet as he was deploying the lurid colors, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms that would subsequently make his name, van Gogh battled not only the disinterest of his contemporary audience but also devastating bouts of mental illness. His episodes of depression and anxiety would eventually claim his life, when, in 1890, he committed suicide shortly after his 37th birthday. This richly illustrated introduction follows Vincent van Gogh’s story from his earliest pictures of peasants and rural workers, through his bright Parisian period, to his final, feverish burst of creative energy in the South of France during the last two and a half years of his life.

Vincent van Gogh’s story is one of the most tragic in art history. Today, he is celebrated the world over as one of the most important painters of all time, recognized with sell-out shows, feted museums, and record prices of tens of millions of dollars at auction.