05 December 2020
Guest Curator Alice Rawsthorn invites twelve of her friends from the fields of contemporary art, design and other areas of contemporary culture to nominate books for Dublin Art Book Fair 2020.
The list includes twenty titles nominated by Alice and a further seventy-seven books suggested to us by her invitees. Collectively these books add another incredible, fascinating and diverse dimension to the books that DABF 2020, Design as an Attitude gathers together. The nominated books are available to purchase on our Shop and come with short notes of recommendation, written by their nominees.
Alice Rawsthorn (writer and design critic), Paola Antonelli (Senior Curator of Architecture and Design, MoMA), Alvaro Barrington (artist), Hilary Cottam (social designer), Michael Craig-Martin (artist), Es Devlin (artist and stage designer), Conor Donlon (owner Donlon Books, London), Marie Donnelly (philanthropist), Andrew Durbin (writer and editor of frieze), Helen Marten (artist), Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries, London), Zoé Whitley (Director, Chisenhale Gallery, London).
Bianca Saunders, Joshua Woods, Bianca Saunders x Joshua Woods Zine (Bianca Saunders)
British menswear designer Bianca Saunders draws her influences from contemporary art (Deana Lawson, Troy Michie), popular culture and meaningful creative collaborations. I respect how much of herself she puts in her designs and her self-published zine with Joshua Woods is a jewel.
Donald Rodney, Eddie Chambers, Donald Rodney: Doublethink (Autograph)
I often think of working with contemporary artists in terms of critical proximity. Well-written books provide such a vital connection with artists we cannot otherwise personally reach.
Lubaina Himid, Lubaina Himid: Workshop Manual (Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König)
No artist has had a bigger impact on my life and work than Lubaina Himid. Her monograph is as beautifully designed as it is insightful.
Giles Bailey, Talker #8 Paul Maheke (Unbound)
The immediacy of performance can make it a challenge to write about compellingly. I'm a great admirer of Unbound's commitment to documenting live art and to making its many resources so easily accessible.
Hélène Baum and Zoé Whitley, Meet the Artist: Frank Bowling(Tate Publishing)
Writer Madeleine L'Engle famously said, "You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children." I wrote a book about colour and abstraction for kids - vibrantly illustrated by Hélène Baum, having seen how my own daughter responded so intuitively to making things in the studio with artists Frank Bowling and Rachel Scott; children inherently understand how to think through the process of making.
Zoé Whitley (born 1979, Washington, USA) has curated exhibitions at the V&A Museum and TATE regularly addressing themes of diversity. Whitley also curated the work of Cathy Wilkes for the British Pavillion at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019. She then took up the position of Director of the Hayward Gallery before her current role as Director of the Chisenhale Gallery.
15 May 2026, 4–5.45pm
Exhibiting artist Rebecca Moccia and Marta Bianchi from Care of, Milan will host a curated series of short video’s followed by an artist talk and introduction to the Gallery exhibition Nostalgism.
16 May 2026, 11.30am–1pm
An experimental drawing workshop with artist Shane Malone-Murphy exploring alternative ways of mapping experience through mark-making.
16 May 2026, 2-4pm
Drawing Room is a combined studio visit and workshop with visiting studio artist John Graham, emphasising drawing as location.
