Sophisticated Coffee Table Books

Lift the profile of your home with this selection of exceptional books

Books enhance a house as much as they enhance our intellect. Whether they are stacked up on a coffee table, or tucked in perfect order on shelves, books are aesthetically beautiful, act as reminders of special memories and add a cultural sophistication vibe to any room. This selection of coffee table books range from wildlife to architectural projects that never materialised. I hope you’ll enjoy them.

Wild Horses by Alfie Bowen

Fascinated by wildlife from an early age, Alfie Bowen developed his love for photography in 2015, when he was given his first DSLR camera as a Christmas gift. It was a seminal moment in his life, as he realised that the camera could be the method of expressing himself that he had been yearning for all his childhood.

From the left, cover of Wild Horses, “Sanctuary” and “Peek-a-Boo”. Images © Alfie Bowen

Bowen’s gift lies in his unique ability to capture the spirit of wildlife with mesmerising depth and maturity. Some say this “power” comes from his autism, which gives him a perception of the world very different to most of us. And although that may very well be one of the contributing factors, to me, he is simply very talented.

Wild Horses took Bowen two years of shooting. Looking for places in the British countryside where he could find free-roaming horses, he travelled across the country, from the rolling hills of Northern Wales all the way to the New Forest and Norfolk to mention but a few. In Bowen’s compelling images, one can feel the connection between subject and the photographer, and take a glimpse at the artist’s wonderful mind.

Wild Horses is published by ACC Art Books available from Awsome Books and Hive Books among other retailers. From £23.87

Ford Mustang – 60 Years by Donald Farr

From flesh horses to mechanical ones. Launched on 15th April 1964, the Ford Mustang was an immediate hit, selling a staggering 400,000 units in its first year.

Cover of Ford Mustang – 60 Years by Donald Farr, published by Motorbooks and photo of the first production Mustang, with VIN 100001. The car still survives. Images © Motorbooks.

Mustang is a symbol of young America, of the time in life when everything is possible and the world is an infinite expanse of wonder. Its iconic status has been reinforced by its appearances in cult films such as Bullitt and Diamonds are Forever among many others.

In Ford Mustang – 60 Years, author Donald Parr puts to excellent service his 40 years of knowledge and expertise about Mustangs. He brings us 60 stories that chronicle milestones in the history of this car, from the 1962 initial designs all the way to the creation of the 2005 Mustang and much more.

Ford Mustang – 60 Years is published by Motorbooks and available from retailers such as Awsome Books and WHSmith. From £28.38.

Passolini in Chiaroscuro by Guillaume de Sardes and Bartolomeo Pietromarchi

Created by Flammarion to accompany the exhibition running at the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco until 29th September, Passolini in Chiaroscuro explores the influences of classical painting that influenced the work of Pier Paolo Passolini, possibly one of the most enigmatic and charismatic film directors of the 20th century

Cover of Passolini in Chiaroscuro and photogram from Passolini’s La Ricotta, 1963. Courtesy of Compass Film, from Pasolini in Chiaroscuro, published by Flammarion. Images © Flammarion

Passolini was a very controversial figure. His predilection for “bad boys” and his unapologetic attitude towards the establishment and the social constraints prevalent in Italy in the 1950s and 1960s probably contributed to his brutal murder in 1975. His work was equally controversial, culminating in Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, a hugely radical and political film that puts in evidence the consumerist society of his time.

His love of art permeated his entire body of work. Frames, lighting, shooting angles, composition, even backgrounds reference the masters, from Andrea Mantegna to Fernand Léger. Passolini’s use of “chiaroscuro” in films like Accattone, clearly recalls paintings by Caravaggio. Whether you are attending the exhibition in Monaco or not, this book is a unique opportunity to understand the mind of Pier Paolo Passolini and his legacy, which still infiltrates the work of many of the most charismatic artists of our day.

Passolini in Chiaroscuro is published by Flammarion and available to pre-order from Waterstones and Amazon among other retailers. From £24.45.

Atlas of Never Built Architecture by Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin

Any architect you may talk to will tell you – if they are honest – that their biggest frustration is the amazing projects they never got to realise. Atlas of Never BuiltArchitecture is an unusual opportunity to discover extraordinary architectural conceptions that for one reason or another, never came to be.

From the left: cover of Atlas of Never Built Architecture by Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin, published by Phaidon; and BBC Music Centre, Foreign Office Architects (FOA), London, 2003. Picture © Alejandro Zaera-Polo and Farshid Moussavi (FOA).

Organized geographically and spanning nearly 80 countries, this monumental homage to architectural ambition includes buildings of all kinds and purposes. In the pages of this book you’ll find museums, cemeteries, churches, bridges, skyscrapers, theme parks, casinos, government buildings, and even a floating theatre boat that resembles a UFO.

This unusual atlas though is not just about the buildings, but about the cities and societies where for which they were conceived. Its pages take the readers to the student protests of the 1960S in America and Western Europe to the crisis of 2008, which killed in the bud some amazing architectural projects such as the Copenhagen Gate, Gate L and Gate M, two intelligent structures at the entrance of the harbour, that used sun, wind and seawater to provide all the energy necessary for their full operability.

The book also includes unpublished prints, paintings, and etchings, preparatory sketches, and images that bring these alternate histories to life.

The Atlas of Never Built Architecture is published by Phaidon and available from Awsome Books and Amazon among other retailers. From £74.03.

Graphic Classics by Phaidon Editors

Dive into the world of graphic design from Buddhist texts printed in 1377 and Guttenberg’s Bible to the Black Lives Matter logo, The Times Roman typeface or the covers of Joy Division’s albums. Explore the work of designers across six continents and 600 years in a book that serves as a visual survey of this often undervalue form of art.

From the left: cover of Graphic Classics, published by Phaidon; and Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests’ Zen Teachings, 1377, Heungdeok-sa Temple, South Korea. Image © Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

The book is organised by categories (advertising, logos, books, etc) and colour-coded, which makes very easy to find any specific entries.

Something about this book that I particularly like is the fact that the Phaidon editors have gone well beyond the line of duty to reflect as many voices and disciplines as possible. Unfortunately, the world of graphic design, like many others, has been traditionally dominated by white men. Graphic Classics breaks the mould by bringing 40 per cent of the entries from female or mixed male/female design teams, and 30 per cent from non-white artists.

Graphic Classics is available to pre-order from WHSmith and Amazon. It retails at £69.95.

Author: Julia Pasarón

Opening image: Pixabay.

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