Exclusive experiences: ARTIKA’s unique art books capture the essence of each artist

An ARTIKA edition is both an art book and a piece of craftsmanship. It is a unique item, and each project is the result of close collaboration between artists and experts. The outcome is an exclusive window into a creative style: a new way to understand and appreciate art.

A privileged look

If art is a medium that makes it possible to express emotions and ideas, an ARTIKA edition is the perfect vehicle for contextualizing the artist’s intention. It is an art book that helps us to better understand what the artist meant to convey and how they decided to go about it.

Not all works of art are accessible to the public in museums and exhibitions. Our art books, however, offer everything needed to appreciate the uniqueness of their subjects, with one particular feature: each copy provides an exclusive experience.

Let’s think about the art of Fernando Botero, which has an unmistakable style appreciated the world over. A book like Vía Crucis reveals his personality through his memories and influences, and this is only possible because the maestro was deeply involved in producing this edition. The same can be said of another title that captures the artist’s particular world: Botero’s Women.

Beyond paper

An ARTIKA book not only serves to document works of art: it turns them into part of an experience that incorporates words, textures and spaces. These are books that can be read, but they are much more than just that. They are designed to be appreciated as sculptural pieces, but they are also enriched with expert studies that analyse the evolution of each artist. In short, they are works of art in their own right, created to be displayed in a private space.

Jaume Plensa 61 is a clear example of this dual purpose. The case is an original sculpture by the artist, serialised and numbered, representing an iconic image from his artistic output: the face of a young woman with her eyes closed. The work also provides an opportunity to delve into Plensa’s creative process through his own reflections and sketches from his sketchbooks.

An exclusive legacy

Our publications both reflect an artist’s style and form part of their body of work. Whoever acquires an ARTIKA like Landscapes has the privilege of owning an exclusive part of Antonio López’s creative legacy. In Landscapes, the artist offers a look back at his life and artistic experience. He uses his own words to guide us: he wrote the texts himself, as well as creating a handcrafted model of the book, choosing the images and providing personal photographs.

Other titles in our catalogue tap into the most unknown facets of some of the biggest names in art. Take Gaudí Up Close, which reveals how the inspiration that drove the genius of modernism originated in his earliest sketches on paper. This work includes never-before-published projects by Antoni Gaudí, as well as drawings that were found scattered in different archives.

When it comes to unpublished works, special mention must be made of The Dreams of Frida Kahlo, which offers access into the artist’s intimate universe through pieces that were never intended to be exhibited in public: drawings from her private notebooks and others that she dedicated to friends and lovers.

Texts and textures

Every copy of an ARTIKA is unique and has its own story to tell. Master craftsmen work to create it, meticulously taking care of every detail to produce finishes that reflect the individual style of each artist. They follow traditional methods when choosing the quality of the paper and binding the sheets, which are always sewn by hand.

This artisanal process is at its best when combined with the vision of a multidisciplinary artist like Lita Cabellut. Her Blood Wedding is a masterful interpretation of García Lorca’s classic text. Cabellut gave herself body and soul by applying all her expressive resources (crackle painting, preliminary set design, superimposition of textures) to enrich the conceptual dimension of the original work.

The case serves to announce a suggestive game of complementary images through the cover image (the woman who represents the moon in the book) and the back cover (a combination of tones constructed with the paint cans used in the process).

The artist has the last word

Artists including Jaume Plensa, Fernando Botero, Miquel Barceló, Lita Cabellut and many others have worked hand in hand with ARTIKA on a variety of projects, from the initial sketch to the choice of materials. The result is a tribute to the creative spirit of each of these masters.

Anyone who takes part in the ARTIKA experience discovers an unprecedented narrative of the history of art, in a perfect synthesis of texts, shapes and groundbreaking designs.

In short, every ARTIKA edition is an exclusive opportunity to appreciate an essential piece of an artist’s work and represents a commitment to the future of creativity in the publishing world.