Andrea Belloli

A new creative sizzle is in the air, establishing the backdrop for a major revival across all of London's creative sectors. Having invented the Swinging '60s, punk rock in the '70s and Cool Britannia in the '90s, London in the 2010s is firing up the engine of growth and renewal yet again. Encompassing a unique, no-holds-barred exploration of the city as the contemporary world's creative centre, 'London Burning: Portraits from a Creative City' seeks to define exactly what it is that makes Britain's capital the international urban HQ for creativity and innovation. Why and how has the city become a creative universe of its own making? How does it continue to regenerate, to renew its creative pulse, to confound the naysayers who pop up on the horizon every decade or so to foretell its decline? Over a hundred intimate, probing interviews reveal not only the private lives and views of some of London's leading creative personalities but also the variegated urban scene they inhabit as observed through the personal prisms of these movers and shakers, whether established or new to the scene, young or old, high-brow or populist.Searching out the city's hidden treasures, unravelling the apparent simplicity defining its urban and semi-rural landscapes, unmasking the frivolous and highlighting tastes from the fantastic to the fastidious, 'London Burning: Portraits from a Creative City' will unlock secret passions, undress social mundanities and address outrageous profanities.

Despite its relatively small size, Korea has perhaps the most sophisticated contemporary art scene in Asia. In recent years, its vibrancy has been lighting up the whole world, with artists such as Do Ho Suh, Kimsooja, Michael Joo and Koo Jeong-A emerging as major players on the international art scene. This book profiles these and many other acclaimed figures as well as of such up-and-coming artists as Lee Yong Baek, Jeon Joohno, Moon Kyungwon and Nikki S. Lee. Influential curators, among them Doryun Chong, Seungduk Kim, Sungwon Kim and Young Chul Lee, are also interviewed, as are heads of some of the country’s leading arts institutions. The country’s art historical origins are explored within the context of modernist preoccupations both inside and outside Korea. Incisive and in-depth essays by leading international scholars Sook-Kyung Lee, Youngna Kim and John Rajchman serve to make the book a vital resource for both those in the know and readers wishing to acquaint themselves with Korea’s contemporary scene for the first time.