Keith Recker

Kilims from Mazandaran are true masterpieces of woven minimalism. From stripes to fields of pure and deep colour, these textiles represent a singular kind of artistic abstraction. The women who authored these pieces made them for their own use. In wool and silk, they created works of textile art using the basic building blocks of all hand weaving: warp and weft. The grid thus created is at the same time rigid and flexible; it lends itself to geometric pattern, but also allows for feathery ikat-like effects and multidimensional colour expression. This book is a sumptuous visual celebration of a largely unknown modern art form. Expert writers add context to the pieces by contemplating subjects such as 20th-century minimalism, materiality and the nature of colour.

Deep insight into color's effect on humans and how colors reflect our history. Color is a powerful force in our lives. It is a major influence in visual and verbal communication and on the decisions we make every day. Deep Color unpacks all the shades of the rainbow (plus black, white, and pink) with little-known facts, stunning visuals, and a critical perspective on color and the nonverbal meanings it carries. Deep Color contains essays exploring the intriguing facets of color, such as imperial yellow in China or lapis lazuli in Egypt. Each hue is illustrated not just in words, but in historical and contemporary images that show how ancient ideas are still very much alive today—and also how color can take on new meanings. It helps readers unpack the color-laden stimuli that come their way every minute of every day, like the cultural information encoded in color, and media's persuasive use of color. Destined to become a classic, Deep Color explores how color acts on our imagination, subconscious, and daily decisions.

True Colors, written by Keith Recker, presents the work and vision of 26 natural dye artists from around the world, opening a window into their culture, their lives, and the power of colour. The artist’s stories are organized by colour and begin with white, traveling through the spectrum to blues, purples, reds, pinks, golds, arriving at varying hues of green. The colours are as extraordinary as the artists themselves: Handmade paper dyed with indigo in Ghana. Rare greens from a fungus-infested plant that grows in the Peruvian jungle. Blues that adorned ancient Briton warriors rediscovered in a Norwich studio. Purples from shellfish collected along the western coast of Mexico. Vivid coral dyes obtained from mushrooms foraged in northern California. New to this paperback edition is a chapter about Heartwear, a collaborative of artists and fashion designers who have created and supported indigo-dyeing projects from Benin to Morocco to India and beyond. Natural pigments aren’t limited to cloth dyeing. They find their way into ceramic tile, glassware, pottery, artists’ paints and pastels, all explored in Recker’s lyrical narrative. Keith Recker is the perfect person to collect and share these timeless stories. His years of global travel, working with artisan groups and individuals as well as connecting them to influential designers in the fashion and interiors industries, put this book right on trend. Gorgeous, carefully curated photography connects the colours to ancient traditions and to the artists. True Colors provides an immersive visual experience and an inspiring travelogue of personal stories and practical information.

True Colors is about artists who create colour from natural materials and about the historical importance and environmental sustainability of this practice. In-depth conversations with 28 artisans from every part of the globe reveal their wisdom, traditions, and know-how—and suggest that we ignore what they know at our peril. Traditional approaches to making colour offer sustainable options to a fashion system badly in need of them and memorable cultural narratives to a world hungry for beauty and spirituality. True Colors provides an immersive visual experience and an inspiring travelogue of personal stories and practical information from artists who are leaving their mark on the world.

Pantone, the worldwide color authority, invites you on a rich visual tour of 100 transformative years. "In this visual feast for color nerds, hue gurus Leatrice Eiseman and Keith Recker identify the shades that shaped our collective color palette."—Fast Company From the Pale Gold (15-0927 TPX) and Almost Mauve (12-2103 TPX) of the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris to the Rust (18-1248 TPX) and Midnight Navy (19-4110 TPX) of the countdown to the Millennium, the 20th century brimmed with color. In this incredible and unique exploration of color, longtime Pantone collaborators and color gurus Leatrice Eiseman and Keith Recker identify more than 200 touchstone works of art, products, décor, and fashion, and carefully match them with 80 different official PANTONE color palettes to reveal the trends, radical shifts, and resurgences of various hues. A color theory book like no other, this vibrant volume takes the social temperature of our recent history with the panache that is uniquely Pantone. STUNNING ART BOOK AND RESOURCE GUIDE: A treasure trove of inspiration and reference for artists, designers, stylists, and lovers of fashion design, modern architecture, contemporary art, furniture, and home décor. HANDS-ON GUIDANCE FOR CREATIVES: As one reviewer notes, "this is a coffee table–sized decade-by- decade guide to the colors of the 20th century, with Pantone color palette listings to enable you to reproduce them exactly right." COLOR MATTERS: Color as a form of communication is incredibly powerful. Its ability to influence thought, mood, and action is gaining newfound attention in the field of modern psychology and in our collective reach for bettering ourselves emotionally and spiritually. Perfect for: ? Artists, graphic designers, fashion and décor designers, set decorators, and any professional who incorporates color into their work ? Library and museum curation ? Homeowners looking for period design inspiration ? Fans of cultural history, color exploration, and interior design ? Readers of Architectural Digest, Dwell, Wallpaper, and The World of Interiors