There are books that should be read and then stashed away. Art books are for looking at, and living with.
They’re not just for shelves. They are designed to be on tables, desks, counters—anywhere they will catch you and hold your attention. They offer something visual and purposeful—a bit of pure beauty within any room. An art book is, in many ways, a mini-exhibit, essentially turning your home into a gallery.
One of the things that is most exciting about art books is their execution. They’re thoughtfully made. The print and the paper and the binding are all part of our experience of the book. While the book reduces the scale of the art so that we can see it impossibly close, it allows us to appreciate detail that we might overlook otherwise.
I have an extensive collection of art books to which, like all of my collections, I continue adding. Some titles are reflections on exhibitions I have organized or artists with whom I have worked. Some are reminders of artists with whom I want to connect. Together, they are both a record and a roadmap.
Ultimately, art books are meant to be continuously used. Here’s how:
Leave one open—on a coffee table, desk, or kitchen counter. Change the page weekly. Let it surprise you.
Stack them intentionally. Let the covers talk to each other. Create a visual poem of spines and titles.
Create a tablescape around a book—add a stone, a candle, a found object. Turn reading into ritual.
Get close. Really look at the images. See what you missed the first time. Let your eyes linger longer than they usually do.
Read the essays. They’re often hidden gems—thoughtful meditations by curators, scholars, or artists themselves. They give context and texture to the work.
Let them influence your day. Use one as a prompt for a journal entry, a palette for how you dress, a reason to rearrange a corner of your space.
Art books are reminders that beauty belongs in our daily lives—not just on walls, but on pages, in our hands, and at the center of our attention. And they are an effective way to say, “Art lives here.”
Photography by Shawn Chavez
