The 12 Days of Architecture: #4 Jinhua, China

Bridging Teahouse by LAR/Fernando Romero

Jinhua Architecture Park, Bridging Teahouse completed by LAR/Fernando Romero in 2006

The 12 Days of Architecture: #3 Karuizawa, Japan

Villa and Gallery by Makoto Yamaguchi Design

Villa and Gallery in Karuizawa completed by Makoto Yamaguchi Architectural Design in 2003

Everyday Icon #5 Santa Claus

From Mesopotamia to Pennsylvania - how the bearded guy came into being

Haddon Sundblom's painting of Santa Claus for Coca-Cola

The 12 Days of Architecture: #2 Årjäng, Sweden

Dragspel House by 24 H-architecture

Dragspel House completed by 24 H-architecture in 2004

The 12 Days of Architecture: #1 Wolfsburg, Germany

Phaeno Science Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects

Phaeno Science Centre completed by Zaha Hadid Architects in 2005

The Phaidon guide to art speak - White Cube

Decoding the language of art criticism

The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, Gallery Interior
Designed by Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa: SANAA (2007)

The Failsafe Gift Guide - chosen by Aaron Rose

The curator who's worked with Sofia Coppola, Spike Jonze and Sonic Youth recommends his Xmas best buys

Aaron Rose (left) and the cover of Boris Mikhailov's book 'Yesterday's Sandwich' which, Rose has chosen as one of his recommended reads

Tokujin Yoshioka creates a lasting impression

Japanese designer installs Water Block bench in front of Impressionist masterpieces at the Musée d'Orsay

Tokujin Yoshioka's 'Water Block' bench sits in the Impressionist gallery at the Museum d'Orsey in Paris

Failsafe Gift Guide - chosen by Massimiliano Gioni

One of the world's most important curators chooses his favourite Phaidon Christmas reads

Massimiliano Gioni chooses Ed Ruscha's 'They Called Her Styrene' as one of his failsafe gift guide books

Anish Kapoor's 'Tower of Babel' completed

As London Olympics 2012 beckons, its defining structure becomes Britain's largest piece of public art

Anish Kapoor's 'Orbit Tower' in the final stages of its construction with the London 2012 Olympic Stadium to its left

The Failsafe Gift Guide - chosen by James Franco

The multi-talented actor, screenwriter, producer, author and artist chooses the perfect Phaidon reading list

James Franco says that 'Take 100'

Michele Howarth Rashman's Muse Music

The sculptor and creator of 'psychiatric knitwear' on the music that gets her in a creative mood

Artist Michele Howarth Rashman (top right) her sculpture 'He Calls Himself Margaret' (bottom right) and the musician Elliott Smith (left) who features on her playlist this week

A Christmas message from Banksy

Vandalised sculpture attacks child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church

Banksy's Cardinal Sin, photographed by Mark McNulty

The Failsafe Gift Guide - chosen by Judd Apatow

The Bridesmaids producer is today’s guest gift giver (so expect a lot of film books)

Film director Judd Apatow (left) and Phaidon's 500 Self-Portraits, one of his favourite books

What happens when Jenga meets genius

Herzog & de Meuron breaks new ground yet again with the Actelion Business Center in Switzerland

Herzog & de Meuron's Actelion Business Centre, Basel, Switzerland

A museum at one with nature

New York architects Ennead harness Utah landscape for new Natural History Museum

Interior view of the Natural History Museum of Utah. Photography by Stuart Ruckman

Why Clyfford Still's art stayed hidden for 30 years

Painter finally set to take his place alongside Rothko, Pollock and other abstract expressionist pioneers

Portrait photograph of Clyfford Still (left) and his work PH-455 (1949), Gouache on paper, 30 x 22 in (right)

Art's most iconic child stars celebrate 500th birthday

Raphael's famous cherubs venerated in forthcoming exhibition

500 years old and still a kid at heart. Raffaello Sanzio Raphael, Two Cherubs (detail of the Sistine Madonna), (c.1512 -1514), Oil on panel. 265 x 196 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Germany

Inside the mind of Xylor Jane

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

Portrait of the artist Xylor Jane (right) and her work '13,831' (2007), Oil on panel, 31 x 37 in (left)

George Condo's Muse Music

The artificial realist painter and sculptor on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Portrait of the artist George Condo (left), his painting 'Uncle Joe' (2005) (top right) and Miles Davis (bottom right) who features on the artist's Muse Music playlist

Seoul's new suburb in the sky

Dutch architects pull off the impossible and make 'the middle ground' exciting

MVRDV architect's 'Cloud' design for Seoul's new Yongsan Dreamhub project masterminded by super-architect Daniel Libeskind

The Phaidon guide to art speak - Site Specific

Decoding the language of art criticism


John Baldessari's $100,000 bill board

Artist who once proclaimed "I will not make any more boring art" sticks to his promise

John Baldessari's The first $100,000 I Ever Made (2011) stands next to the High Line on 10th Ave & 18th St, New York

Roger Hiorns to bury Airbus under the UK

Turner Prize nominee creates modern-day 'long barrow' on two sites in the US and UK

A photo collage by Roger Hiorns of Untitled (Buried passenger aircraft) 1999-2011

Martin Boyce's Muse Music

The 2011 Turner Prize winner on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Portrait of artist Martin Boyce (2011) (top left), the band Happy Mondays who feature on his Muse Music playlist (bottom left) and an installation view of his work now on show at BALTIC for the Turner Prize 2011 (right) (photograph by Colin Davison)

Inside the mind of Ellen Altfest

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

Ellen Altfest photographed by Vincent Dilio in her New York studio

Phaidon Store opens in Shoreditch

If you're in East London this weekend visit us at pop-up shopping mall Boxpark

Phaidon Store opens at Boxpark, London's first pop-up shopping mall, this Saturday

George Shaw's Muse Music

The 2011 Turner Prize nominee on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Paul Weller of the Jam at the Manchester Apollo Theatre (1979) (left) photograph by Howard Barlow, photograph of the artist by Jane Sebire (top right) and his work 'Tryst at a Recent Earthwork' (2011) (bottom right)

Let there be light!

The new Stuttgart City Library - possibly the best place in the world to flick through a Phaidon book

The New Stuttgart Library, designed by Li Architects

Reiulf Ramstad's peak practice

Mantra-abiding Scandinavian architect creates angular mountain retreat in Norway

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter's Trollveggen, Møre og Romsdal, Norway

'Everything now is too chaotic' says Dieter Rams

Legendary German designer calls for a return to simplicity

Dieter Rams at work in his studio in Kronberg near Frankfurt, Germany

Inside the mind of Li Shurui

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2

Li Shurui's acrylic painting 'Lights No.112' (left) and the artist in her Beijing studio (right)

Danny Lyon adds his voice to global 'Occupy' protest

Spirit of social rebellion alive and well says campaigning photographer

Photographs from Danny Lyon's series The Bikeriders (1963) - Zipco, Elkhorn, Wisconsin (left) and Funny Sonny, Chicago (right)

In praise of... killing your own dinner

Our money is artist and author Tomi Ungerer to win a fight with any beast


Karla Black's Muse Music

The 2011 Turner Prize nominee on the music that gets her in a creative mood

Karla Black (left), her installation at this year's Venice Biennale (top right) and Feist (bottom right) featured on the artist's Muse Music playlist this week

Inside the mind of Lesley Vance

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2


The woman who inspired Picasso

How the raven-haired Dora Maar became Picasso's most politically charged muse

'Portrait of Dora Maar' painted by Picasso in 1937 (left) and 'Woman Dressing her Hair' in 1940 (right)

A brief history of the ‘ism’ in art criticism

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum – a series of stories inspired by the greatest art book ever published

Tracey Emin and Billy Childish, photographed by Eugene Doyen for 'Alive and Well and Dying in Chatham' (1982 - 1986)


Piers Secunda's Muse Music

The sculptural painter on the music that gets him in a creative mood


World's slowest roller coaster unveiled

Design duo Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth create the ultimate ride for the faint-hearted

Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth's 'Tiger & Turtle - Magic Mountain'

Everyday Icon #4 Lipstick

Another look at the often overlooked


Another victory at Melbourne's AAMI Stadium

Cox Architecture's new stadium wins Australian National Architecture Award

Cox Architecture, AAMI Stadium (2011), Melbourne, photographed by Dianna Snape

Why pick on the interpretation department?

Spare a thought for the people who write the wall texts in museums and galleries – it’s not easy

Elliot Erwitt's photographs from the series Museum Watching
Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1996) (left), Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (1998) (right)

Welcome to Georgia

If more border checkpoints looked like this it wouldn't matter how long the queues were

J. Mayer H. Architects, Sarpi Border Checkpoint (2011),  Sarpi, Georgia

Inside the mind of Milena Dragicevic

Exploring the creative processes of artists featured in Vitamin P2


Art's original 'undo' button

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum – a series of stories inspired by the greatest art book ever published


People watching with a difference

Michael Wolf’s Paris Photo photos of compressed commuters are a big hit with Martin Parr

Michael Wolf photographed commuters on the Tokyo subway for his series 'Tokyo Compression'

Mark Titchner's Muse Music

The belief-challenging artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Mark Titchner's work 'You Can't Hate Nature' (2009) (left), portrait of the artist (top right) and influential post punk band Swans (bottom right) who feature on the artist's Muse Music playlist today

Does this building really exist?

Richard Meier & Partners's new building on the shores of Lake Garda looks real enough, but is it?

Richard Meier & Partners, CGI rendering for Villa Cardone, Lake Garda, Italy

Chris Johanson's Muse Music

The painter and street artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Chris Johanson's 'Untitled, (My resolution is to be 45 percent less selfish)' (2009) (left), Chris Johanson (bottom right) and John Lydon, lead singer of PIL, who feature on his Muse Music playlist today

Danny Lyon comes to a radio station near you

Pioneer of photographic journalism to talk about his adventures this week

Danny Lyon, The Gary Rogues at the Dunes, Indiana. From the series Bikeriders (1963)

Marina Abramović's Halloween ball

Art world glitteratti turn out for party in Greenwich Village Jamaican bar Miss Lily's

Marina Abramović (right) and art critic and curator Rose Lee Goldberg and fashion designer Misha Nonoo (left)

Who needs critical acclaim?

Behind The Scenes At The Art Museum

Impression, Sunrise (1872) - Claude Monet

Arnaud Lapierre's mirror images

Up and coming design star enthrals Paris with zoetrope-like installation

Arnaud Lapierre's Mirrors Installation in Paris (October 2011)

Berlin's new design showcase

Qubique show at Tempelhof airport introduces furniture design to next generation

From Pirwi's 'Pack of Dogs' collection

Edmund de Waal's Muse Music

The ceramic artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Edmund de Waal (top left), his piece 'A Change in the Weather' of 2007 (right) and the artist Ali Farka Touré (bottom left) who features on De Waal's Phaidon playlist

Cutting edge architecture

Is this residential building in Japan the sharpest building in the world?

Eastern Design Office's 'On the Corner', Youkaichi City, Japan

Brutalist architecture - the remix

Belgian architecture photographer Filip Dujardin creates new monuments - from existing buildings

“And you’re sure it’ll stay up, yeah?” - Filip Dujardin from the series, 'Fictions'

Richard Harrison's Muse Music

The abstract painter on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Richard Harrison (bottom right), his painting 'Moments in Fog' (2008) (left) and Brian Eno (top right) the musical genius whose varied body of work Harrison has been inspired by over the years

Attention wannabe space tourists - the holiday starts here

World's first commercial spaceport designed by Norman Foster+Partners opens

Spaceport America in New Mexico, designed by Foster + Partners, opened its' doors this week and is the world's first commercial spaceport

Everyday Icon #3 The BIC Biro

Another look at the often overlooked


Behind the scenes at The Art Museum

The hand that bites the master

Michelangelo, Genesis (1508-12), The Sistine Chapel

Kanye West plays impromptu gig at George Condo London opening

After hours show ends with celebrated artist hugging rapper

Invitations to the after-party of the private view for George Condo's new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery were on the back of playing cards featuring Condo's artworks. Right, Kanye West mid-performance

Mushroom Trifolati

A recipe from The Silver Spoon

Recipe from The Silver Spoon

Self Generated Art

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum

Anish Kapoor, Svayambh (2007)

Beijing's cool new designers

Meet the lady who filled Ai Weiwei's gallery with her crate furniture


Haroon Mirza's Muse Music

The Venice Biennale Silver Lion winner on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Haroon Mirza (top left), 'The National Apavillion of Then and Now' at Venice Biennale 2011 (right) and Kraftwerk (bottom left)

The Don Draper with soul

Robert Montgomery’s anti-capitalist art subverts advertising’s tried and tested tricks


Stars shine at White Cube opening

YBAs, models and rock stars mingle at new gallery launch

Michael Stipe, Thomas Dozol, Sam Taylor Wood and Aaron Johnson (l-r) at the opening of the new Bermondsey White Cube

Frieze starts tomorrow!

Curator Sarah McCrory reveals the highs and lows of squeezing a bunch of hermit crabs, two yachts, one daily TV show and quite a few paintings into a London park

Frieze Curator Sarah McCrory

One of our nuns is missing

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum

Filippino Lippi, Expulsion of the Devil by St Philip (1487-1502)

The revolution will, after all, be televised

South London artists LuckyPDF have located their practice at the forefront of internet technology. So why are they hosting a daily TV show at Frieze art fair this week?

James Early, John Hill, Ollie Hogan and Yuri Pattison of LuckyPDF

When Picasso faked it

Behind the scenes at The Art Museum

Pablo Picasso, 'Portrait of Dora Maar' (1937) (left) and 'Woman with Pears (Fernande)' (1909) (right)

My other Caravaggio’s a yacht

Can Christian Jankowski really sell a boat as an artwork at this week’s Frieze art fair? Let’s ask him

Christian Jankowski, The Finest Art on Water (2011)

The Cuban (architectural) revolution

A new Havana is slowly taking shape amid the crumbling facades of the old one


Elizabeth Peyton's Muse Music

The American painter on the music that gets her in a creative mood

Elizabeth Peyton (top left) photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, her painting 'Acteon, Justin Bieber and Grey Roses' (2011) (right) and Jay-Z (bottom left) who features in her Muse Music playlist today

Blowing apart the idea of an art museum

10 years in the making, The Art Museum will redefine how you look at art


Steve Jobs – The Sun King of Cupertino

In terms of patronising great design (and global dominance), the Apple boss was a Louis XIV for the modern age

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011


Why is Gerhard Richter so important?

The abstract and photorealist artist has confronted both Germany’s past and abstract painting itself

Gerhard Richter photographed by Benjamin Katz in Köln, 1984

Ham in White Wine

A recipe from The Silver Spoon

Recipe from The Silver Spoon

Milanese Minestrone

A recipe from The Silver Spoon

Recipe from The Silver Spoon

Antony Micallef's Muse Music

The artist Brangelina and Damien Hirst collect reveals the music that gets him in a creative mood

Antony Micallef (right) and his work Sweet Paris (2011) (top left) and singer Polly Harvey (bottom left)

Wish you were here?

Erika Larsen spent four years photographing the Sámi

Erika Larsen spent four years in Scandinavia documenting the Sámi people

God is in the detail

New Renzo Piano convent built below Le Corbusier masterpiece

The oratory inside Renzo Piano's new convent in Ronchamp, France

Happy Birthday Google!

The company is 13 today so Phaidon asked Ferran Adrià to make sure it was one to remember

Ferran Adrià serves up lunch at the London offices of Google

Australia's alternative Disneyland

Exhibits are removed if they prove popular at world’s oddest art museum

The concrete bunker that houses Christian Boltanski’s video piece 'The Life Of C.B.' (2010) at MONA, Hobart, Tasmania

Outsiders are in

The rising outsider artists to watch

Patrick Joyce, Dr Martin Turner - Neurologist (2010)

In praise of... an orderly life

Francois Jonquet joins Gilbert & George for tea

Gilbert & George at their home in Spitalfields, London (1987)

When art and architecture go head to head

Sosno Art Gallery takes (unusual) shape in France

Sosno and Rytis Daukantas, Sosno Art Gallery building

Roger Hiorns’ Muse Music

The obscurist artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Artist Roger Hiorns (top right), his 2008 sculpture 'Seizure' and Ian Curtis of Joy Division (left), one of the artists who have inspired him

Concrete king passes on

A brief appreciation of brutalist architect John Bancroft

John Bancroft (l) and the Pimlico school he was synonymous with (r)

Goodbye REM and thanks for introducing us to Howard Finster

The outsider artist who painted the end of the world as he knew it

'The Angel Turns the Storm' (l) as featured in Phaidon's 'The American Art Book' by the artist and Baptist preacher Howard Finster, who also painted the artwork for the 1984 R.E.M. album, 'Reckoning' (r)

Gillian Wearing's X Factor

Her Self Made film launches new acting careers

Gillian Wearing on the set of 'Self Made'

Everyday Icon #1 The Chupa Chups lollipop

Another look at the overlooked


The artist is present (again)

Artist turns Marina Abramović MOMA experience into video game

Performance artist Marina Abramović's MOMA exhibition, 'The Artist is Present' has now become an 8-bit video game designed by games developer Pippin Barr

What is it about starchitects and car parks?

Zaha Hadid becomes the latest architect to build a parking garage in Miami

Architectural photographer Iwan Baan captures '1111 Lincoln Road' designed by Herzog & De Meuron in 2010

Revealed: What the elBulli Foundation will look like

Architect gives Phaidon sneak peak at Ferran Adrià's new ideas centre


Nathaniel Mellors’ Muse Music

The absurdist artist on the music that gets him in a creative mood

Nathaniel Mellors (top left), whose work, 'Our House (The Object)' (2010), is currently in the British Art Show (bottom left), chooses 'Middle Mass' from The Fall's 1981 EP 'Slates' (right)