Seven of the best coffee table books you can buy right now, according to the NGV

The National Gallery of Victoria’s Design Store book buyer Phillip Adams lists his classic coffee-table tomes.

All are decorative, captivating and beautifully told. 

The Hinterland: Cabins, Love Shacks And Other Hide-Outs ($95)

By Gestalten editors

If you want the perfect weekend trip without moving from the sofa, this collection of jaw-dropping, back-to-nature hideaways will do the trick.

For buyer Phillip Adams, it’s importance lies in the imagination: “This book of beautifully photographed cabins and shacks distils escape down to a perfectly peaceful essence.”

Elemental Living: Contemporary Houses In Nature ($59.95)

By Phaidon editors

Photo: Supplied

With a vibe that’s less cabin and more castle, this selection of 60 architectural works from across the 20th and 21st centuries has been chosen for the way their design maximises a relationship with the natural world.

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“This book speaks to our desire to reconnect with nature, particularly in the way these incredible structures meld with their surrounding landscape,” Adams says.

Van Gogh and the Seasons ($39.95)

By Sjraar van Heugten and Joan E. Greer

Photo: Supplied

A fitting complement to the NGV’s crowd-pulling Winter Masterpieces exhibition, which continues on its splendid run until July 9, this title features essays by experts van Heugten and Greer and is beautifully illustrated.

Critically, as Adams says, it gives new meaning to “the much-loved artist’s extraordinary creative vision”.

Maticevski: The Elegant Rebel ($80)

By Mitchell Oakley Smith

Photo: Supplied

“This book is a wonderful collector’s item in its own right and very difficult to put down once you have a copy in your hands,” according to Adams.

It’s an impressive overview of designer and artist Toni Maticevski’s work, featuring more than 200 images that include previously unseen photographs, sketches and swatches.

Margaret Preston: Recipes for Food and Art ($45)

By Lesley Harding

Photo: Supplied

It’s fascinating to learn that the time spent by Margaret Preston on her many artistic endeavours also allowed for creativity in the kitchen.

While devoting much of her career to the genre of still life, depicting humble domestic objects and flowers from her garden, apparently she often painted in the kitchen while keeping “one eye on the stew”.

Adams explains: “Based on a collection of handwritten recipes this unique book really sheds new light on the artist’s personal life and is, of course, beautifully illustrated with Preston’s paintings, prints and photographs.”

Clay: Contemporary Ceramic Artisans ($60)

By Amber Creswell Bell

Photo: Supplied

“Ceramics are back,” Adams says. “Nowhere is this more evident than this ripper book full of clay and all its wonderful imperfections.”

Creswell Bell looks at the creative output of 50 of the top studio potters from around the world; not necessarily what’s happening at an elite gallery level, according to publisher Thames & Hudson, but more of a behind the scenes peek at the eclectic.

Book of Circles ($75)

By Manuel Lima

Photo: Supplied

A tour through thousands of years of circular information design, Circles is a follow-up to Lima’s popular works The Book of Trees and Visual Complexity, also by Princeton Architectural Press.

A total of 300 detailed and colourful illustrations from around the world cover subjects from architecture to urban planning, fine art, design, fashion, technology, religion, cartography, biology, astronomy and physics.

“From ancient Sumerian clay tokens to logos of modern retailers, this book is a feast for infographic enthusiasts,” Adams says.

Head to store.ngv.vic.gov.au to learn more or purchase any of the books above