New New York Interiors (italics) by Angelika Taschen Taschen 2008.
Reviewed by Annie Kelly

Back in 1980, Taschen began as a shop selling comics in Cologne,Germany; today they successfully specialize in distinctive well-priced sophisticated books that reflect the interests of the company's founder Benedikt Taschen, comprised of primarily art, design, travel, and mild erotica. I found New New York Interiors (ITALICS) one of their more interesting interior design books (often they appear to be casually put together without a strong point of view) but, perhaps because the focus is on New York, I discovered a lively collection of interesting interiors by artists, decorators, and collectors.
The photography is better than usual too. The editor, Angelika Taschen, has done her research, and brought in photographers like Pieter Estersohn and François Halard, both of whom have a strong graphic focus. After a brief preface by Taschen herself, the book launches directly into the thirty-nine featured apartments, lofts, and townhouses, owned by people who help make New York one of the world's centers for art and design.
Several of this rich bohemian mix of residences and artist studios are quite kitsch, but that adds to the variety. Retired Latina porn actress, Vanessa del Rio, owns a beautiful tabby cat that reclines on a chair off-set by a collection of leopard skin fabrics but I think most of us would find the rest of her apartment rather overwhelming. A soothing antidote is the chic apartment of photographer François Halard who compensates for a lack of a view with his huge landscape photographs of one of the most dramatic houses in the world, the Casa Malaparte in Capri.

One of my favorites is Muriel Brandolini's townhouse. Here, she “created interiors that breezily juxtapose 18th-,19th-, and 20th-century furnishings from every corner of the globe with vibrantly painted and upholstered walls,” writes Peter Webster, a former ELLE Décor (ITALICS) and House Beautiful (ITALICS) editor, who was responsible for the=2 0book’s text. The colorful and rich Chelsea Hotel apartment of artist Philip Taaffe reveals an artist's life rich in symbol and meaning. Not afraid of their surroundings, his paintings swim into the forefront of Persian-blue walls and “...an idiosyncratic art collection that goes back to the 15th century.”
Modernists will be happy with developer Herbert Sambol's 12th-floor apartment in a glass and steel Richard Meier tower on the West Side Highway, with panoramic views of the Hudson River. Elegant furniture by Charlotte Perriand and Frits Henningsen are bathed in light from the apartment's all-glass exterior walls. Also included is photographer Anita Calero's 2,000 square foot loft in West Chelsea, which is a backdrop for her mid-century furniture collection. Pieces by Jean Prouve, Charlotte Perriand, George Nakashima, and art work by James Brown give the loft the feel of a modernist house in Paris, helped by soft grey concrete floors and a sense of sophisticated minimalism.

I advise you to buy this book, as you won't find interiors like this in decorating magazines, with the exception of ELLE Décor (ITALICS)and occasionally New York Magazine.(ITALICS) These are inventive spaces full of art and personal expression that sadly have no place in today's corporate advertiser-driven publications.