Cool Hunting

Phaidon has a knack for publishing massive overviews that inform, educate, become trusted resources for years to come, and—as is the case with their "cream" series on emerging artists—boast amazing packaging as well. The latest edition, Ice Cream, is no exception with its rainbow mylar cover that takes us back to our sticker collection days.

Fortunately, what's inside the cover doesn't disappoint, including some artists you may have seen in these pages, such as Gelitin (pictured below right), Brian Jungen, some you've probably heard of like Daniel Johnston and Banks Violette and others (Thomas Bayrle, pictured below left) that we probably should've already known about. Chosen by a committee of 10 international curators, the 100-artist round up includes several from the Whitney's 2006 biennial (no doubt thanks to co-curator Philippe Vergne's involvement) as well as a fairly good representation from around the globe (thanks to the geographic specialties of other curators).

Each four-page spread on the alphabetically-organized artists features a history of selected exhibitions, a brief essay or interview, as well as reproductions of their work. A supplemental section of 10 source artists lends some context to the snapshot of contemporary art that Ice Cream presents.

It's available from Phaidon or Amazon.