ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

10 art books to gift this Christmas: from toy collecting to Scampia's portraits

publication · 2026-04-27

A curated selection of ten new art and culture books for Christmas gifts, including 'Toystellers' for vintage toy collectors, '100 luoghi del contemporaneo' by Nicolas Ballario exploring contemporary Italy, 'Volti di Scampia' by Davide Cerullo with texts by Erri De Luca and Christian Bobin, 'Fallosofia' by Francesco Boer on phallic mythologies, 'Buon Natale Perfidia' a collective illustrated Christmas anthology, 'L'arte dell'attivismo e l'attivismo dell'arte' by Gregory Sholette on art and activism, 'Sguardi femminili sul museo' by Maurizio Luvizone interviewing female museum leaders, 'Pittura Italiana oggi' catalog curated by Damiano Gullì, 'Vita maledetta di Benvenuto Cellini' by Alessandro Masi, and 'Jimmy Nelson – Humanity' photography book. The list is published by Artribune.

Key facts

  • Toystellers deluxe edition curated by Federico Ghiso, €90, limited edition.
  • Buon Natale Perfidia includes 23 writers and 17 illustrators, published by Exòrma Edizioni, €24.
  • Volti di Scampia by Davide Cerullo, texts by Erri De Luca, Christian Bobin, Patrick Zachmann, Pignon-Ernest, AnimaMundi Edizioni, €30.
  • Fallosofia by Francesco Boer, D Editore, €17.90.
  • 100 luoghi del contemporaneo curated by Nicolas Ballario, Il sole 24 ore cultura, €70.
  • L'arte dell'attivismo e l'attivismo dell'arte by Gregory Sholette, Postmedia books, €19.
  • Sguardi femminili sul museo by Maurizio Luvizone, Libri Scheiwiller, €22.90.
  • Pittura Italiana oggi catalog curated by Damiano Gullì, Electa, €45.
  • Vita maledetta di Benvenuto Cellini by Alessandro Masi, Neri Pozza, €19.
  • Jimmy Nelson – Humanity, Skira, €39.

Entities

Artists

  • Federico Ghiso
  • Nicolas Ballario
  • Davide Cerullo
  • Erri De Luca
  • Christian Bobin
  • Patrick Zachmann
  • Pignon-Ernest
  • Francesco Boer
  • Gregory Sholette
  • Maurizio Luvizone
  • Frances Morris
  • Gabriella Belli
  • Giovanna Melandri
  • Andrea Bayer
  • Damiano Gullì
  • Alessandro Masi
  • Benvenuto Cellini
  • Jimmy Nelson
  • Elena Miglietti

Institutions

  • Artribune
  • Tate Modern
  • Musei Civici di Venezia
  • MAXXI
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Palazzo Reale di Milano
  • Exòrma Edizioni
  • AnimaMundi Edizioni
  • D Editore
  • Il sole 24 ore cultura
  • Postmedia books
  • Libri Scheiwiller
  • Electa
  • Neri Pozza
  • Skira

Locations

  • Italy
  • London
  • Venice
  • Rome
  • New York
  • Milan
  • Scampia

Sources