Must-read: 10 artist cookbooks

3. Dinner with Jackson Pollock: Recipes, Art & Nature

In the middle of Springs, far away from the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock led the kind of life that readers of Country Life dream about today. Sowing seeds, planting and harvesting – the artists’ close connection with nature is also reflected in their recipes. And all the more so in their dinner parties! Hence this cookbook not only features Krasner’s and Pollock’s hand-written recipes but also a colorful medley of favorite dishes from their closest friends, like Frank Stella’s famous potato pancakes,Elaine de Kooning’s fruit salad or Perle Fine’s bouillabaisse. Leafing through the nostalgic photos and personal anecdotes from the artist couple’s life, you immediately feel as if you are sitting around the dining table with them until the early hours.

5. Rirkrit Tiravanija & Antto Melasniemi, The Bastard Cookbook

Rirkrit Tiravanija: a name that cannot be ignored when it comes to art and food. Since the 1990s the Thai concept artist has integrated cooking into his “relational” art, which aims at interaction with visitors. In 2019 the artist teamed up with Antto Melasniemi, a gastronome with a passion for Finnish cuisine and an expert in pop-up-restaurants and food events, to publish the “Bastard Cookbook”. Nordic salmon soup, tom kha gai soup, galangal chicken and makaronilaatikko (Finnish macaroni casserole) are all part of their repertoire, which concludes with “Bastard Bouillabaisse”. And why bastard? Because they cook everything they feel like cooking. Nor are they concerned about authenticity or purism – even if many of the dishes are surprisingly classic.

7. Salad for President

Salad, salad, nothing but salad. Not at all! Anyone who thinks Julia Sherman’s book is just another superfood cookbook is way off track. There is a special story behind “Salad for President”, and aside from tips for growing your own vegetables there are also recipes for hedonists such as Bloody Mary, Flank Steak or Tomato Salad with Polenta Croutons. Having bagged a Master of Fine Arts and an art gallery in LA, Julia Sherman – who has always been an enthusiastic host and cook– decided one day to devote her life entirely to cuisine.

Her blog and cookbook by the same name also provide insights into the kitchens, gardens and workplaces of international artists, photographers, musicians and actors. For her collection of recipes Sherman travels from Kyoto to Mexico and captures the kitchen work in photos, interviews and recipes. In 2014 she also opened the MoMA PS1 Salad Garden. Just one year later a further garden followed at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Not only are vegetables planted and harvested here; these places are also locations for performances and dinner parties. And thus Sherman combines art and cuisine in a most natural way.

9. Dinner with Georgia O‘ Keefe: Recipes, art, landscape

In the summer of 1929 American artist Georgia O’Keefe went to New Mexico, and for many years afterwards she lived either at Ghost Ranch or in Abiquiú. It was here in the rocky, spacious desert landscape that she would produce her paintings in bright shades of orange, red and yellow. Inspired by the local culture, this cookbook contains O’Keefe’s favorite recipes together with hand-written notes. As in “Dinner with Jackson Pollock” which was published two years earlier, most of the dishes are easy to prepare and often contain ingredients typical for the region. They include “Farmhouse” rye bread or fried eggs seasoned with coriander and lime juice, but also recipes that are less typical for New Mexico like borscht. And those who would like to gain a second interpretation of Georgia O’Keefe’s culinary skills can consult her older cookbook, A Painter’s Kitchen: Recipes from the Kitchen of Georgia O’Keeffe.