FTN-blog

Simon Koene embodies a multifaceted artist – a printmaker (etcher), painter, and publicist – who holds a prestigious position within Dutch printmaking. Having completed his academic pursuit at the esteemed Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague, Koene’s emergence into the world of etching commenced during his second year of study. Initially, his creations were influenced by the mundane aspects of life and notable global events. However, his literary inclination and experimental approach remained strong throughout his career. His masterpieces, including “Dear Plato” (1970), “Groot Hollands Landschap” (1979), and “Die Goldene Zeit” (1988), earned him well-deserved recognition. In 1971, Koene spearheaded the ambitious projects of The Hague Etsclub, while simultaneously serving as a member of the Pulchri Studio in The Hague from 1973.

My first etching
My first foray into etching came in my sophomore year at the academy of arts – a self-portrait crafted purely by chance. Utilizing a thin sheet of copper salvaged from an old tobacco stool, I etched away at my reflection and immortalized it with a firm strike from my hammer. This serendipitous creation took shape in the Christmas of 1967. Fired up by this success, I ventured out into the snowy landscape of Westland, donning my gloves and armed with a mirror attached to a tree. Amidst the gentle dance of falling snowflakes, I captured my second etching – one of many to come, amounting to a staggering figure of 350. Printmaking at the academy satisfied me for a while, until the anticipation of the Easter holiday ignited a search for a professional printer of etchings.

The Dutch Period (1967-1982)
From the year 1967 onwards, I was consumed by the passion of etching. Each subsequent piece was an extension of the previous one, leading to rapid evolution of my craft. My portfolio expanded from images of my loved ones, personal record entries, and literary illustrations to a monumental series of Dutch landscapes, all centered around the Abbey church of Loosduinen. This was a time when art was predominantly conceptual, an ethos that made me feel like a misfit from a different era. Looking back, it’s astonishing how much this period influenced my etchings.

The Oriental Period (1982-1998)
The early 1980s saw a significant shift in my work. While my earlier pieces had indicated an inclination towards color etchings, it wasn’t until my travels to Greece that the style came into full bloom. I had hoped to find the elusive “Arcadia of my dreams” and the idyllic environment reminiscent of my upbringing at the Gymnasium. When the twilight of the nineties finally arrived, I decided it was time to put an end to my etching career. I had amassed over three hundred and fifty pieces, still harbored a passion for drawing and painting, and my prints were proudly displayed in the prestigious collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

www.ftn-books.com has the invitation for his Gemeentemuseum Den Haag now available.

Maria van Kesteren (1933), the grande dame of woodturning, actually does not like wood. She is bothered by the outward characteristics of the material, but needs it to create the shapes she desires. In addition, she is constrained by technique: a woodturner cannot escape the circle. For over forty years, Van Kesteren developed new variations within this functional limitation. Now at 85 years old, she is no longer physically able to create new works. The exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag is therefore a fitting tribute to an independent designer. The showcased pieces come from her own collection, private collections, and the generous donation that the museum received from the Stichting Altena Boswinkel Collection.

Van Kesteren, who has also designed forms in glass and ceramics, initially worked with tropical wood before using only Dutch wood species such as linden, maple, and elm. In her first wood sculptures – bowls and dishes that initially referred to a functional purpose – she clearly showed the wood pattern. But she quickly became tired of the material’s outward characteristics, as they distracted from what truly mattered to her: the form. In fact, the color and structure bothered her so much that she covered them up with thin layers of paint in somber hues such as steel grey, pitch black, or, as a tribute to Berlage, ochre yellow. This resulted in the material of her objects being barely recognizable.

www.ftn-books.com has the invitation for the above exhibition now available.

Renowned photographer Werner Bischof (1916-1954) was a photojournalist for iconic publications such as Life and Picture Post. In the two decades before his untimely demise in 1954, he created a memorable and multifaceted body of work. Commemorating his centenary, the Hague Museum of Photography presents a comprehensive retrospective of his work, showcasing approximately 220 original prints, along with contact prints, personal correspondence, and photographic books. This exhibit provides a thorough look into his studio work, his documentation of post-World War II Europe, and his journeys to Asia, South America, and the United States. Curated by the photographer’s eldest son, Marco Bischof, in collaboration with Magnum Photos, the exhibit will also feature an additional 30 photographs captured by Bischof in the Netherlands during the autumn of 1945, never before seen by the public.

Upon Werner Bischof’s graduation from the Zurich School of Applied Arts in 1936, he appeared destined for greatness in the emerging field of advertising photography. Despite the war, he remained steadfast in this pursuit well into the 1940s. However, towards the end of the war and following the liberation of Europe, Bischof’s perspective shifted towards the greater mission of photography: to bear witness to events, gather evidence, and unearth the truth. Instantly enamored with photojournalism, he devoted his efforts solely towards covering social and political issues. Until his unexpected and tragic passing in 1954 (due to a car accident in Peru), he remained resolute in his determination to expose injustice, whether it be the famine in India or the daily toll of war on a remote Vietnamese village.

Werner Bischof embarked on a journey from Zurich to the war-ravaged nations of Luxembourg, Holland, Belgium, and France in November 1945. His purpose was to capture the aftermath of the aid provided by the Swiss relief organization Die Schweizer Spende to the devastated countries. His photo reportage was later published in the spring of 1946, titled ‘Europe’, in the cultural monthly magazine, Du. Along with documenting the aid efforts, Bischof and his partner Emil Schulthess also witnessed the “appalling destruction and unimaginable chaos” in the towns and cities they traveled through. As a photographer, Bischof was struck by the juxtaposition of children playing amidst the rubble, destruction and reconstruction, sorrow and hope.

www.ftn-books.com has the Bischof invitation for Fotomuseum Den Haag exhibition now available.

Ryan Mendoza, born 1971 in New York, is a notable figure in the revival of painting. His artistic style seamlessly blends elements of realism and expressionism as he delves into historical references, drawing inspiration from the likes of Lucian Freud, Chuck Close, and Alex Katz. Mendoza’s approach to painting involves melding distant models with his own unique aesthetic inspired by everyday experiences. His powerful depictions explore intimate fears and expose humanity’s hidden obsessions.

Anna Lupa de Simone, in her writing for the catalogue of Mendoza’s exhibition The Possessed at Madre, Museo D´Arte Contemporanea DonnaRegina in Naples in 2010, aptly describes the complexity of his work.

Mendoza pursued his passion for painting by studying at the prestigious Parsons School of Art and Design in both New York and Paris. He then embarked on a journey of artistic exploration, residing in Munich, Berlin, Paris, and Rome. Currently, he calls both Naples and Berlin his home and continues to create and share his poignant reflections on the human condition through his captivating works of art.

www.ftn-books.com has several Mendoza publications available.

www.ftn-books.com has recently added the inviatation for the children book on Paul Poiret.

The youthful Paul Poiret envisions a future as a fashion designer. By day, he delivers umbrellas to fashion houses; at night, he sketches fashion designs in his room and brings them to life with scraps of umbrella fabric. On his travels, he discovers a colorful world around the Mediterranean and everything falls into place. Fueled by inspiration, he creates new and exotic fashion designs. The umbrella delivery boy transforms into the King of Fashion.

Renowned American photographer Peter Hujar (1934-1987) began his career in the 1950s as a commercial photographer but eventually became a part of the group of artists, poets, and musicians who formed New York’s underground art scene in the 1970s and 80s. His portraits of the often extravagant individuals who were a part of the extreme art and nightlife world in Manhattan, as well as his photos of animals and landscapes, are characterized by a meticulous approach and simple composition. The Hague’s Fotomuseum, in collaboration with The Morgan Library & Museum in New York and Fundación MAPFRE in Madrid, presents a large retrospective of over one hundred vintage photographic works created by Peter Hujar from the mid-1950s until his untimely death in 1987.

According to Nan Goldin, Peter Hujar should have enjoyed the same fame as his younger colleague and style companion, Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989). However, Mapplethorpe was fixated on outer beauty, fame, sensation, shock, and self-promotion, while Hujar was more focused on character, experience, and the mental universe of his subjects, whom he often photographed in intimate situations. Mapplethorpe’s commercial instincts were much stronger than Hujar’s. Many testimonies describe Hujar as a difficult man, and renowned photography critic Vince Aletti – also one of his closest friends – said, “He could never sell himself”. Despite his aversion to commercialism and frequent conflicts with major galleries, Hujar continued to fight for wider recognition of his work throughout his life.

www.ftn-books.com has theFotomuseum invitation now available.

Just to help the growing number of Joost Swarte collectors worldwide. Here is the special designed cover for the Boekenbijlage , The Vrij Nederland magazine published in 1987.

The original publictaion is now available at www.ftn-books.com

Renowned British artist Helen Dowling (born in 1982) masterfully employs a plethora of images sourced from various outlets – be it her own captured visuals, downloaded content, or filmed footage – to construct video pieces that leave a haunting effect on the viewer, taking them on a surreal journey that portrays a disconcerting view of existence. Concurrently, her works draw inspiration from philosophy and poetry, borrowing from the likes of acclaimed poet Kate Tempest and feminist thinker Hélène Cixous, while exploring universal themes of the landscape and humanity’s profound impact on nature. GEM’s contemporary art museum presents Stranger on Display, Dowling’s debut solo exhibition in a museum setting, featuring an amalgamation of several films and sculptures to create a one-of-a-kind site-specific installation.

From celestial bodies to wandering individuals, the imagery unfurls in a seemingly haphazard sequence, weaving narratives with no linear structure. Dowling seamlessly blends her own footage with preexisting material, including digitized images from magazines and stock videos. During the editing process, she expertly manipulates elements such as color, movement, rhythm, and sound, crafting an associative visual tale with multiple layers of significance.

In the exhibition, Dowling will showcase a mix of fresh and existing works, collectively filling up the entirety of GEM’s exhibition space. In this alternate universe, the boundaries between reality and artificiality are blurred. Some elements might be identifiable – a piece of land, a starry night, a young woman, a car window – yet, the artist skillfully reaches towards abstraction, akin to a painter’s canvas coming to life. Rendered even more immersive through her evocative soundscapes, Dowling’s works offer a truly mesmerizing experience.

www.ftn-books.com has the invitation for her GEM exhibition now available.

Isabella Rozendaal, born in Amsterdam in 1983, is a documentary photographer driven by the tension of contrasting elements. Her aim is to capture images that are both humorous and tragic, beautiful and horrible, or sweet and provoking. The medium she has always chosen for her work is the photo book, with several publications to her name since graduating from the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts in 2007. Through her books, she explores a broad spectrum of cultural phenomena. Although her style may come across as bold and candid, she always strives to tell a nuanced story.

As Isabella worked on her current project, titled Isabella Hunts, she found herself drawn to writing as well. This project delves into the world of hunting cultures around the globe, taking her on many journeys and immersing her in a world often shrouded in secrecy. In order to shed light on the complex nature of this controversial world, she channels her interest into writing magazine articles and plans to ultimately publish a written book on the subject. Recently, she acquired a second bachelor’s degree in English language, culture, and linguistics from the prestigious University of Amsterdam. Her passions include animals, travel, food, American culture, and old-time country music.

www.ftn-books.com has several Rozendaal items now in stock.