Category: antiquarian books

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Posters by Willem Sandberg and Wim Crouwel…part 3

In this blog it is time to show the combination of the 1973 Tinguely poster and the Wim Crouwel designed catalogue which he designed for this 1973 exhibition.

The poster is an original design by Jean Tingeuly, where as the catalogue, which was published for this exhibition, was designed by Wim Crouwel. It is just functional where the poster is full of life and design elements . I like both very much but these are worlds apart from each other. It is up to you which is the better graphic design.

tinguely poster 1973 a

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Both publications are available at www.ftn-books.com

 

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Man Ray and Lee Miller (5)

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Although Man Ray insisted that he didn’t take student apprentices, the successful model Lee Miller relocated to Paris for a chance at working with the iconic artist. She became his photographic assistant, his muse and, later, his lover. The romance was short and sweet, but the two-year relationship was a productive one. Before finding herself as a photographer and becoming an active member of the Surrealist movement, Miller discovered the solarisation technique Man Ray would later trademark. She is also credited for many of the artist’s photographs taken between 1929 and 1932, as she stepped in while he worked on his paintings.

The following titles are available at www.ftn-books.com

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Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe (4)

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Alfred Stieglitz met Georgia O’Keeffe at a time when he was already at the top of his game. Twenty years her senior, the photographer and gallerist was more than just a partner for the younger artist – he also served as her mentor. He was the first to exhibit her abstract drawings and helped nurture her into the respected painter she would grow to become. O’Keeffe’s talents eventually led her to New Mexico, and the couple’s relationship consisted of little more than love letters sent back and forth until his death. The ultimate testament to the power of long distance relationships, each of the 20,000 letters has since been collected for the book “My Faraway One: Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keefe and Alfred Stieglitz”. Maybe it’s just us, but Noah’s 365 letters to Allie in The Notebook suddenly seem a lot less romantic.

These and other Stieglitz /O’Keeffe titles are available at www.ftn-books.com 

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Gilbert & George (3)

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Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore

Just like a scene from your favourite rom-com, Gilbert and George first locked eyes in the halls of Central Saint Martins in 1967, where the two studied sculpture. Dubbing the encounter as love at first sight, the duo collaborated on both 3D as well as 2D works – although they would continue to refer to all artworks as sculpture. Exploring themes of religion, sexuality and identity across a wide range of media, Gilbert and George have stayed relevant beyond the confines of the elitist art. They married in 2008, having spent over 4 decades together in the art world that they collectively rebel against.

www.ftn-books.com has many Gilbert & George titles available

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Felix Bracquemond (1833-1914)

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Bracquemond just died start of WW I. Had he lived through these war years i am sure he would have made series on the war like Goya and Dix did, but since he never witnessed the true horrors of the “GREAT WAR” he was stuck in semi impressionist and art nouveau art. Still, such a description does not do justice to the artist that Bracquemond was. His technique is flawless and his art can be recognized immediately. Of course, he was a contemporary of Vincent van Gogh and this must be the reason the van Gogh Museum devoted an exhibition to Bracquemond in 1994. This was the 3rd exhibition in their series of 19th Century Masters. The catalogue is well worth collecting and now available at www.ftn-books.com

bracquemond gogh

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Pretty Dutch / 2007

I have seen thousands of art book covers during this last year and here is the one that I think struck me most. It is a publication by the Princessehof from 2007 in which their collection is presented in the very best way possible. Photography of the collection by Erik and Petra Hesmerg and then there is this cover……..

pretty dutch

Photography by Fritz Kok and catalogue design by Ben Lambers

printed by Die Keure

an excellent threesome making a great publication now available at www.ftn-books.com

 

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Gracia Lebbink (1963)

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This blog is long time overdue. I met Gracia for the first time when she was designing the artist book LA STANZA VEDE by Kounellis for the Haags Gemeentemuseum in 1990. She was introduced to the Haags Gemeentemuseum by Rudi Fuchs who was the director at that time and because trusted her skills after being introduced to Rudi by  Walter Nikkels some time before.

Since, she designed for the Gemeentemuseum many publications and posters and build a prestigious agency on the way, “designing” for many cultural institutions and museums. Always recognizable, simple , beautiful designs and with a typography that invites reading the texts.

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I mentioned Nikkels and Lebbink in the same sentence and that is not without a reason … I consider both to be the very best from the generations to follow Sandberg and Crouwel and because I have known Gracia professionally, she is placed on the no. 1 spot, followed at some distance by Walter Nikkels. It proves Rudi Fuchs had a nose to pick not only the best artists, but also the right choice in commissioning a designer with a project. Gracia had to stop her professional career in 2003, leaving us some very beautiful and appealing designs.

Because of my personal interest in her works I have collected many of Gracia’s designs for FTN-books. Many are available at www.ftn-books.com…..just search for Lebbink and you will encounter over 30 Gracia Lebbink designed publications available.

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Maria C.P. Huls (1950)

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Dutch-born Maria Huls has had education in the Netherlands but is now living since 1988 near Osnabrück. When I look at her work I do not see much of a dutch tradition in her sculptures. I find them more inspired by Minimal and Konkrete Kunst. This is the kind of art that inspires me and when I look at Huls her sculptures I find them very peaceful but full of tension because of the layered shapes and torsions.

Especially her Kleinskulpturen have these qualities. This another of those lesser-known artists that you discover while writing a regular blog. Maria C.P. Huls deserves a better presentation of her works.

huls

 

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Sigurdur Gudmundsson (continued)

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Just a simple message today…. I have added the very best book on Sigurdur Gudmundsson to my inventory. Published by Zsa Zsa Eyck who presented Gudmundsson several times in her gallery. A very large publication with over 300 pages and arguably the very best and most important book on the artist.

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Krikor Momdjian (1947)

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A first encounter with this artist is this publication on Krikor Momdjian ( now available at www.ftn-books.com)

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Krikor Momdjian is an all-round multimedia visual artist and poet. As an artist he lives and is inspired by the motto: ‘To life’! Guénatz. To create art and to paint drives and shapes his daily life as an artist. ‘As art is inspired through life, life is inspired through art”. From that perspective,being an artist provides him with the opportunity to experience intense contact with ‘the other’ in order to share daily happiness, sorrow, and concern about the future. Krikor’s triple identity (Dutch/Armenian/Lebanese) plays a pivotal role in the creation of his works, through which he seeks and expresses his own cultural identity and authenticity. Moreover, this feeling is strengthened by the interaction between the various cultures, such as his Armenian roots, his background and education in Beirut, Jerusalem,n Florence and Paris, and his current Dutch identity.

and here to finish is a poem by Momdjian

Salt Room Wanderings

When night falls
twinkling shadows
of the rainbow arise
my Salt Room companions
waking me up for dinner
angelic gazes bright
hypnotizing my soul
Where am I, in heaven?
why is earth shivering ?
darkness seems banned
as I look around
the dinner seems ready
the College scents divine
pouring into my veins
Muses I have always dreamed of
sitting with me now at table
we are singing, united in love
refreshing raindrops on our faces
the warm west wind gently
caressing our minds
my heart is now lifted up with you
my Love, my angel

5.5.2016
(at night in the Salt Room, Pembroke College, Oxford University)

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