Another short blog on Barm vanVelde. A dutch artist who has become more and more important in Dutch art in the last decade. The French consider van Velde as one of their artists and compatriots ( he leived for many years in France) and theduthc?,….. they consider him to be dutch. This is ofcourse of no importance, but his works are!
Recently www.ftn-books.com acquired the complete set of 3 books on his lithographies. Vol 1, 2 and 3 are now available at www.ftn-books.com
Hailing from Kuortane, Finland, Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was born in February 1898 and departed from this world on May 11, 1976 in Helsinki.
Between the years 1916 and 1921, Aalto pursued the study of architecture in Helsinki, later establishing his own architectural firm in Jyväskylä. Alvar Aalto is widely recognized as one of the most influential architects of the Scandinavian modern movement, earning him membership in the Congrés Internationeaux d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM).
Some of Aalto’s notable works include the campus of Helsinki University of Technology, the Säynätsalo Town Hall, and the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki. However, Aalto’s ambitions extended beyond the borders of Finland, leading to the realization of his architectural designs in various locations across the globe, with notable examples in Germany and the United States.
In addition to his contributions in architecture, Aalto also achieved success in the realm of product design. Perhaps his most renowned creation is the Aalto Vase, inspired by the abundance of lakes in Finland, serving as a testament to the neglect of human needs in the industrial world.
www.ftn-books.com has several titles on Alto now available.
Erzsébet Baerveldt not only creates videos, but also captures moments through photos, paints with her brush, sketches with her pen, sculpts with her hands, and brings characters to life through performances. Baerveldt’s chosen first name is a tribute to the notorious seventeenth-century Hungarian Countess Erzsébet Báthory, known for her alleged vampiric tendencies. Interestingly, both women share the same birthday and initials. In addition to the countess, Baerveldt is fascinated by other historically significant women, including Mary Magdalene, Lucrezia Borgia, Mona Lisa, and Ophelia.
Through her work, Baerveldt illuminates the eternal struggle between nature and the human psyche. She finds endless inspiration in the history, religion, and mythology of the world, all of which deserve a fresh perspective. In her depictions of epic stories, Baerveldt delves into the two extremes of the human condition: the lust for power and the inevitability of mortality. No matter how much power or knowledge we may acquire, no one can escape suffering or unravel the mysteries of life and death.
www.ftn-books.com has some important Baerveldt specials for sale.
Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, also known as Miguel Berrocal, was a Spanish figurative and abstract sculptor/artist, born in Villanueva de Algaidas on September 28, 1933, and passed away in Antequera on May 31, 2006.
Berrocal’s upbringing took place in the Spanish province of Málaga. At first, he pursued studies in architecture under the guidance of Angel Ferrant and Ramón Stolz at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Madrid in Madrid, but had a change of heart and switched to pursuing an education in arts at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, also located in Madrid. In addition, he received guidance from architect Castro Fernández-Shaw at his studio. From 1952 to 1954, he lived and worked in Rome.
Beginning in 1959, Berrocal embarked on creating his “Puzzle-Sculptures”, which propelled him into international recognition. In 1964, he was invited to participate in documenta III in the German city of Kassel.
Between 1967 and 2004, Berrocal primarily worked in Verona, Italy. The acclaimed artist’s work has been exhibited worldwide and consists not only of numerous sculptures, but also paintings and prints. In 2006, Berrocal passed away suddenly due to prostate cancer.
www.ftn-books.com has several collectable Berrocal items available.
Arguably the best book on Conceptual art from the Netherlands.
Book published with the exhibition and examines approximately seventy-five works by artists of different nationalities relating to travel and the city of Amsterdam, which was the nexus of intense art activities in the 1960s and 1970s, when artists converged there from all over the world. Hanne Darboven, Gilbert & George, Sol LeWitt, Charlotte Posenenske, Allen Ruppersberg, and Lawrence Weiner, among others, spent considerable amounts of time in Amsterdam and often produced works in direct relation to the city. The Suriname-born Stanley Brouwn came to Amsterdam as a young adult in the mid-1950s, where he developed work that plays with the idea of dimensions and distances and prefigures a number of conceptual-based art practices. Reciprocally, some of the most influential Dutch artists traveled abroad extensively before establishing themselves in Amsterdam: Jan Dibbets studied in London, while Ger van Elk and Bas Jan Ader trained in Los Angeles. Because cross-influences between Dutch and American art scenes were so abundant, it is impossible to understand the historical significance of these artists without acknowledging their new mobility. In addition to drawings, installations, wall drawings, and films, the exhibition includes a large number of posters and ephemera.
One of the most outstanding books on the complex world of Conceptual Art in recent years is undoubtedly “IN & OUT of AMSTERDAM/ Travels in Conceptual Art 1960-1976.” This book holds a special place in my heart as it is a veritable treasure trove of ideas and exceptional publications that can still be found on the market. Published by MoMa, the same institution that held the exhibition of the same name in 2009, “In & Out of Amsterdam” showcases the most significant and arguably best works of the following artists: Bas Jan Ader, Stanley Brouwn, Hanne Darboven, Jan Dibbets, Ger van Elk, Gilbert & George, Sol LeWitt, Charlotte Posenenske, Allen Ruppersberg, and Lawrence Weiner. These exceptional artists were all featured in the Bulletins series published by Art & Project, and their publications have now become highly sought-after collector’s items. As these publications have been scarce since their initial release and have now been around for over 40 years, I highly recommend starting a collection of them while they are still accessible. Check out www.ftn-books.com for more information.
Jannis Kounellis, a painter and sculptor hailing from Greece and Italy, emerged as one of the pioneering figures of the Arte Povera movement. He passed away in Rome on the 16th of February, 2017.
Born in Piraeus, Greece in 1936, Kounellis experienced the devastation of the Second World War and the Greek Civil War before relocating to Rome in 1956 to study at the Academy of Fine Arts.
His artistic repertoire flourished exponentially throughout the 1960s, with Kounellis primarily exhibiting paintings from 1960 to 1966. He infused found objects, such as street signs, into his work, utilizing stenciled symbols that reflected the contemporary society he lived in – numbers, letters, and words. Moreover, he even incorporated his artworks into performances, often wearing them as garments. This fusion of painting, sculpture, and performance marked Kounellis’ departure from traditional art and solidified his significance in the development of Arte Povera.
In 1967, Kounellis showcased his work in the ‘Arte Povera – e IM Spazio’ exhibition at the La Bertesca Gallery in Genoa, curated by Germano Celant. This event cemented Kounellis’ association with Arte Povera, a movement that rejected conventional flat surfaces in favor of installations and performances. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Kounellis participated in numerous influential Arte Povera exhibitions, constantly introducing “found” materials – like bed frames, doorways, windows, and raw materials like wool and rope – into his art.
Kounellis devotedly continued to create and exhibit his work throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, with his pieces frequently showcased in prominent events like Documenta (1972, 1977, 1982), the Venice Biennale (1972, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1998, 1993, and 2011), Tate Modern Gallery in London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. To this day, countless retrospectives have been held to celebrate Kounellis’ extensive body of work.
www.ftn-books.com has several Kounellis books now available.
Act as a Mortal Wordsmith. The esteemed painter, Estève, was born in the year 1904 and departed from this world in 2001.
Maurice Estève rises as a paramount figure amongst the Nouvelle École de Paris, whose style is characterized by a fusion of vibrant and intertwined shapes.
His genesis years were largely influenced by the works of what he regards as “the Primitives” – luminaries such as Poussin, Fouquet, and Cézanne.
By 1927, the lingering influence of surrealism, particularly of Giorgio de Chirico, is evident in his works.
Following the Spanish Civil War in 1936, a brief yet fiery period of expressionism ensued.
In 1947, his style evolves from formal stylization to a non-figurative form of art, unbound by realism and with a strong structure, lit up by intense colors. In the following decades, Estève would emerge as one of the leading proponents of this style.
www.ftn-books.com has some Esteve titles now available.
Antonio Calderara, born in 1903 in Abbiategrasso, Italy, continued to create until his passing in 1978. Living a solitary existence in Northern Italy, he found inspiration in the luminosity of the nearby landscapes, particularly Lake Orta. Calderara possessed an enigmatic complexity that defied any strict categorization in the art world. Despite meeting numerous Italian and foreign artists during his lifetime, he maintained his personal freedom and individuality in his expression.
A self-taught artist from a young age, Calderara later received guidance from Lucio Fontana. His earliest influences included the figuration and manipulation of light by Piero della Francesca, Seurat, and Milanese Novecento painters. In 1925, after abandoning his engineering studies at university, he dedicated himself fully to experimenting with color and form. Through his depictions of portraits, landscapes, and still lifes, he captured the essence of his homeland, suffused with a delicate, ethereal light inspired by the atmospheric glow of Lake Orta in Vacciago. This served as his home base since 1934, when he moved there with his wife Carmela, and where he continued to work for the majority of his life.
In the mid-1950s, Calderara began to depart from representational painting and embraced a more geometric approach. This shift dramatically reduced both the size and elements in his compositions. Despite this, his essential vocabulary of clean lines and squares, refined color palette, and precise measurements aligned him with other minimalist painters of the time, such as Piet Mondrian and Josef Albers, whom the artist greatly admired. In explaining his sudden transition to abstraction, Calderara wrote, “In 1958…I drew my last curved line.”
It is his abstract period that Calderara is most renowned for. His abstract paintings from the late 1950s and 1960s fuse geometric abstraction with a hazy finish, creating a misty quality through subtle, almost imperceptible variations in color.
www.ftn-books.com has some beautiful titles on Calderara now available.
The oeuvre of painter, writer, and poet Henri Michaux is commonly associated with informal art. This term encompasses post-war abstract art movements in which artists explored and employed their “pure”, intuitive, and spontaneous creative impulses. During his travels through Asia, Michaux was introduced to Eastern culture, sparking his interest in calligraphy and his fondness for Indian ink. To capture what words could not express, the poet turned to painting. A breakthrough came when, in 1948, a few years after the tragic death of his wife, he turned to hallucinogenic substances. In 1978, Henri Michaux received prestigious retrospective exhibitions at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
www.ftn-books.com has some great Michaux titles available.
Born on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, Canada, Agnes Martin emigrated to the United States in 1932 with aspirations of becoming an educator. Once she obtained a degree in art education, she relocated to the desert plains of Taos, New Mexico, where she crafted abstract paintings infused with natural forms. These creations caught the eye of renowned New York gallerist Betty Parsons, who convinced Martin to join her roster and move to the bustling city in 1957. Settling on Coenties Slip, a street in Lower Manhattan, she found herself among a community of fellow artists, including Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, and Jack Youngerman. Drawn to the area’s low rents, spacious lofts, and convenient proximity to the East River, Martin flourished.
One of her earliest New York pieces, Harbor Number 1 (1957), effectively merges her earlier Taos style of geometric abstraction with the new inspiration she found in the coastal landscape, as showcased by her use of a blue-gray palette.
Over the next decade, Martin honed her signature format: six by six foot painted canvases, meticulously adorned with penciled grids and finished with a delicate layer of gesso. While she often displayed her works alongside other New York abstract artists, her concentrated vision carved out a unique niche that diverged from the sweeping gestures of Abstract Expressionism and the repetitive systems of Minimalism. Instead, her art was deeply connected to spirituality, drawing inspiration from a blend of Zen Buddhist and American Transcendentalist ideas. For her, painting was “a world without physical objects, devoid of obstructions…a field of vision to be entered, much like a solitary stroll along an empty beach to gaze out at the vast ocean.” 1
By 1967, at the pinnacle of her artistic career, Martin was confronted with the loss of her home to development, the unexpected passing of her friend Ad Reinhardt, and the increasing weight of a mental illness. Thus, she left New York and returned to Taos, where she abandoned painting in favor of writing and meditation.
www.ftn-books.com has some highly collectable Martin titles available.
