Category: artists studios

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Johan Meijerink (1948-2011)

The passing of Johan Meijerink in September 2011 left behind a body of work that is both beautiful and insular. The book “Johan Meijerink,” edited by Willie Stehouwer with design by Rick Vermeulen, presents the artist’s development in almost chronological order. The 159-page book contains numerous photos and three written contributions. The foreword, written by Olphaert den Otter, a fellow artist who worked in the same studio building as Johan, provides insight into the man. Art historian Jan van Adrichem explains the acquisition of three works for the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum during his time as city curator. Art critic Frits de Coninck closely analyzes the entire body of work and draws connections to potential influences.

Johan was a man of few words, a trait also evident in his work where balance was achieved through omission rather than addition. The majority of his sculptures, made of lead or bronze, hover between abstract and figurative. One might describe the works as contemplative, while the often humorous titles establish a connection to the world we live in.

Many of the photos in the book were taken by Johan himself. Pictures of artworks are interwoven with photos from his travels. They seem to serve as references to sources of inspiration, such as photos from Indonesia – the country where Johan was born and lived for ten years – or from Rome, where he spent a year.

Clearly, the book shows that Johan Meijerink sought the ideal of beauty in his autonomous works with their own identity. The sculptures speak for themselves; their silence can only be enhanced by the image.

www.ftn-books.com has several important publications on Meijerink now available.

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Stef Kreymborg (1953)

As a human writer, I delve into the intricacies, possibilities, and dynamics of masses and individuals. I shape this process by creating collections through individual elements, guided by rhythm, structure, and organization. The laws of nature, that wondrous fusion of order and infinite variation, serve as a great inspiration in all my works. From patterns in a sliced red cabbage, to the stripes of a zebra, to pomegranate seeds, to cloud formations, to a honeycomb, to sand ripples, to crystals, to a school of fish, to garden peas, to seashells on the beach, to birch forests, to flocks of birds, to leaves, all continue to emotionally move and captivate me.

Even people provide numerous inspiring collections: Tile floors, displayed fish in the market, full bookshelves, brick walls, stacks of linens, piled up vegetables and fruits, handwritten notes, skyscrapers, music scores, and road patterns. And what about crowds of people? The tension between uniformity and diversity, order and disorder, symmetry and asymmetry fascinates me. It is always a great surprise to see how one element can change the entire whole. On the surface, each part may seem similar to the others, but minimal shifts in color, shape, material, or rhythm can lead to great variation and movement.

I am captivated by the regular irregularity found in forms of growth, swarms, flights, herds, schools, and masses. As I continue to ponder, I ask myself: When does a living organism act as an individual and when is it considered part of a collective? Does the collective function as an individual as well? How does a tree or leaf behave alone or in the company of many others? How can one maintain their uniqueness in a collaborative effort? As part of my research into the individual aspect of people in a multitude, my fascination also extends to their life stories, behaviors, interactions, and collaborations.

www.ftn-books.com has now the 1992 new years wish multiple by Kreymborg available.

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Diego Rivera (1886-1957)

Diego Rivera, a striking presence in the realm of 20th-century art, was an active painter for fifty years from 1907 to 1957. Of Mexican origin, Rivera spent a substantial portion of his adult life not only in Europe and the United States, but in his hometown of Mexico City as well. Initially experimenting with Cubism before fully embracing Post-Impressionism, his distinct style and outlook are unmistakably his own. An ardent Marxist, he was deeply involved in politics and joined the Mexican Communist Party in 1922. In the 1930s, he opened his home in Mexico City to Russian exile Leon Trotsky and his wife. Living in tumultuous times and leading a tempestuous existence, Diego Rivera, renowned for his Marxist beliefs, remains a countercultural icon of the 20th century. Along with Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and a select group of contemporaries, he has forged a lasting legacy in the world of art, continuously sparking the imagination and intellect.

www.ftn-books.com has several boos on Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo now available.

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Paul van Osch

Tried to find info on this artist of whom i currently have a book available at www.ftn-books.com

This is all i found:

Teaching since 1994 with current responsibilities including:

Visual Arts Teacher “Discovery Factory”, groups 3 to 8, at H19, Oosterhout. and “Experiment Garden”, “Discover Your Talent”, at “New Veste”, Breda.
Artist in the classroom, various schools including autistic children and asylum-seeking children.
Combined Art Coordinator, St. Antoniusschool and Heydonk, Best. Groups 3 to 8.
Art Companions “Culture Canteen”, one-to-one project with a child from youth care.
Workshop Leader “The Joyfulness” and “JUZT”, A.Z.C. Gilze. (asylum-seeking children 6-12 years old).

and this is the book: edition of 500 copies / 2 available

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Geert Koevoets (1957)

Geert Koevoets resides and works in Tilburg, Netherlands. His oeuvre is showcased both nationally and internationally, with exhibitions held in Belgium, Germany, and France. Drawing inspiration from the catastrophic events of the First World War that transpired over a century ago, Koevoets’ work reflects the timeless nature of war. Yet, it is the unique landscape of this War that intrigues him the most; a narrow, elongated strip of land traversing through Europe. The opposing forces were often just meters away from each other, entrenched in the ground amid trenches, braving all weather conditions and constantly under threat of attack. This oppressive reality, with no hope of a resolution, epitomized the conflict. Koevoets finds inspiration for his narrative in the landscapes, field hospitals, cemeteries, and monuments of this War. A defining feature of this conflict was the vulnerable position of the soldiers, separated by a line of iron “pickets” (known as “varkensstaarten” or “pig’s tails”) and barbed wire. In his work, Koevoets translates this concept into NEON (red) and ARGON (blue) lights, symbolizing fragility, and utilizing light as a visual element in his sculptures. His titles often allude to the battlefields and stories that transpired there.

www.ftn-books.com has the small LIGHTENERGY publication now available.

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Brian Alfred (1974)

Brian Alfred is a multi-talented individual, noted for his prowess as an artist, podcaster, educator, and curator. Based in the vibrant city of Brooklyn, he has been showcasing his creations on an international scale for over two decades. Throughout his career, he has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters Purchase Award, the esteemed NYFA Inspiration Award, and the highly coveted Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Having completed programs at top institutions such as Yale, Skowhegan, and Penn State, his work has been acquired by prominent collections, including the renowned Guggenheim Museum and the esteemed Whitney Museum.

As the host of SOUND & VISION, Brian Alfred adds yet another feather to his cap, with the podcast being hailed as one of the most prominent and respected in the realm of visual arts. With his wide range of talents and accomplishments, Brian Alfred continues to make a significant impact in the art world, both through his own creations and by inspiring others through his podcast.

www.ftn-books.com has the Haunch of Venison book on Alfred now available.

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Yves Velter (1967)

Yves Velter (born 1967 in Ostend, residing and working in Ostend) is a painter and creator of spatial objects. His pieces are interwoven by a thematic red thread. Existential questions and the psychological issues intertwined form the core content of his artistic production. The hushed characters in his work are based on real individuals who have been anonymized through partial abstraction in a timeless setting. They are placed in situations where they break through the reality and leave the impossibility of answering behind.

www.ftn-books.com has several Velter related publications now available.

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Anne van As (1959)

Anne van As, born in 1959 in The Hague, currently resides and operates in Amsterdam. Having completed her studies at the prestigious Minerva Academy in Groningen, her artistic repertoire encompasses both painting and drawing.

Her academic achievements include graduating with distinction from the renowned ABK Minerva art academy in Groningen and the Breitner Academy at Amsterdam University of Arts.

Van As finds nature to be an endless source of fascination, with its sprawling plains, towering mountains, vibrant flora and diverse fauna. In her creations, the human element becomes obscured, veiling the world in a hauntingly beautiful haze. This desolation and ethereal quality serves as a testament to the inevitability of time and the impossibility of reliving the past. It is through this nostalgic lens that her pieces take on an eerie yet melancholic tone.

www.ftn-books.com has currently the wilderness title available.

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Aart Roos (1919-2009)

Aart Roos, born in Zaandam in 1919, was a Dutch painter, printmaker, glass and mural painter, monumental artist, draftsman, lithographer, textile artist, and professor at the academy.

Roos gained recognition in the 1950s and ’60s for his expressionist and monumental paintings. His style is classified as abstract expressionism. He received his education in Zaandam and, from 1941 to 1944, studied at the Rijksakademie of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. There he learned portrait and figure drawing from Prof. G.V.A. Röling, who was both his teacher and mentor. Roos also taught Piet Warffemius during his time at the academy.

Among his fellow classmates were Jef Diederen, Pieter Defesche, Karel Appel, Corneille, and Ko Sarneel. After the war, Roos mastered various painting techniques and became an active member of the newly founded Professional Association of Visual Artists (BBK).

Aart Roos drew inspiration from Picasso, Paul Klee, and Constant Permeke in his youth, and later from Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, and Graham Sutherland. His style transitioned from figurative to abstract expressionism immediately after the war. His paintings were vibrant and often explored the drama of human relationships or revealed the drama of nature.

In and around Amsterdam, Aart Roos created numerous monumental works on commission for municipalities and companies. The most famous of these is the fifteen-meter-long mural Birds and Flowers, located in the former Timorschool in Amsterdam, which was completed in 1962.

From 1968 to 1980, Roos served as a professor of monumental art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam acquired 19 of his works, as did other museums and institutions. In addition, the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) manages a collection of around twenty of his works. Roos continued to paint until 1995 when a stroke forced him to retire.

www.ftn-books.com has the MONOGRAPH on Aart Roos now available.

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Hans Broek (1965)

Hans Broek (Veenendaal, 1965) delved into the depths of the Dutch history of slavery in recent years, an abhorrent aspect of our past that has remained inexplicably overlooked for far too long. He visited slave forts along the Atlantic Ocean, worked in countries like Ghana and Senegal, conducted research in Suriname, and eagerly devoured the publications of historians and sociologists who approached the subject from a non-white perspective. This ultimately led to an extensive series of paintings exploring this fraught topic. Entitled “The Things I Used To Do”, De Pont showcased this series for the first time in 2020. The paintings serve as confronting testimony to the dungeons, prison gates, and plantation houses that bear witness to what transpired under Dutch rule. At the same time, they symbolize the inherent shortcomings of humanity.

When Broek left the Netherlands for America twenty-five years ago, he created panoramic paintings of cities along the West Coast of the United States: rolling hills adorned with sleek, plastered villas gleaming under a carefree blue sky. These surprising interpretations of his surroundings revitalized the landscape genre in the mid-1990s. The canvases have a cinematic quality, tinged with a hint of surrealism, because despite the absence of human figures, one can feel the culture’s hold over the environment.

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