The reason for this econd blog on James Brown is the recently acquired JAMES BROWN HANDBOOK, which is now for sale at www.ftn-books.com
The late James Brown (September 11, 1951 – February 22, 2020) was an esteemed painter hailing from the United States, who made a name for himself in both Paris and Oaxaca, Mexico. He rose to prominence in the 1980s with his raw, painterly semi-figurative works, reminiscent of the styles of Jean-Michel Basquiat and the East Village movement of that era, yet infused with elements of primitive art and classical Western modernism.
There is hardly any information on Leppink to be found and that is a huge misunderstanding on the importance of this fascinatiing artist.
In honor of the renowned visual artist Henk Leppink, this book was curated by Bas Oudt, Erik Mattijssen, and myself, with accompanying texts by Marjan Unger, Erik Mattijssen, and myself. Designed by Bas Oudt, I also oversaw the text editing process.
This publication was independently commissioned and self-published, with gratitude to friends and family of Henk Leppink and the Mondriaan Fund. The book’s release coincided with the opening of a curated and designed exhibition of Henk Leppink’s work at the renowned Gallery Witteveen / Ron Lang Art.
In his body of work, Loek Grootjans reveals himself as both an artist and a collector, a scientist and an archivist. In various forms, he thematizes his personal experiences, thoughts, and worldview with a meticulousness that borders on obsession. One of the artist’s underlying ideas is that thinking in terms of top-notch and masterful works is no longer relevant. He previously abandoned painting, his first love, due to its association with mastery.
The artworks of José Heerkens revolve around the essence of color. With precision, she arranges perfectly coordinated hues along lines and in grids on her canvases. Often, Heerkens leaves a portion of the linen blank, allowing the painting to remain “open enough to enter,” as she puts it. One can almost step into the painting by “walking” with their eyes over the canvas, following the shifting color blocks, the rhythm of lines, the denseness of the paint layer, and the interruptions in the brushstrokes.
Bård Breivik (23 November 1948 – 10 January 2016) was a Norwegian sculptor and art instructor, renowned for his enigmatic and dynamic works. His journey towards artistic excellence began at the renowned Bergen Academy of Art and Design and St. Martin’s School of Art in London, where he honed his skills and mastered his craft.
Breivik’s passion for teaching and sharing knowledge led him to hold a prestigious professorship at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm from 1982 to 1985. However, he never abandoned his own artistic endeavors and continued to create thought-provoking and evocative pieces throughout his life.
His contributions to the art world were highly acclaimed, with the ‘Fibre’ exhibition in the autumn of 1981 receiving widespread recognition. Breivik’s talents also extended to scenography, as demonstrated in his work for the performance ‘Pyramider’ at the Henie-Onstad Art Centre.
In 1982, he was selected to participate in the influential group exhibition ‘The Sleeping Beauty – Art Now, Scandinavia Today’ at the prestigious Guggenheim Museum in New York. Furthermore, in 1984, Breivik’s works were displayed at the Toyama Modern Art Museum in Tokyo as part of an international group exhibition. The following year, he was honored to represent the Nordic region in the Venice Biennale, exhibiting at the Nordic pavilion.
Breivik’s creations transcended the realms of traditional art and pushed the boundaries of imagination. His legacy continues to inspire and fascinate art enthusiasts around the world.
www.ftn-books.com has the VORTEX 2005 exhibition catalog available.
“Dagdieven,” declared Rinus van den Bosch, the renowned visual artist, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He, a quintessential native of The Hague, roamed dreamily yet determinedly through his beloved city, delighting in all it had to offer. A masterful sketch artist, he painted, sang, composed, wrote poetry, and made music. Never had a child been born with more talent and less opportunity, some would say.
www.ftn-books.com has the 2009 Retrospective exhibition catalog at the BOymans Museum now available.
The subtle, frivolous drawings do not give away his true nature. His eyes portrayed like modern Art Nouveau posters, with graceful lines, twisted fairytale figures, and pretentiously gazing fashion models, just like his fellow countrymen Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt had represented half a century earlier. However, Günter Brus was one of the most intense performance artists of his time, the 1960s, and a pioneer for generations to come. The Austrian passed away last weekend at the age of 85.
After his time at the Academy of Fine Arts in Graz and Vienna, he founded the Wiener Aktionismus in 1964, together with Otto Muehl, Hermann Nitsch, and Rudolf Schwarzkogler. It was an experimental group of body artists who did not hesitate to physically resist against the Austrian conservatism, good taste, and the lasting, post-war fascism in their home country.
The quartet surely did not create art for the faint-hearted: anti-bourgeois, shameless, and controversial. Nitsch became famous for his ritualistic slaughters (pigs), crucifixions (humans), and blood paintings; Muehl organized pee contests, managed a commune (literally), and was accused of child abuse; Schwarzkogler enjoyed wrapping himself, mutilating himself with a corkscrew, and having intercourse with fish and chickens (although the myth about him cutting off his own penis turned out to not be true).
The pinnacle of Brus’ oeuvre is his public performance in 1968, in which he sings the national anthem while masturbating, smears himself with feces, and drinks his own urine (which he then vomits back up). This results in a six-month prison sentence and a ban from Austria. He fled to Berlin, where he remained in exile until 1976.
He started quite moderate, actually. In 1960, he painted himself, his wife, and his studio with black and white paint. From self-painting to self-mutilation, the work gradually evolved. Culminating in his last action, Zerreissprobe (1970), where he cut open his own skin with a razor.
Using the body as a “canvas” has become common in the art world since the Viennese actionists. Just look at Marina Abramovic, who in one of her performances, used a razor to cut a communist star into her own stomach. Thanks to her and other performance artists, the work of Brus (and his colleagues), despite controversies and convictions, has become acceptable again. And what was once unthinkable: in 1996, he received the prestigious Großer Österreichischer Staatspreis. But by then, he had already turned to “proper” drawing.
www.ftn-books.com has a substantial selection of Brus and Wiener A§ktionismus publications.
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I am still fascinated by the works of Karin van Dam. A new addition QUARTIER SOULS LE VENT made during her Paris stay sparked the interest in her again. The book si now available at www.ftn-books.com
Renowned for her installations, Karin van Dam (1959) constructs her pieces using unconventional materials like boat bumpers, ropes, and insulation pipes. She has even utilized pre-fabricated plastic ponds, suspending them in the space of the Vleeshal in Middelburg. Van Dam perceives her installations as three-dimensional drawings, inviting viewers to walk through them. She prepares her works in advance, creating small-scale drawings incorporating spatial objects such as rubber caps, ropes, and wooden sticks. Urban structures and street patterns serve as a crucial starting point for her creations, but she freely and intuitively translates them, exploring the possibilities that the materials and objects she finds offer.
For years, Karin van Dam has been working on an ongoing project titled Steden op doorreis/Traveling Cities. The title references Italo Calvino’s novel Le città invisibili (Invisible Cities), where Marco Polo narrates imaginary cities to Kublai Khan. In the series’ initial works, Van Dam draws inspiration from Italian Renaissance towns, combining black facades with arches, battlements, and wool and other materials. Over time, the cities become more abstract and are suspended freely in space. In recent years, she has collaborated extensively with the Textielmuseum Tilburg, producing complex knitted covers for her work.
Carlos Blaaker is a visual artist who works in a contemporary narrative style, blending painting and sculpture to create a three-dimensional experience. Originally from Suriname and later residing in the Netherlands (Rotterdam), he eventually settled in Curaçao in 2009 to focus on creating bronze, polyurethane, steel, polyester, and wood sculptures. His ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between painting and sculpture, elevating the status of his creations.
Through his art, Blaaker aims to tell a story, often depicting ordinary people from his surroundings. His muses are the people he sees every day in his community: individuals from the LGBTQI+ community, immigrants, and the homeless. These recognizable and relatable types can be found all around the world. But beyond their literal representation, there is a deeper story within the context in which they are placed. This adds a layer of complexity and meaning to the pieces, leaving interpretation up to the viewer. As the artist himself explains, “I am a storyteller through my work.” By bringing attention to the “invisible” members of society, Blaaker’s art challenges and critiques the world we live in.
www.ftn-books.com has the galerie 21 publication now available.
This is what van Herwaarden syas on her site about her work:
Academic Collection After graduating from the academy, van Herwaarden spent a few years drawing in the academic collection of Leiden University to study the inner workings, the matter from which we are made. She couldn’t separate the physical form from feelings such as fear, desire, resistance, and surrender. Drives and emotions that have both a purifying and disruptive function in our lives. This research in the academic collection serves as the foundation of her work.
The Wise Body Van Herwaarden: ‘It intrigues me that our body ‘knows’ so much, even about others. Memory and ‘intelligence’ do not reside solely in our brain. It is the body, the skin, and muscles that hold memories, experiences that are imprinted in the body: the body’s memory. Our body can tell our brain just as much as our brain tells our body.’
Empathy The ability to empathize allows for compassion and comfort: these are achievements that Caren van Herwaarden considers universal and essential in achieving peaceful coexistence. It’s about you: are you able to put yourself into the situation of an (unknown) other, regardless of belief, age, or gender? This is the opposite of dehumanization and cold indifference. With her work, van Herwaarden aims to show and bring about this transformation. She strives to make this not only visible but also physically palpable in her work. Van Herwaarden: ‘I want the viewer to experience and recognize my work through their gut before possibly understanding it. It must be raw, something you can almost smell.’
www.ftn-books.com has the STAY book from 2010 now available.
Artist/ Author: Oliver Boberg
Title : Memorial
Publisher: Oliver Boberg
Measurements: Frame measures 51 x 42 cm. original C print is 35 x 25 cm.
Condition: mint
signed by Oliver Boberg in pen and numbered 14/20 from an edition of 20
