Category: artists studios

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Herb Ritts (continued)

Renowned American fashion photographer Herb Ritts (1952–2002) made his mark in the 1980s and 1990s with stunning black-and-white images of supermodels Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, renowned for their striking contrast and sensuality. This latest showcase of the artist’s work revisits his legacy, including refreshing highlights from his groundbreaking 1996 collection, “Herb Ritts: WORK,” a popular exhibit at the MFA to this day. The Ritts Foundation generously provided the Museum with a print of each image featured in the 1996 exhibit, and in 2007, also contributed to the establishment of the MFA’s first gallery exclusively dedicated to photography. Presently, the Herb Ritts and Clementine Brown galleries proudly present the latest exhibit, showcasing an array of Ritts’s captivating portraits that celebrate the human body and encapsulate the carefree California lifestyle.

www.ftn-books.com has some Ritts titles available.

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Eric Fischl (continued)

Eric Fischl, a renowned American artist and sculptor, has captured the attention of the art world since the 1970s with his contemplative depictions of the dark underbelly of suburban life. His paintings of that era delved into themes of burgeoning sexuality and voyeurism amidst the mundane world of middle-class America. Yet, despite the passing of time, Fischl’s work remains steadfast in its examination of human connections. His exceptional accomplishments have solidified his influence as one of the foremost figurative painters of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Fischl’s extensive body of work, encompassing paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints, has been the centerpiece of numerous acclaimed solo and group exhibitions. His pieces are also prominently displayed in esteemed collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the St. Louis Art Museum, and the Louisiana Museum of Art in Denmark.

www.ftn-books.com has some Fischl titles available.

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William N. Copley (continued)

American painter William Copley (1919–1996), known by his alias CPLY, was a maverick storyteller, whose paintings, drawings, and installations defied the conventions of the art world. A connoisseur and benefactor, Copley forged connections with prominent 20th century artists, particularly Surrealists from Europe and Pop artists from America. In collaboration with Milan’s Prada Foundation, roughly 100 of Copley’s pieces, including paintings and works on paper, comprise the pioneering exhibition, William N. Copley: The World According to CPLY, marking the first extensive showcasing of his work in an American institution. This presentation, accompanied by a corresponding book, explores Copley’s artistic trajectory, from the 1950s to the 1990s, tracing his evolution of painterly techniques and his consistent exploration of line, color, design, symbolism, and wit.

In the early 1950s, while living in Paris, Copley honed his distinct and risqué figurative style, bucking the prevailing trends of abstraction. Developing a naive, unfiltered storytelling voice, he drew inspiration from Surrealist compositions, Mexican folk art, and American cartoons and silent films, as seen in his works from the 1950s and 1960s, created primarily in France. Throughout his career, Copley continuously revisited themes of nudity, automobiles, patriotism, and the playful poetry of Robert W. Service, also known as the “Bard of the Yukon.” Later pieces demonstrate Copley’s ongoing evolution as an artist, showcasing his sustained interest in political and psychosexual themes, surreal visual wordplay, and vaudevillian Americana. Diverse in style, these works also exhibit Copley’s keen awareness of contemporary artistic movements and his role as a bridge between the Surrealist and Pop realms.

www.ftn-books.com has some great Copley titles available.

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Enrico Castellani (continued)

Known for his unique relief paintings, Enrico Castellani rose to fame as a member of the renowned mid-century Group Zero. His unconventional approach involved stretching canvas over protruding nailheads, creating a striking interplay of light, shade, and positive and negative space. Throughout his career, Castellani continued to incorporate innovative techniques, such as inlaid patterns, tensile surfaces, and varied textures, to push the boundaries of his art. He also experimented with different materials and colors, diversifying his creative repertoire.

Apart from his iconic paintings, Castellani also dabbled in the production of partly ready-made installations and sculptures, further solidifying his reputation as a trailblazer in the art world. His bold spirit extended beyond his art, as seen in his influential Galleria Azimut exhibition space and journal, Azimuth. This publication featured avant-garde painting and showcased works by prominent artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Heinz Mack, Jean Tinguely, and Yves Klein.

Castellani’s captivating art has been displayed at prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Fondazione Prada. On the secondary market, his pieces have sold for seven figures, a testament to his enduring legacy. In 1964, 1966, and 1984, Castellani proudly represented Italy at the esteemed Venice Biennale.

www.ftn-books.com has some interesting Castellani ietms available.

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Gilbert & George (continued)

As “living sculptures,” Gilbert & George have become an icon in the art world: initially despised by art critics for being too vulgar, too loud, and too flat, but soon becoming immensely popular and globally respected. They were the first in the 1960s to boldly and shamelessly place themselves at the center of their work. Always immaculately dressed in tweed suits, flawlessly elegant and politely friendly. In physical symbiosis, they move synchronously, composed and almost mechanically through their lives and work. In their shared universe, they seamlessly finish each other’s thoughts and sentences: “It’s very simple. We are two people, but one artist. That’s the secret.”

The artists met as students in 1967 in London and have worked and lived together as Gilbert & George since ’68. Their early work mainly consisted of performances, in which they portrayed living statues. Soon their oeuvre also included video, drawings, and especially photography. In the 1970s, their work evolved from assemblages with black and white photography to grid-like combinations of photos. The bright colors they added in the 1980s emphasized the smooth, caricatural nature of their montages. The works from this period depict life in the modern metropolis and the hopes and fears dominating the zeitgeist. In 1989, they created 25 large works on illness and destruction for a charity organization for AIDS patients. In “New Democratic Pictures” (1991), full of homo-erotic and Christian references, the artists appear completely nude for the first time.

Gilbert & George have rebelled against the elitism of art throughout their entire careers. They live in a working-class neighborhood in London and label their oeuvre as “Art for All.” Their goal is to reach the widest possible audience. “We simply cannot understand why an artist should intentionally be unclear, or do something that 99% of the population cannot comprehend. We aim to bring meaning and substance into art.” Their consciously cultivated disdain for the art world and their high productivity – up to 153 works in one year – perhaps explain why art critics initially loathed them. However, the absurd, ironic, and caricatural elements in their work are not merely mischievous parodies. Beneath the surface of the bold colors, silly faces, and intentionally unesthetic compositions lies an incredibly resistant criticism of reality.

fascinated by the works of G&G , www.ftn-books.com has built a large collection of GG related books and items.

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John Heartfield fotomonteur

Not only does Heartfield manage to evade military service through a feigned psychological disorder, shortly thereafter, as German zeppelins sow bombs and fear over London, he protests by permanently exchanging his birth name Hellmuth Herzfeld for John Heartfield. In 1916, he meets like-minded artist George Grosz. At that time, Heartfield – trained at academies in Munich and Charlottenburg – is still working on landscapes. He burns them. His first considered photomontage is created a year later. At the bottom of the image lies a mutilated soldier, his battered body barely distinguishable from the earth of the battlefield. Above, a carpet of dead bodies stretches to the lead-gray horizon. In the narrow white strip in the middle, inscribed in his own handwriting, reads: This is what hero’s death looks like.

Together with Grosz, Heartfield is involved in the founding of the Berlin Club Dada, in which artists unite in response to the horrors of the war. Their absurdism and nihilism are directed against the prevailing values in the art world, but also against society. For Grosz and Heartfield, Dada is just the beginning. In 1918, they join the newly formed Communist Party of Germany, for which Heartfield creates a legendary election poster ten years later with a simple but effective photograph of the hand of a worker reaching out to grasp the viewer. His communist beliefs are also reflected in the way he works. Using mass media, he prefers to work as a laborer in overalls. And do not call him an artist, but a photomonteur.

www.ftn-books.com has a few Heartfield titles now available.

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Jeff Wall (continued)

Revered as a leading contemporary Canadian photographer, Jeff Wall’s work delves into the complexities of images, representation, and memory. His larger-than-life photographs embody the visual style of advertisement, employing backlit transparencies and grandeur in their presentation. Known to recreate everyday moments, fiction, and art history in a “cinematographic” manner, he aptly dubs his work as “near documentary”. With a deep-rooted connection to his personal experiences, Wall explains, “[Near documentary] signifies that my pictures are inspired by my own encounters, and that I strive to capture those moments with utmost precision and accuracy.”

Having been born on September 29, 1946 in Vancouver, Canada, Wall attained his MA from the University of British Columbia in 1970. Dedicating his time to academia in the following decade, he pursued further education under the tutelage of renowned British historian T.J. Clark at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. His background as a Conceptual artist and art historian paved the way for his exploration of diverse subjects, including Hokusai, Édouard Manet, and even novels like The Invisible Man. Garnering immense recognition, a print of his piece Dead Troops Talk (1993) shattered auction records at Christie’s in 2012 and was then the third highest-selling photograph ever.

Presently, his works are housed in the esteemed collections of Tate Gallery in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and the Kunstmuseum Basel, to name a few. Holding steadfast to his roots, Wall continues to reside and create in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

www.ftn-books.com has some interesting Wall titles available.

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George Hendrik Breitner (continued)

George Hendrik Breitner was born in Rotterdam. From 1876 to 1880, he attended the art academy in The Hague where his exceptional talent was recognized on numerous occasions. From October 1878 to April 1879, he worked as a drawing teacher at the Leiden academy Ars Aemula Naturae. In 1880, he was banned from the Art Academy in The Hague due to misconduct, as he had destroyed the rules of the board.

That same year, he stayed with the garden architect Willem Maris in Loosduinen and became a member of the Pulchri Studio, an important artists’ association in The Hague. Later, he distanced himself from the Hague School and is now widely regarded as an Amsterdam impressionist.

In the period of 1880-1881, he collaborated with Hendrik Mesdag, S. Mesdag-van Houten, Theophile de Bock, and Barend Blommers on the famous Panorama Mesdag. In 1882, he met and worked with Vincent Van Gogh, often sketching together in the poorer neighborhoods of The Hague. Breitner preferred working with models from the working class: laborers, maids, and people from the lower classes. This interest in common people was shared by many artists during that time.

He was associated with the Dutch literary group known as the “Tachtigers” (English translation: “Eighty-ers”). They were proponents of impressionism and naturalism, rejecting romanticism and other painters such as Isaac Israels, Willem Witsen, and poets like Willem Kloos.

Breitner saw himself as “le peintre du peuple”, the painter of the people. He was the quintessential painter of cityscapes: wooden piles in the harbor, demolition works and construction sites in the old center, horse trams on the Dam, or canals in the rain. Amsterdam (1901).

www.ftn-books.com has some interesting Breitner titles available.

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Greg Gorman (continued)

Renowned mortal lensman, Greg Gorman, was brought into the world in 1949 in Kansas City, US. Through his expert use of cameras, he is heavily captivated by his subjects. Graduating from a masters program in fine arts in 1972, his focus was on photo-journalism and film art.

Gorman has culminated a collection of the most notable and esteemed individuals of the past four decades. These icons, who have left a mark on the 20th century, will be presented for the first time at the Graz exhibit. Notable figures captured through Gorman’s lens include Johnny Depp (1989), Marlon Brando (1994), Michael Jackson (1987), Muhammed Ali (1994), Sophia Loren (1994), and many others. This includes studies of Martin Scorsese, Elton John (2001), Jeff Bridges (2009), Sharon Stone (2005), Barbara Streisand (1981), and Andy Warhol (1986). Despite their instant media and cult recognizability, these photographs have yet to be showcased as a single exhibit in Europe.

Gorman’s work has been praised in the most esteemed photogenic magazines and prominent commercial publications. While working alongside LA Eyeworks, he has earned numerous prestigious accolades in recognition of his artistic proficiency.

Throughout his illustrious career, Gorman has captured the portraits of almost every notable film star and pop musician, making the Graz exhibition comprehensively comprehensive. Instead of following traditional methods of dramatic miming and gesturing, Gorman focuses on the smaller details, such as the individual’s eyes and personality, in order to capture the true essence of his subjects.

Currently, Greg Gorman resides in Los Angeles and Mendocino, California.

www.ftn-books.com has some Gorman publications now available.

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Pinot Gallizio (continued)

In 1955, at the ripe age of 51, Pinot Gallizio turned his attention to painting after previously immersing himself in archaeology, botany, and studying popular cultures and the phenomenon of nomadism. This particular exhibition showcased a curated selection of his entire body of work, spanning less than a decade. His paintings boast an abstract foundation, executed in a gesture-heavy style that layers thick brushstrokes of oil paint onto the canvas. At times, these clusters of paint coalesce into perplexing symbols, resembling small round eyes or mouths twisted into menacing grins. Many of the pieces feature surreal and ironic titles such as “Death of a Common Traveler” (1955) and “Elliptical Paranoia” (1956).

Gallizio’s bold use of colors and thick, childlike forms were heavily influenced by his collaboration and friendship with Asger Jorn, a prominent member of the CoBrA group. Both men worked in the experimental workshop in Gallizio’s hometown of Alba, where the Italian artist conceptualized and produced his “Industrial Paintings” (1958-59), consisting of canvases over 40 feet in length with heavy impasto and tumultuous colors. Rather than being confined to a frame, each of these canvases could be rolled out in an exhibition space, creating an immersive environment. In fact, some pieces could even be entered as a tunnel, such as “Cavern of the Antimatter” (1958). Gallizio’s search for an alternative to traditional painting and the limitations of the canvas mirrors the works of Lucio Fontana’s “Spatial Environments” (1948-1950) and Yves Klein’s “Architecture of the Air” (1958-1959). As described by Mirella Bandini in a catalogue for Gallizio’s 1974 exhibition in Turin, his art embodied the “ideation of a new culture, in opposition to institutionalized and compartmentalized art.” This movement slowly began to infiltrate the artistic landscape of Turin, aligning with the ideas of the pioneering Arte Povera artists like Mario Merz and Marisa Merz.

www.ftn-books.com has the Gallizio catalog published by the Stedelijk Museum available.

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