During the early 1960s, the renowned Ad Dekkers (1938-1974) was known for his extensive research on plane, form, and line. Dekkers often began his works with a circle, square, or triangle, connecting his art to pre-war artists such as Piet Mondriaan. Like Mondriaan, Dekkers shared the belief that the most universal concepts could be expressed through the purest visual means. From 1965, he began creating reliefs in editions, often cast in polyester but also in various other materials like wood and aluminum. By painting his reliefs monochromatically and usually in white, Dekkers was able to fully utilize the effect of light on his work. Additionally, he significantly reduced the number of compositional elements and emphasized the distinctive nature of each geometric basic shape through a single systematic intervention.
Dekkers was represented by Riekje Swart, the Amsterdam gallery owner who also worked with international artists such as Lucio Fontana, Sol Lewitt, Agnes Martin, François Morellet, Peter Struycken, and Gerhard von Graevenitz. With the support of Jean Leering, director of the Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven, his work was also featured in groundbreaking exhibitions such as the 1967 São Paolo Biennale alongside Jan Schoonhoven and Peter Struycken, as well as Documenta 4 in Kassel in 1968, in a gallery space shared with Elsworth Kelly.
In 1965, Fieret devoted himself to photography. Prior to that, he mostly created gouaches and charcoal portraits. Henri van de Waal (1910-1972), professor of Art History at Leiden University, was one of the earliest admirers of Fieret’s photographic work.
Thanks to Van de Waal’s efforts, Leiden University now possesses the largest collection of Fieret’s work in the world and his photography has been brought to the attention of institutions such as the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. In 1971, this museum presented the first major solo exhibition of Fieret’s work.
Fieret was actively involved in photography until around 1980. During those years, he produced an enormous amount of black and white photos. His subjects were everything he encountered in his immediate surroundings: women, himself, animals, children, and objects on the street.
Genuine essence His photos were always quickly taken with a simple 35mm camera, often from an unusual angle, and frequently show blur and a messy composition.
The developing and printing process was hasty, using not particularly pure chemicals, and with little respect for the photographic paper. This is what gives the prints their characteristic yellow spots, tears, and other imperfections.
A large portion of Fieret’s photos are signed with a felt-tip pen and often stamped with one or more stamps. All of this adds to the genuine essence exuded by Fieret’s photographs.
“The Pigeon Man” For years, Gerard Fieret was a noticeable, well-known figure in the city center of The Hague. He was nicknamed “The Pigeon Man” because he would ride around on his bike every day with two buckets of bird feed, stopping at around thirty places to feed his favorite birds.
In recent decades, Fieret’s photographic oeuvre has remained underappreciated, but in recent times, there has been a growing appreciation for his work, evidenced by the popularity of his pieces at auctions in Amsterdam and New York.
www.ftn-books.com has some very special Fieret titles available
Lee Bontecou, an American abstract sculptor, has gained recognition for her unique wall sculptures. Using unconventional materials such as canvas, conveyer belts, and mail sacks, attached to welded steel frames, her artwork showcases dark openings that draw parallels to bodily orifices. While some may interpret her work as having vaginal connotations, its true purpose lies in its focus on materiality and its conceptual significance, placing Bontecou in the same conversation as Minimalist artist Donald Judd and feminist pioneers like Judy Chicago. “The natural world, with its astonishing beauty and terrifying horrors, man-made inventions with their mind-boggling engineering achievements and destructive atrocities, and the elusive human nature and its various manifestations from the sublime to shocking abominations – to me, they are all intertwined,” explains the artist. Born in Providence, Rhode Island on January 15, 1931, Bontecou honed her skills at the Art Students League in New York under William Zorach and furthered her education at the Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture in Maine, where she mastered the art of welding. Bontecou’s work was showcased at the renowned Leo Castelli Gallery in New York in the 1960s, alongside the likes of celebrated artists such as Frank Stella and Robert Rauschenberg. Today, her sculptures can be found in esteemed collections including The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Bontecou livedd in Orbisonia, Pennsylvania.
Renowned artist Claes Oldenburg (1929-2022) was born in Sweden and raised in the United States, where he pursued his artistic education. His art evolved in the 1960s, establishing him as one of the foremost figures of pop art. Initially inspired by Jean Dubuffet, Oldenburg created collages and assemblages using materials such as cardboard and burlap. He molded these materials into imitations of objects he found on the streets. In the spirit of pop art, his favored subjects were primarily everyday objects and food items. In 1961, he presented a store full of clothes and food made of plaster, available for purchase. His expressions were playful and surprising, yet critical, and were a part of the American version of pop art, which questioned the concept of art itself.
From 1962 onwards, his objects grew larger and often had a disorienting effect. Sometimes, this was due to the scale Oldenburg employed, and sometimes due to the deceptive suggestion of the material. For instance, he crafted a wooden replica of a saw and sculptures in the form of a power outlet using foam rubber and fabric. In this way, he emphasized the properties of these mundane objects by denying them.
In 1965, Oldenburg designed colossal monuments, consisting of greatly magnified mundane objects, placed in existing locations. He depicted these fantasies in collages and drawings, using dramatic perspective to evoke a sense of grandeur. Some of these ideas were brought to life in the 1970s and 1980s. The demands of creating objects for public spaces and the scale at which they were executed made durability a necessary consideration. The materials used may have changed, but the subjects remained banal. A trowel, a clothespin, a screw: these are everyday objects on a heroic scale and location.
David Salle, a modern American artist, showcases his talents through painting, printmaking, and photography. Considered a prominent Neo-Expressionist, his innovative pieces combine a collage of diverse elements, sourced from a multitude of outlets such as magazines, interior design, and art history. His vibrant compositions feature a simplistic yet captivating style, interweaving various figures and patterns. As the artist himself has expressed, “Ever since I began painting, I have strived to capture the fluidity and surprise of image connection, the same simultaneity found in film montage, within the realm of painting.” Originally hailing from Norman, OK in 1952, Salle obtained his BFA and MFA degrees from the esteemed California Institute of the Arts. During his time there, he studied under the renowned Conceptual artist, John Baldessari, whose influence can be seen in Salle’s work to this day. In addition to his studio practice, Salle has become a prolific writer, contributing to notable publications such as Artforum, The Paris Review, and Art News, among others. His illustrious paintings can be found in prestigious collections, notably at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Salle currently resides and produces his art in Brooklyn, NY, continually pushing the boundaries of contemporary art.
She won in 2020 the prestigious Johannes Vermeer prijs in the Netherlands.
Rineke Dijkstra, a contemporary Dutch photographer, is renowned for her singular portraits, often presented in a series. Her focus often falls upon specific groups and communities, such as mothers, adolescents, and teenage boys and girls, as well as soldiers, capturing their raw and exposed vulnerabilities. The artist herself has observed that “with young people, everything is much more on the surface—all the emotions. When you get older, you know how to hide things.”
Born June 2, 1959, in Sittard, Netherlands, Dijkstra pursued her studies at the prestigious Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. One of her most well-known series is Beach Portraits (1992–1994), composed of life-sized, vibrant photographs of young teenagers in bathing suits taken on both American and European beaches. The success of the project led to its exhibition in 1997 at The Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of New Photography 13, catapulting Dijkstra into the spotlight and garnering critical acclaim.
Dijkstra’s artistic talents also extend to the medium of video, as exemplified in her filmed portraits of dancing teenagers in The Buzzclub, Liverpool, UK/Mysteryworld, Zaandam, NL (1996–1997). She has had numerous solo exhibitions, including “Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective,” displayed at both the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2012. The artist currently resides and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Today, her artworks are held in esteemed collections such as the Tate Gallery in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Goetz Collection in Munich, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
Emmett Williams, an artist and American poet , was a prominent figure in the Fluxus and concrete poetry movements of the mid-20th century. He is most renowned for his iconic compilation, “Anthology of Concrete Poetry,” featuring works from poets and artists around the globe. Williams described this form of poetry as “direct,” utilizing the raw elements of language: its meaning, visual aspect, and phonetics.
From 1957 to 1959, Williams collaborated closely with Daniel Spoerri and Claus Bremer at the epicenter of dynamic theatre and concrete poetry in Darmstadt. In the early 1960s, he served as the European coordinator for Fluxus and played a crucial role in establishing the Domaine Poetique in Paris.
During his tenure as editor (1966-1970), Williams, along with Dick Higgins, oversaw the publication of several books by artists associated with the Fluxus movement through Something Else Press. Their philosophy, viewing life as a work of art and vice versa, sparked controversy but remained the defining characteristic of Fluxus. Williams expressed this belief, stating, “Fluxus sees life as a musical composition, a continuous process. The true scandal was not in our various actions, but in the philosophy that drove us. The notion that everything can be music defines Fluxus in a unique and convincing manner.”
Emmett Williams, an artist and American poet , was a prominent figure in the Fluxus and concrete poetry movements of the mid-20th century. He is most renowned for his iconic compilation, “Anthology of Concrete Poetry,” featuring works from poets and artists around the globe. Williams described this form of poetry as “direct,” utilizing the raw elements of language: its meaning, visual aspect, and phonetics.
From 1957 to 1959, Williams collaborated closely with Daniel Spoerri and Claus Bremer at the epicenter of dynamic theatre and concrete poetry in Darmstadt. In the early 1960s, he served as the European coordinator for Fluxus and played a crucial role in establishing the Domaine Poetique in Paris.
During his tenure as editor (1966-1970), Williams, along with Dick Higgins, oversaw the publication of several books by artists associated with the Fluxus movement through Something Else Press. Their philosophy, viewing life as a work of art and vice versa, sparked controversy but remained the defining characteristic of Fluxus. Williams expressed this belief, stating, “Fluxus sees life as a musical composition, a continuous process. The true scandal was not in our various actions, but in the philosophy that drove us. The notion that everything can be music defines Fluxus in a unique and convincing manner.”
Emmett Williams, an artist and American poet , was a prominent figure in the Fluxus and concrete poetry movements of the mid-20th century. He is most renowned for his iconic compilation, “Anthology of Concrete Poetry,” featuring works from poets and artists around the globe. Williams described this form of poetry as “direct,” utilizing the raw elements of language: its meaning, visual aspect, and phonetics.
From 1957 to 1959, Williams collaborated closely with Daniel Spoerri and Claus Bremer at the epicenter of dynamic theatre and concrete poetry in Darmstadt. In the early 1960s, he served as the European coordinator for Fluxus and played a crucial role in establishing the Domaine Poetique in Paris.
During his tenure as editor (1966-1970), Williams, along with Dick Higgins, oversaw the publication of several books by artists associated with the Fluxus movement through Something Else Press. Their philosophy, viewing life as a work of art and vice versa, sparked controversy but remained the defining characteristic of Fluxus. Williams expressed this belief, stating, “Fluxus sees life as a musical composition, a continuous process. The true scandal was not in our various actions, but in the philosophy that drove us. The notion that everything can be music defines Fluxus in a unique and convincing manner.”
In addition to sculptures and installations, Thomas Schütte’s oeuvre also encompasses watercolors, models, paintings, and etchings. Schütte has been part of the new generation of German sculptors since the 1980s, distancing himself from minimal art and conceptual art. Along with artists such as Reinhardt Mucha, Hubert Kiecol, and Harald Klingelhöller, he developed a postmodern practice that combines references to art and architectural history with a strong dose of reevaluation of the modernist ideal in sculpture.
Schütte’s interest in art sparked when he visited Documenta V at the age of 18. He studied with Gerhard Richter in Düsseldorf, where he created his first paintings based on photos. Later on, he adopted a “decorative painting style in the spirit of Niele Toroni and Daniel Buren.” In this context, we can see Schütte’s “Garlands” and “Collections” from the late 1970s and early 1980s as brightly colored, abstract motifs acting as minimal pseudo decorations on the wall. The works reflect a strong sense of eclecticism and a non-linear way of thinking and acting, seeds of his later work.
Starting in the early 1980s, Schütte explores a more functional approach in his “Architectural Models.” The models of fictional architectural constructions criticize the “intellectual poverty of much postmodern architecture.” Since the mid-1980s, Schütte has often created watercolors. Although the human figure is often central in them, they vary greatly in style and often have an ironic undertone. Schütte sees them as sketches for his other projects, yet he still stamps and dates them, giving them the status of an archive or collection.
Schütte’s fascination with the human figure is evident in his sculptures, which he utilizes to delve into the depths of human psychology and behavioral patterns. In the late 1980s, his sculptural work evolved to a larger, grander scale. From then on, Schütte’s human figures became so distorted that they strayed far from the traditional concept of figurative sculpture. They depicted various stages of emotional and/or physical depression.
In the 1990s, Schütte continued his exploration of socio-psychological behaviors in humans, expanding his sculptural work in terms of materials, techniques, and forms. Overall, much of Schütte’s work reflects the human psychology of his time – from the nihilistic 1980s to the highly individualized 1990s and beyond – always with a hint of irony or even absurdity. www.ftn-books.com has some of the most important Schutte publications available.
Roger Bissière, a French artist renowned for his unique contribution to the realm of Cubism, also produced a series of stained-glass windows for a cathedral in Metz. He once stated that “the mark of a skilled painter is the ability to bury a color each day.” On September 22, 1886, Bissière was born in Villeréal, France, and eventually settled in Bordeaux in 1901. He pursued formal education at the École des Beaux-Arts, and later relocated to Paris in 1910, where he formed friendships with André Lhote and Georges Braque. In the bustling artistic hub of Paris, his paintings began to showcase a Cubist style, heavily influenced by his admiration for Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Pablo Picasso’s Neoclassical work. However, as the 1950s dawned, Bissière’s artistic vision had transformed into a highly abstract approach, incorporating bold splashes of color to create each piece, rather than utilizing traditional representational forms. He passed away on December 2, 1964, in Marminiac, France, leaving a lasting legacy in the art world. His works can now be found in esteemed collections, such as the Tate Gallery in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., among others.
Arnulf Rainer, an Austrian artist, is renowned for pioneering the Art Informel movement, which introduced a lyrical and intuitive form of expression to abstract art. His early work was heavily influenced by Surrealism, and his fascination with dreams and the subconscious adds a mystical quality to his pieces. Rainer first experimented with Overpaintings in 1952, layering brushstrokes over existing artworks or photographs. Continued exploration of this process has been a recurring theme throughout his career. By working in dialogue with the underlying source material, which remains partially visible, the overpaintings play with the concept of creation and destruction, serving as a paradoxical homage to the original.
Rainer’s method involves drawing and painting over his own canvases and, starting in 1953, those of other artists. This results in densely textured abstract works, achieved through a slow and deliberate build-up of brushstrokes. The process itself holds great significance for the artist, resembling a visual embodiment of spiritual consciousness. In his own words: “The act of creation is perhaps more vital than the finished painting; for the gradual participation in the obscuration or immersion of the painting, its gradual return to peace and invisibility […]” can be compared to the contemplative experience of religious life.” This contemplative experience is also imparted onto the viewer, who is left to ponder the enigmatic mystery of what lies beneath.
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
