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OSSIP (1952)…. a documentary

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Just because personally i think that Ossip is one of the most important contemporary artists in the Netherlands and because he has an exhibition currently at galerie Ramakers, i want to share the documentary that was broadcasted yesterday on dutch television. It shows  Ossip (Snoeck) and his father Jan Snoeck at work in their studios. They both have a very personal and authentic approach to their art and the universe Ossip creates and has created with his “sculptures”

is one of a kind. here is the link and ….enjoy.

https://www.avrotros.nl/close-up/gemist/detail/item/ossip-van-vader-op-zoon-21-02-2019/

www.ftn-books.com has on both artists publications available

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Piet Dirkx “Zonder plan wel met Systeem”

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This is the subtitle for the Piet Dirkx/ Henk Visch exhibition at the gallery Ferdinand van Dieten-d’Eendt in 2008. A small gallery and now stopped, because of the changing art market, but this exhibition was a great one for this small gallery. The invitation is still one of the best Piet designed for one of his exhibitions.

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Alessandro Mendini dies at the age of 87

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Within 24 hours two great artists have died shortly after each other. Yesterday, Karl Lagerfeld died and this morning i learned that the architect of the Groninger Museum and the founder of the Studio Alchemia mouvement has died 24 hours before. I am a great fan of Mendini and in the Nineties i was glad to hear that he was chosen to be the architect of the Groninger Museum. Since i have visited the museum numerous times and i am always impressed with the wealth of details within this great Mendini building.

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Allessandro Mendini, a greart multidisciplined artist , but above all a friendly, kind personality. 16th august 1931 – 18th February 2019

Some of Mendini’s publications are availabel at www.ftn-books.com

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Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019)

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Karl Lagerfeld dies at the age of 85 today.  Cat lover and fashion designer he mostly will be remembered for the fashion he designed in the years he designed Haute Couture and pret a Porter for Chanel. His muse Claudia Schiffer was feautured in many catalogues published in those years of which some are availabel at www.ftn-books.com

Beside fashion he had two other great loves.. first of all his cat Choupette and secondly photography, because beside his fashion designs he was a very accomplished and talented photograper too.

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Piet Dirkx…van Abbemuseum , 1985( continued)

This week i am making up for an incomplete blog . I just noticed that to make the story on last weeks blog complete i had to add the photographs of the inner sides of both objects which were on show in the Piet Dirkx exhibition at the van Abbemuseum in 1985. Pier had indicated on the inside of both boxes in what way both had to be combined and showed. So to make the story complete here are both insides.

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New site for FTN books and discount code

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It was a necessary step to make the site more accessible, so i changed the lay-out made it much more clear for all visitors to find their way among the 8000+ items that are for sale at www.ftn-books.com.

The result a clean and pleasing site in a blue and creme color scheme. Pleasing to the eye, with a great search engine to find those titltes you are looking for . Please take a look at www.ftn-books.com and when you order use the discount code: FTNnew (10% discount on all items), which is valid until the 6th of February 2019.

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Sarah Lucas (1962)

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Another young bBritish artist who emerged in the early Nineties in a wave of young British artists. Others from her generation rose to fame in the same years. Among them Gary Hume and Damien Hirst. They had one thing in common. All were added to the Tate collection at a very young age and collected by Saatchi. Personally i am not a great admirer of her works. For the same reasons  i am not a great admirer of Hirst his works, but sometimes you have to look twice and try to discover the meaning of her(in many cases) masculine constructions to confront and dissect their nature.

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Her pieces represent a fantastical world and playfully employs unrealistic ideals to unearth obscene paradoxes created by those very constructions. These works are constructed and well thought over and perhaps that is the quality i do not like about them.

www.ftn-books.com has some Sarah Lucas titles available

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added more Alechinsky rareties

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At auction I was lucky to find and buy a “lot” with some more Alechinsly rare books and among them there was one one publication of which i did not know it existed. It was the Alwechinsky catalogue for his Caracas exhibition from 1989. A catalogue published in only 1000 copies and spectacular because i am convinced that is a hard to find collectable Alechinsky publication. The full title is LITOS PERPETRA PIERRE ALECHINSKY and the exhibition was held at the Museo de Bellas Artesde Caracas. There is only one copy available and the first who orderes it at www.ftn-books.com and uses the discount code Caracas will receive a 15% discount on this specific item.

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Arjanne van der Spek (1958)

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Is it luck or did it had to be this way?,….. because a few months ago if finally could purchase for the FTN collection an important and i think beautiful and intriguing sculpture by Arjanne van der Spek. It must have been some 25 years or more ago that i think Gerrit Jan de Rook introduced me to Arjanne van der Spek.  It was during the exhibition she had at the Gemeentemuseum and was joining Frank van Hemert in their joint presentation. A just starting, promising sculptor, who had finished her education and studies at the Ateliers 63 just half a decade earlier. She had her first solo exhibition at the Tanya Rumpff gallery who had started her gallery a few months earlier. I went to the gallery to see the other drawings and sculptures other than the ones i had seen and admired at the Gemeentemuseum and i really fell for her sculptures. As i explained to her a few weeks ago …they were intriguing and completely different than the sculptures i had seen before. The use of wood, steel, ceramic and tissues all in one sculpture were new to me. Unfortunately i could not afford a sculpture, but time changes everything  and a few weeks ago i was able to buy KNAP KNAP KNA from the former Klein Breteler collection, who had the work acquired from gallery de Vries in Haarlem. The work was not sold during auction, but i was able to buy it in the aftersale. I informed Arjanne that i had bought the KNAP KNAP KNAP and she was delighted to hear it found a new home. She thought it to be one of her best works and is still very fond of it so i offered it on loan when ever she wanted to use it in an exhibition:

‘Knap Knap Knap’ (2009)

a mixed media object (ceramic, wood, paint, brass) in two parts, 70x100x40 cm

Provenance: Acquired from Galerie Rob de Vries, Haarlem

It is a large work which makes it not that easy to place although outside placement under a roof is an option.

I added this work last week to the FTN art section and for those interested in buying please inquire at wvdelshout@ziggo.nl

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Jim Dine (1935)

He is for certain one of the greatest Pop Art artists if ever there was one. One from the first generation of Pop Art artists who rose to fame in the early 60’s and who even had some great exhibitions in the years to follow at the Stedelijk Museum and the Boymans van Beuningen museum in the Netherlands in the 60’s and 70’s. Both museum have since some great paintings in their collections , (left Stedelijk / right Boymans van Beuningen)

but the Stedelijk Museum stands out for me , because beside multiple art works in their collection they published one of the first simple orange/red catalogues designed by Wim Crouwel. This one devoted specially to the drawings of Jim Dine and available at www.ftn-books.com and this is Wim Crouwel classic

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But of course there are other Jim DIne titles also available at www.ftn-books.com