This is a set i bought in 1985 and forgot completely….until….. I opened a shoebox of mine and found the mini portfolio by Franck Izard ( see www.ftn-books.com) , opened it and within the portfolio there was this CORRESPONDENTIE set by Joost Swarte. Still completely sealed and in pristine condition. To see which cards were within the set i opened it very carefully with a very sharp knife and discovered 5 different small note cards, printed an greenish/grey paper and a set of 5 old fashioned envelopes. The attention to detail is so typical for Joost Swarte. The set is in Mint condition and i decided to offer it for sale at www.ftn-books.com. This is a true collectors edition , but for those that only want the pictures ….here are a few pictures.
Artist/ Author: Joost Swarte / Fay Lovsky Title : Jopo in Mono Publisher: Oog & Blik / de Harmonie, 1991 Number of pages: booklet contains 16 pages /audio cd by Fay Lovsky contains 12 numbers Text / Language: Measurements: 5.4x 4.9 inches Condition: mint / still sealed extra information on this item: Rare and collectible. Here is a text from a blog on this publication which i found: When putting two completely unique artists out of two different disciplines together in one room, the chance that it might lead to something brilliant is equal to the chance that it won’t work. For these two it turned out to be option one: brilliant. Joost Swarte and Fay Lovsky are the ones we’re talking about. These two (both made in Holland) made their album ‘Jopo In Mono’ back in 1991. It’s based on the story of Joost Swarte’s underground comic-character ‘Jopo de Pojo’, a musically anti-hero, highly underestimated in his own opinion (even the alleycats don’t dig his shit) but always pretty positive in his own misery. Jopo de Pojo leads a life of failure, fun, sex and pretty bad rock and roll. Nevertheless Jopo is a character to love. I bought my first Joost Swarte album somewhere around 1988, it was a collection comics about Jopo and I fell in love with him (Jopo) and his creator’s style immediately. More albums and (signed) silk-screens by Swarte followed and off-course this beautifully designed CD ‘Jopo In Mono’ had to be in my collection too. Nowadays Swarte enjoys an international reputation as a graphic artist as well as a designer on whatever his fancy takes away: creating posters, cartoons, glass windows and stamps, or designing watches, buildings or bookcases. The woman that made the music and wrote the lyrics to make Jopo come alive on CD is Fay Lovsky (born Fay Luyendijk). She is what you could call a ‘do-it-yourself’-artist. Always trying to make music with somewhat exotic instruments such as the theremin, ’singing’ saws or the noseflute (there is a ‘Duet For Noses’ on this Jopo-album!). In the mid-eighties she gained some fame with her music projects ‘La Bande Dessinée’ and with her bigband ‘Magnificent Seven’. But most (Dutch) people probably know her best because of her x-mas evergreen from 1981 ‘Christmas Was A Friend Of Mine‘. Lovsky is very inventive as well with music as with words. She’s responsible for probably one of the shortest and humourous bluessongs ever, ‘Yawn Blues‘ with brilliant lyrics: I woke up this morning, I went back to bed. The one you hear doing Jopo’s yawning is Joost Swarte. Another peak on this album is the song that even made it as the openingstune of a culinair show on French national TV: ‘Appellation Controlée‘ (part of the lyrics: Brown paper bag, au bord de la Seine, Ile de la Cité. Chateau Migraine, when you wake up the next day.). On the album followed by a disturbingly short ‘Appellation Non Controlee’ including hiccups and a watersplash. Did I already mention that Joost Swarte won a prize for the design of this booklet? Well, he did.
Jopo in Mono and the ROUSERS album are both available at www.ftn-books.com
The year 1987, location Channel Surf Club in Knokke Belgium
Quote from the Keith Haring Journals, Penguin 1997, page 221
” I began mural and immediately attract a crowd. By the time i finish, to applause, there are 50-60 people watching. The sun is really hot and i wear sunblock and a hat. The audience is incredible ”
This container mural was put of for sale in last auction season and found in the after sale an appreciative buyer. But to attract more visitors for the auction a bookmark/invite was published of this exceptional piece of art and it is available at www.ftn-books.com.
Below you will find the text as published in the auction catalogue and it is well worth reading.
Yes….Black Friday and you would expect a nice offer from www.ftn-books.com
Well there is one…. it is a very nice offer for collectors, admirers and people searching for a nice collectible as Christmas present. It is the originally Ko Verzuu designed ( de STIJL artist) Besteldienst which was one of the prestige replica projects by the ADO factory who has made ADO products for over 70 years. The factory does not exist anymore , but these Prestige editions are among the highest sought after collectable toys in the world. This prestige Besteldienst is one of the last projects ADO has done before it closed its doors. Hand built -and painted, all numbered on the base and car and each model comes with its certificate in its original ADO box. Limited edition of 250 , numbered.
It is a large model , measuring 53 x 19 x 25 cm. Condition Mint in Box.
You can find the Besteldienst over here: original price USD 245.00
In the upcoming Bubb Kuyper auction is one of the most important Wiener Werkstatte books ever published. It is the book illustrated with 8 lithographs by Oskar Kokoschka …Die traeumenden Knaben
The financier of the Wiener Werkstätte, Franz Waerndorfer, commissioned Oskar Kokoschka to create a fairytale book for his children in 1907. It was published by the Wiener Werkstätte in 500 copies, and was presented at the Kunstschau exhibition of 1908. The number of copies ordered was disappointingly small and only a few copies were bound at the time. In 1917 Kurt Wolff reissued 275 copies of the remaining printrun in a lim. numb. edition and in a slightly different binding from the original binding (without use of the gilt thread). This copy up for auction is one of the UNNUMBERED copies of the first edition and as such is very rare, especially in this fine condition. At the time of commissioning (1907) Oskar Kokoschka was still a student at Vienna’s Kunstgewerbeschule. The fairytale that he wrote shows his strong Expressionist tendencies and is not a typical children’s book. As Waerndorfer wrote to Kokoschka’s former teacher C.O. Czeschka: “Eben bringt Kokoschka sein Märchenbuch, fertig und mit Text. Zum Beispiel: Musik, Musik, Gaukler, mein Leib, Schellenrassler, Beckenschläger. Weg der Popanz meines sündhaften Vorbehalts. Helle Feur liegen an den Zwergwäldern. Hinab springe ich mit wehenden Gewändern zur Erde und wie ein hoher einziger Ton steht hinter mir auf den Gärten die Sehnsucht. Na servus, und das ist der Lehrer meiner Kinder. Aber die Bilder sind glänzend.
For less expensive books on Kokoschka please visit www.ftn-books.com
This dutch/Israeli graphic designer and sculptor is not very well known outside the Netherlands, but perhaps this will change in the future. He has studio’s in Amsterdam and Beijing. Until 10 years ago i did not know this artist either, but because of a fantastic pubication he made for the Stedelijk Museum ( Your coloring book) he became known to me. Far before publishers discovered the commercial value of coloring books and the soothing and comforting qualities of coloring books. This book combines both. It is an artist book and coloring book in one and still available at www.ftn.books.com
“En toen de stijl” is the new publication by Joost Swarte . Book is published in cooperation between the publisher LEOPOLD and the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. Personally i think this is the best publication by Swarte from the last 10 years. It brings the story of de STIJL mouvement in illustrations of the famous members of the DE STIJL group. Illustrations on Mondrian, van Doesburg, Huszar, Zwart, Oud, Torres Garcia, Verzuu, Bauhaus, van der Leck and Rietveld tell the story on de STIJL. Perfect publication and published with isbn.9789025872380
and the invitation to the launch of the book is available at www.ftn-books.comand when you look closely at the illustration on Ko Verzuu, you see the manufacture of the ADO/ BESTELDIENST which is also available at www.ftn-books.com
This morning i had a discussion with my wife about the qualities of the illustrations by Marjolein Bastin. Is it art?….NO…are these among the best illustrations one can find on nature and birds….YES. Bastin has become world famous over the years and her works are published all over the world and she even had a Museum presentation in Den Bosch, but this exhibition does not make it art. Specially her series of cards for Hallmark contributed largely to her fame. Her craftsmanship is without a doubt of the highest quality and her subjects appeal to practically all, but because her works have a feminine touch they therefore mostly appeal to women. For me this is not art as i look at art, but i can respect the meaning of others on this subject. What i personally do like about Bastin’s works is her illustrations for children books. Her VERA series is great to read to young children and fascinating to look at and discover the little details in her drawings. Since i discovered that her works are admired and collected all over the world i started to build a large inventory of her classic publications in my store. So there are many Bastin titles available at
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www.ftn-books.com. Please have a look and use for this weekend the discount code BASTIN10 to receive an immediate discount on all your purchases.
A few months ago i dedicated a blog to Jean Tinguely who’s exhibition in the Stedelijk Museum can be seen until the 15th of March. Within this exhibition there are some excellent examples of Tinguely letters illustrated by his wife Niki de Saint Phalle.
Niki et Jean
Of course she was in the beginning the wife of….but on her own she has become famous with a highly original and recognizable oeuvre. Illustrations , sculptures, books and paintings. became her world after she had divorced from her first husband. Autodidact , she first made very masculine art, but in the mid sixties she made a 180 degrees turn and “invented” the Nana. Niki de Saint Phalle’s version of the super woman. An expressive figure painted in bright colors . This became her trademark and this figure was used in multiple exhibitions. As a statue, as an entrance for an exhibition ( Stockholm), as a fountain and hanging from the ceiling as an angel. She made these statues/sculptures from polyester and plastics and because of these frequently used materials she became ill and had to move to the US for the cleaner air in San Diego. This helped her , but after a long sick bed she finally died in 2002.
SInce her art has become more important every year. At auction her works are in high demand. She had major exhibitions in Japan, in the Tinguely Museum/ Basel and Centre Pompidou and every year i notice that her books are sought after more an more. Even the small decals which she made for the Tinguely Museum are sold rapidly. So find still some publications at www.ftn-books.com as long as they last.
No probably not, but since i have a great personal interest in book illustrations i want to share this with you. Elsa Beskow is one of the greatest illustrators the world has known in the last century. This scandinavian woman ( Norwegian father and Swedish mother ). Has made some of the greatest children’s books ever. Timeless stories with great illustrations and suitable for children of all ages ( 8-88 years as TinTin says). And since it is sometimes hard to find this series of Beskow books . I want you to know that i managed to purchase a nice small library containing 7 of these classic Beskow titles. Enough…. here are the covers…and tomorrow i promise to blog on real art again.
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
The year 1987, location Channel Surf Club in Knokke Belgium
