Category: Geen categorie

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Christian Boltanski (1944-1921)

Schermafbeelding 2021-07-16 om 09.25.33

For me personally Boltanski stands for “remembering” and expressing this in gloomy art. The dark side is always present in his art and publications. Now Boltanski is dead and he leaves us with some of the greatest art from the last 50 years.

Christian Boltanski was born in 1944 in Paris and died in 2021 in Paris. In the 1960s he began to develop a “personal ethnology” marked, among others, by the influence of Claude Lévi-Strauss and Harald Szeemann. At the same time, drawing on museology, Boltanski exhibited inventories of items of anonymous owners. It is often the case in Boltanski’s work that objects (photos, pieces of clothing, bells, flowers…) give voice to absent subjects and are an invitation to the viewer to meditate and contemplate.

Since his first exhibition at LeRanelagh cinema in 1968 Boltanski’s work has been shown in numerous countries. Recent solo shows have been at Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2019); Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo, Japan (2019); The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan and the National Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2019); The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2018); The Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China (2018); the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2017); Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, Italy (2017); The Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey, Mexico (2016); Instituto Valenciano Arte Moderno (IVAM), Spain (2016); Mac’s Grand Hornu, Belgium (2015); and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile (2014).

Boltanski was recognized with several awards over his lifetime, including the Praemium Imperiale Award (2006) and the Kaiser Ring Award (2001). He participated in Documenta (1977 and 1972) and numerous Venice Biennales (2011, 1995, 1993, 1980, and 1975).

www.ftn-books.com  has a large selection of Boltanski titles available

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The ultimate Francis Picabia title.

picadia box oo

Without a doubt. There is only one publication that deserves that ULTIMATE title. It is PICABIA by Ronny van de Velde who made this special box available in an edition of 1000 copies and a secondary edition, with the special pochoir print of Satie, in an edition of 200. This box which is now for sale comes from the edition of 200 and contains the “pochoir” print of Erik Satie.  This box was the second of a series of special publications by Ronny van de Velde . The first being the CHESSBOARD box by Marcel Duchamp. I once had two copies of it, but both are sold and now i am very happy to offer you this other great collectable item. Francis Picabia and DADA in optima forma. Only the size and weight says it all 47 x 32 x 6 cm. and a hefty 4.2 kg.

The box is now available at www.ftn-books.com

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Pino Pascali (1935-1968)

 

Schermafbeelding 2021-07-07 om 16.53.36Pascali has become a legend over the last decade or so. He counts many admirers and many consider his art timeless and as contemporary as his present ” brothers in arms”.

Pino Pascali was born on October 19, 1935 in Bari, Italy.In 1955, Pascali left the science-oriented school that he attended in Bari, and went to a secondary school specialized in the arts in Naples. Later, in 1956, he enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, on the scenic design course held by Peppino Piccolo with the help of his assistant Fabio Vergoz.He also studied under the guidance of Toti Scialoja, whose open teaching approach encouraged students to experiment with diverse mediums and forms. In the context of the Accademia, Pascali met fellow Arte Povera artist Jannis Kounellis. Pascali also took part in a number of collective shows for young artists: 1956, the Painting Exhibition at the Istituto Tommaseo di Tivoli; 1956, Second Exhibition “Pennello d’argento” at the Circolo Culturale dell Vittorie in Rome; 1959, Scenic Design Show, at the 2nd Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto. Before Pascali graduated in 1959 he worked as an assistant scenic designer in many RAI productions and additionally collaborated with the Studio Saraceni, Lodolofilm and Incom as a set designer, graphic design, scriptwriter, and creative writer for television advertising, making sketches, creating characters and shorts for the ads.

Schermafbeelding 2021-04-22 om 16.14.01

In the early 1960s, Pascali exhibited his sculptures in a number of art exhibitions. In 1965 Pascali exhibited at Galleria La Tartaruga. In January 1968, he had an exhibition at the Galleria Ars Intermedia in Cologne, Germany.

pascali

Pascali died at the age of thirty-two on September 11, 1968 in Rome, Italy, following a tragic motorcycle accident. His short career has served as an important contribution to post-war art.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Willem Hussem (continued)….the poet

Schermafbeelding 2021-04-22 om 15.21.13

Willem Hussem has been a long time favorit of mine and not only for his paintings , but also his poetry is remarkable. Influenced by the rythme of japanese poetry , Hussem began to write his poems as early as 1950. He is becoming deservedly more and more known for his poems of which one recently found a place on a wall in the city of Leiden. It is the same poem as the one that graces the cover of the book which was published in 1977 by Bert Bakker and Nouvelles Images which is now available at www.ftn-books.com

Where do you draw the line between the art of painting and poetry? Willem Hussem started out as a painter of landscapes and portraits but from the 1950s onwards his work became more abstract. This way, he hoped to capture the essence of an image, a technique he also used in his poetry. His poems became shorter and more powerful, which is also evident in this poem, in which Willem Hussem uses words to paint the beach of Scheveningen.

After his return to the Netherlands, Hussem also started writing poetry. His first collection of poems, De kustlijn (The coastline), was published in 1949. In subsequent collections the sea also plays a prominent role. The beach of Scheveningen, on which this poem is based, was his primary source of inspiration. Hussem mostly wrote short poems in which he ‘painted’ images for which he received the Dutch Jan Campert award for poetry in 1965.

Translated it is :

PUT THE BLUE

Put the blue
of the sea
against the
blue of the
heavens, wipe
some white
of a sail
in it and the
wind starts to blow

the book is available at www.ftn-books.com

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Marlene Dumas (continued)

Schermafbeelding 2021-04-19 om 15.41.33.png

Undoubtedly Marlene Dumas has proven to be one of the leading artists from last and this century. Always surprising original and highly recognizable. I always have admired her and i am still adding publications on her to my inventory. Last addition is the exhibition catalogue for the Cabinet at the Centre Pompidou in 2002. Beautiful and sparkling publication ands now available at www.ftn-books.com.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Leonardo da Vinci vs Johannes Vermeer

Schermafbeelding 2021-07-05 om 11.56.53

 

Since Linda had visited the Mauritshuis some 40+ years ago we finally had planned to visit the Mauritshuis. She told a story that one of her classmates had fainted after seeing ‘THE ANATOMIC LESSON” by Rembrandt, but the real reason to visit was not the story but the truly marvelous collection of 17th century art.

Most visitors interested in art who visi the Netharlnds go to visit the Rijksmuseum, but at a much smaller scale the Mauritshuis covers the same period and personally i think the collection is even better that that of the Rijksmuseum.

The Mauritshuis has in its collection THREE! iconic Vermeer paintings of the aprox. 35 known and dedicated to the artist, plus……these are among the highest rated of the artist including ” GEZICHT OP DELFT” and “GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING”. If you expect rows a viewers looking at this work of art…..you are wrong….my wife was the only one present in the room and admiring the painting from up close. This is the way a painting should be viewed and not the way the Mona Lisa is presented.

For me personally i prefer the Vermeer at anytime i hade to chose. Arguably a far more intriguing work of art and one i admire since the time i first saw it. My taste in art changed, but the admiration for Vermeer is still alive.

Beside many publications on Modern Art www.ftn-books.com also has a small collection on 17th century art.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Leo Vroegindeweij (1955)

Schermafbeelding 2021-04-16 om 15.09.15

The first time i encountered the name of Vroegindeweij was at the time i started to take an interest in the students who visited the”Ateliers 63″ academy. Leo Vroegindewij was a student at Ateliers 63 in the years 1976-1978 and finshed his studies around the time i started my publishing years at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. It is also the years i took an interest in the Art & Project gallery which was one of the f

irst to show the works by Leo Vroegindeweij. I like his sculkptures however they are not very suited for the living room and really need space and only galleries and museum s can presdent them in a proper way and for me that is the reason i never considered buying a work by Vroegindeweij. They need “room to move” and it is hard to realize such space in a family home. Still, his works must be admired and whenever a small one comes to the market i promissed myself to reconsider buying one.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Jurriaan Schrofer ( continued )

 

Last month…. on the bookmarket…. i found a series of beautiful and typical late Sixties designs by Jurriaan Schrofer. Schrofer is together with Wim Crouwel the other favorit dutch designer from the Sixtie.

A Pop Art like style he developed over the decade and used this for his projects and the series he made for Museum Journaal is one of the most impressing from that decade. The series is now for sale in separate volumes at www.ftn-books.com, nbut for the collector that desires them all please contact me at wilfriedvandenelshout@gmail. com for a special offer of all volumes available.

schrofer MJ b

 

 

 

 

Excellent piece on Schrofer written in French at this site:

Jurriaan Schrofer

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Will Alsop (1947-2018)

 

Schermafbeelding 2021-04-13 om 13.10.37

Here is the text that can be found on the pages of the agency of the late  Will Alsop. It is one of the architects from outside the Netherlands who designed several projects over the decades in the Netherlands. This is how i learned to appreciate the projects by Alsop.

Schermafbeelding 2021-04-13 om 13.09.14

The late Prof. Will Alsop OBE RA was a prominent architect, artist and educator who established aLL Design in 2011. He was awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize for Peckham Library, London and the first RIBA Worldwide Award for The Sharp Centre for Design (OCADU), Toronto, amongst numerous other prestigious accolades for a multitude of projects. His work encompassed all sectors of architecture including urban and landscape design and planning. His studio practice incorporated fine art painting, writing and modelmaking.

Will’s core values were innovation, expression and originality with an emphasis on enjoyment. He worked on a vast array of projects and in all scales; from a bandstand in London to the French Government HQ in Marseille ‘Le Grand Bleu’ via masterplanning, urban design, landscape architecture, interior and product design. He hosted numerous international workshops and lectures.

Schermafbeelding 2021-04-13 om 13.03.09

His interaction with and involvement of people both within and outside the arts led to design that challenges architectural norms. His practice, aLL Design, was founded principally to ‘make life better’ – the philosophy extends from the design of individual buildings to embrace broader principles of urbanism and city development and uses painting, writing, consultation and workshops to further understanding of design.

Will sat on the architectural advisory boards for Wandsworth and Kensington & Chelsea Councils. He was Professor of TU Vienna and Professor of Architecture at Canterbury School of Architecture, UCA.

His involvement with the Royal Academy of Arts included inclusive education programmes and his model of ‘Heliport Heights’ won the Turkish Ceramics Grand Award for Architecture in the RA Summer Exhibition, 2016 for the ‘most outstanding work of architecture.’ The judges were Ece Ceylan Baba; Kate Goodwin; Vicky Richardson and Ian Ritchie.

Will specialised in large-scale masterplans and regeneration projects for boroughs and districts in Almere, Rotterdam, Groningen, Berlin, Manchester, London, Middlesbrough, and Barnsley, for which he won the 2003 Architects’ Journal Award for Architecture. Latterly he designed part of the regeneration of Kew Gate district for the London Borough of Hounslow; developing schemes for Vauxhall’s regeneration and worked internationally in China, Canada and Europe.

Prior to his death in May 2018, Will was also designing a bandstand for a London Park and working with a Gloucestershire farmer to create an urban farm in South East London. Many of Alsop’s designs, such as the Glenwood Power Plant in Yonkers, New York; OCADU, Toronto, Gao Yang International Cruise Terminal, Shanghai and the HQ of the French government in Marseilles have become icons for their cities, encouraging and increasing tourism and establishing Will as a visionary in the field of architecture.

www.ftn-books.com has some publications on Alsop available at this moment

alsop

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Another visit to the Stedelijk Museum

Readers know and read  that i was not very enthousiastic about the presentations of the Stedelijk Museum during our last visits. Very little that was appealing and lacking all the quality the Stedelijk Museum is famous for.

Last week we visited the Stedelijk again and what a difference. This was an excellent presentation/exhibition with all the art the Stedelijk Museum is famous for and with some great additions. the Bruce Nauman exhibition itself was well worth visiting, but what pleased me the most was the way some of the highlights from the collection were put together on show in BASE  1 and BASE 2.

A true feast and the only part i thought was not there was some of the Minimal Art from the collection.

The first picture is the one on the Wim Crouwel publications the Stedelijk commissioned during the Sixties and Seventies. Recognized as top quality design and becominmg more and  more important as part of the collection. many of these publications are also available at www.ftn-books.com.

Rating this presentation….B+.