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A Willem Sandberg Xmas card

I found this picture at the Herb Lubalin center who has this in its collection. A very nice and typical Willem Sandberg card to wish you a Merry Christmas in 1958.

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an old wish, but a new one from me….. a Merry Christmas 2021

 

Many Sandberg and Lubalin items are available at www.ftn-books.com

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Harry van Kruiningen (1906-1996)

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Harry van Kruiningen is one of those dutch artist who’s importance grows by the year. He was a multi disciplined artist. Painting, etching, sculpting….he did everything. Personally i think his etchings and illustrations belong (arguably) to the very best that were made during the second half of last century in the Netherlands.

They all have something mystical and when you see where his inspirations was coming from ( African masks) one can see the mystic  and recognise the mysticism in his works.

 

 

 

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Yasse Tabuchi (1921-2009)

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Yasse Tabuchi is a Japanse artist born in Yasukazu Tabuchi on May 20, 1921 in the perfecture of Fukuoka and died on November 24, 2009 (at age 88) in Vauhallan, south Paris. He studied art history at the University of Arts of Tokyo from 1946 to 1951.

Watercolorist, engraver on copper, lithographer and ceramist, Yasse Tabuchi’s paintings belongs to the same line than that of the group of painters called CoBrA, which practiced a lyrical form of abstraction after the war.

He worked in France from 1951 until his death, his Japanase origins and his studies remained a big influence in his work all throughtout his career, which explains why we repeatedly find motifs of flowers, leaves and rainbow’s prisms made of white spots which he calls “Monads”. He uses in a regular way the gold leaf or the diptych shape.

His work has been exhibited numerous times in solo and group exhibitions in France, Japan, Belgium and some of his pieces are part of collections in museums such as the one at the National Museum of Modern Art of Kyoto, Japan or at the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris.

www.ftn-books.com has 2 galerie Ariel publications available.

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Bengt Lindström (1925-2008)

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Bengt Karl Erik Lindström was a Swedish artist. Lindström was one of Sweden’s best known contemporary artists with a characteristic style of distinct colors, often including contorted faces.

and this is where the item i now can offer comes in. It is the gallery poster for his 1970 Ariel exhibition. truly a contorted face and now available at www.ftn-books.com

 

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Lindström was born in 1925 at Storsjö kapell, Härjedalen, Sweden. In 1944, he moved to Stockholm to study under the Swedish painter Isaac Grünewald. In 1948, he moved to Paris, where he studied under the French painters André Lhote and Fernand Léger. Lindström was influenced by the paintings of COBRA artist Karel Appel.

He remained in France at Savigny sur Orge for the rest of his artistic career. He had two children Mariana and Alexandre. Lindström died in 2008 in Sundsvall, Sweden.

Lindström is probably best known for his outdoor decorations, such as mural paintings and colorful sculptures. One of his most famous sculptures is the massive Y-sculpture at Midlanda Airport north of Sundsvall, Sweden.

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galleria del Cavallino ( part II)

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Part II:

Here is the follow up of publications that will be on sale in the coming months:

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Geurt van Dijk (1941)

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Maybe not as known as many of his contemporaries, but still known by those who specialize in small and scarce publications. I stumbled upon van Dijk and his publications some 10 years ago when i discovered 2 small publications published by the Brummelse Uitgeverij voort luxe werkjes. Both titled ” VARKENSLAPPEN ” but with a difference.

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One published as a small book. the other in an envelope containig the illustrations as postcards. I tried to find moer information on bot of these publications , but only found that the van Dijk publications are publisehd in very small editrions of around 30 copies.

Both are published by the BRUMMELSE UITGEVERIJ VOOR LUXE WERKJES in 1977 and both are now for sale at www.ftn-books.com

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Milco Onrust (1961-2015)

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It took me some years to realize that the dutch gallery owner Milco Onrust was one of the driving forces in the gallery and art world. NOt only in the Netherlands his gallery became famous, but abroad his gallery became famous because of the independent choices his owner made during its existence.

Starting at a young age, during his art studies he already collected Modern art, he soon would become one of the most important young gallery owners in the Netherlands, presenting artists like LeWitt, Partenheimer, Gunn , Knobel and Swarte.

 

I did not visit his small gallery many times, but i remember it to be nearby Wim van Krimpen his gallery in Amsterdam.. What strikes me most now, after so many years follwing his gallery and buying his publications, is that the Onrust pubications are all from a small edition and in most cases look and feel like true artists books.  They are little gems among the other gallery publications. This i realized when i dove into my own art book collection and found some precious ones on Partenheimer which have some original drawings inside.

www.ftn-books.com has some of these ONRUST publications available

 

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Robine Clignett (continued ) the other side of….

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About a year ago i wrote a short story about a work that i had added to the FTN collection ( for sale ). It was by Robine Clignett. Today there is a reason to write once again on her art since i have added to the FTN book collection ( now also for sale ) a fantastic childrens book by Clignett. The publication is from 1985 , published by Moon Press and designed by another artist Klaus Baumgärtner. Printed by one of the very best Swiss printers BDV in Basel and published in an off size format. Possibly the best is that it is signed, dedicated  and dated by Clignett. The dedication is for Felicia van Deth , the daughter and successor of Guido van Deth the famous puppet player , who is known by everybody from my generation. His small puppet theater has been visited on many occasions to see one of his or Felicia’s puppet shows. This book is one of those special publications that one encounters in over 40 years of book collecting.  You feel immediately the quality of this publication and it has the same feel you experience with Clignett and her art. It is abstract, but soft and this softness is also immediately present in this excellent publication. A true colectors item.

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Giovanni Nicolai ( continued )

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With a unregular frequency of once a year i receive an overview of some of the new works by Giovanni Nicolai. He certainly is rooted in classical Italian art from the middle ages until more recent art. Just look at the two paintings below and i saw an immediate resemblance between the two female figures.

Giovanni was one of my first customers who had an interest in Massimo Rao and bought one of my special publications i had in stock on the artist. Since, we have a regular contact in which he sends me by mail pictures of his latest works. Of course there are more than the 4 paintings i have depicted with this blog. But these are now available at reasonable prices. So if interested do not hesitate to contact me and receive your best offer Giovanni and I can give you on this original Italian art. ftnbooksandart@gmail.com

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Dirk Vander Eecken (1954)

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I was trying to find some information on the Belgian artist Dirk Vander Eecken when i stumbled upon a painting by this artist. The work was sold nearby at auction. SO there i was at the viewing day…..It was there high up in the shade and badly presented to the public, but i decided to take the gamble and made a bid and won.

Now i have it in my sudy. It is there, proudly standing against one of my bookcases and i am getting more and more impressed by its qualities. It is a combinbation of painted papers, prints and tissues worked into two sides which appear to have no relation which each other accept……. study it closely and you will see that in the background of the right part a part of the composition of the left part is still visible. The right part has been overprinted/painted with some wooden/organic/vegetal parts making the painting much more complex and appealing. This painting is now for sale at http://www.ftn-blog.com ( ftn art).

It measuers 200 x 100 cm. signed by Vander Eecken and its condition is still excellent. For a viewing appointment please contatc me at ftnbooksandart@gmail.com. Vander Eecken has had exhibitions all over Europe and his works are present in the collection of the SMAK, Mhka and many more.

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