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An important Antonio Calderara portfolio

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Recently i acquired for my inventory one of the most important of all Calderara portfolio’s published just a few years before his death. It is the Tempo Spazio Luce portfolio published by the recently closed Galerie Nouvelles Images in 1975. The edition size, only 40 copies. 18 serigraphs….all signed with initials and numbered. Condition mint. I consider this period as Calderara’s best. The prints are as delicate as most of his prints from this period and these are not the small prints that are offered elsewhere but the large printed sheets that are 50 x 50 cm.

A beautiful and impressive set held togethjer in a special box, which is now 44 years and a rare offer for the Calderara fan. Box is Near Mint+, but all prints are in pristine /mint condition.

calderara ni c

calderara ni b

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Albert Van Der Weide ( 1949 )

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A good way to start the New Year.

ALLE MACHT AAN DE KUNST

A happy and healthy 2020

 The art item ” ALLE MACHT AAN DE KUNST ” ( all power to art ) is available at www.ftn-books.com

weide macht

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A classic Christmas Card by Bill Hurtz, ca. 1940

This year a classic Christmas Card for all blog readers. It is a card by one of Walt Disney’s 1940 studio employees…Bill Hurtz. he made a true Disney “classic” with this card.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS,

wilfried

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Black Friday at FTN books

Not just a 3 days discount but a total of 11 days, a one period discount of 10% on all your FTN books purchases. Valid from the early hours  of Friday the 22nd of November until midnight on the 1st of December 2019. Use the special Black Friday 10% discount code:

                                                               B2019F

 

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Giovanni Nicolai (continued)

Here is a recent update on Giovanni Nicolai, as i understand he has several exhibitions coming up and as soon as i know the dates i will let you know, but first here are some photographs that i recently received from him. The flat one is the one he was working on a couple of weeks ago, but the one that surprised and fascinated me was this portrait.

nicolai flat

For more information on Giovanni Nicolai do not hesitate to contact me ….and there are some nice draewings for sale at www.ftn.blog.com on the FTN art section.nicolai side

I have added another painting by Giobanni to this post which he send me recently. here is the message he send me:

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Hi Wilfred, I would like to attach some photos of my latest oil paintings on canvas, these photos could be useful to attach to the drawing previously sent, tell me what you think, a greeting from the magical Italy. the first horizontal painting with the female figure is entitled “Contessa Milano” 70X70 cm

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Jozef Cantré (1890-1957)

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Jozef Cantré is well known in the Netherlands, He is originally from Belgium and lived for the main part of his life in Belgium, but by the end of WWI he fled to the Netherlands and stayed with some fellow artists in Blaricum. It is at that time that some dutch collectors took an interest in his works and acquired paintings, drawings, sculptures and woodblock prints. For me personally i think i like his woodblock prints the most of all. They have a rare graphic quality . www.ftn-books.com has some of his woodblock prints for sale ( for more information mail to wvdelshout@ziggo.nl).

cantre kus a

Cantre had a very productive artistic life and together with his brother  Jan Frans Cantre, Joris Minne, van Straten and Frans Masereel he was part of the great “five”. These artists were among the very best woodblock artists from their generation and inspired each other. Personally i admire Frans Masereel the most. His woodblock prints are like comics that make up a story, but Jozef Cantre is a very close second.

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Wim Crouwel and DE VOLKSKRANT

 

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Wim Crouwel passed away some days ago and since, a great number of articles have been published on his life and accomplishments as a designer. His works will prove to be highly important for designers all over the world in the future and DE VOLKSKRANT ( one of the most important newspapers in the Netherlands) recognized that fact and devoted  a 2 page article on Crouwel in their Saturday paper. It is only on rare occasions that such a long and detailed article is published on just one person. Wim Crouwel and his works prove to be that important. The article can be found on the internet here (dutch)

https://www.volkskrant.nl/mensen/wim-crouwel-hoeder-van-het-functionele-ontwerp-en-een-onverzettelijke-rechtlegger~bf53fa62/

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Wim Crouwel (1928-2019)

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This morning i heard that one of the most influential designers from our time, Wim Crouwel, has died. The last years of his life he suffered Parkinson disease, but he was still going strong and must have looked forward to the retrospective of his works being opened later this  month at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. What better way to commemorate this great artist than to show a selection of the many items designed by him. www.ftn-books.com

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

And to finish one of my personal favorites. Wim Crouwel will be an example for many designers in the decades to comewerkman crouwel aa.

 

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Mail Art by Art & Project, 1970

gilbert george uitn 1970 a

Followers of this blog must know by now that i have acquired a large collection of Art & Project Bulletins, publications and invitations. Among these invitations , many are considered to be true Mail Art and Art & project was one of the first galleries to communicate with its subscribers in this way. From the first 100 of exhibitions held at the gallery many are considered to be iconic, but some stood out. One of these exhibitions is still a classic in the history of the gallery. It is the 1970 Gilbert & George exhibition. First there was the bulletin send from Japan. with drawings of Gilbert by George and of George by Gilbert and secondly i must mention the invitation by van Beijeren and Ravesteijn. Handwriting in print to made it as personal as possible. Here is the example i have currently in my inventory which is addressed to Kees Schippers, the dutch conceptual artist.

gilbert george uitn 1970 b

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Richard Schur (1971)

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Writing a blog on Art is not only pointing into the right direction of the greatest of artists, but it certainly is my intention to introduce some lesser known artists and explain why they appeal to me personally. The artist Richard Schur was not known to me until i noticed his paintings at an auction. I was impressed in the way he made his compositions. Constructivist ones, but not in a rigid way like Mondrian did, but putting planes and surfaces ( almost rectangular) beside and on top of each other. It was a new approach tome and had rarely seen done this before ….plus i thought his paintings are very appealing. I was lucky that i could buy two of his works at auction . One will be for sale in a year, but in the meantime i will have it on my wall and try to find out why i fell in love with it. The other i plan to make it a permanent part of my collection. Visit Richard Schur’s site to see more of his painting and “meet” the artist and his works . ( https://www.sound-of-color.com )

For me, Abstraction is a place of collective 

and personal memories, experiences and emotions.

I’m a poet, a composer and an Old Master’s son. 

As a contemporary artist, tradition is my ally 

and my enemy. I’m interested in the directness 

of Expressionism, the clarity of Hard Edge 

and the precision of the Renaissance painters.

 Through a long, systematic and intuitive process, 

then, I aim to reflect the meaning of every brushstroke 

within the whole: anything matters here.

As if you could hear the sound of color, Richard Schur creates visual experiences based on the transcendental qualities of color.  Born in Munich (1971), Richard Schur studied with Jerry Zeniuk at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, and graduated as “Meisterschüler” in 2000. From 2002 to 2008 he teached painting as Assistant Professor at the  Academy of Fine Arts Munich. Recent solo exhibitions include The Sound of Color, Galerie der Moderne, Stefan Vogdt, Munich (2017), Meadows, Cross Mackenzie Gallery, Washington, DC (2016), Manhattan Stories, Galerie Postel, Hamburg (2015). While recent Group shows include Ganz Konkret, Galerie Klaus Braun, Stuttgart (2017), Wendezeiten, CCA  Andraxt Kunsthalle, Mallorca, Spain (2016), Break Ground, ART 3, Brooklyn, NY, USA (2016). His work can be found in public and private collections worldwide including Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Guangdong Museum of Art in China, CCA, Centro Cultural Andraxt, Spain, Agnes Gund Collection, New York, BMW Group Art Collection and Allianz Art Collection.