Some 2 years ago iw rote a b;log on one of my all time favorit dutch artists…. MAARTEN PLOEG….
I followed his career until his death in 2004 and because we have the Large OK HOOFD in our collection i bought over the years an extra copy of the Dienst Beeldende Kunst booklet ( text Gerrit Jan de Rook). Now that i am reorganising my bookcase i found this extra copy and realised that the cover is special!. Nowhere else is this to be found and my guess is that this was specially designed for this 1985 publication. In all my archives i did not find this print that was used for the cover of this scarce Maarten Ploeg collectible. The Dienst Beeldende Kunst publication is now available at www.ftn-books.com
I already wrote once on the Geert van Fastenhout painting we have in our collection, but now there is a reason to continue and write once again. We have acquired another painting by van Fastenhout at auction and because i checked my bookcase i found that i have a second copy of the 1996 book by van Fastenhout. I will keep my personal dedicated copy of course, but the nice ting is this is also signed and dedicated by Geert.
The book is filled with beautiful impressive paintings made over 3 decades and many of these landed in Japan (more than 250 paintings) . My guess is the Japanese like to study and meditate with their art and Geert van Fastenhout his works are very suitable to do so. Finally i will share the painting we recently bought for our collection. Colors are hardly to be discovered, blacks, blue sand browns are all present but because of their darkness it takes time to discover them, but they are there (the camera makes the darkness much lighter) . Another masterpiece by Geert van Fastenhout.
Jean-François Jonvelle, born on October 3, 1943, in Cavaillon was a French photographer of fashion, glamor and portraiture. Work on the release of 20 ans magazine and then work on Dim, Dam, Dom, Vogue, Stern, Gala, Elle. In the 1960s, Jonvelle was assistant to Richard Avedon. During his career, he made many portraits of women, often his friends: natural young people, often naked, unconcerned. Unlike other fashion and glamor photographers, who offer a provocative woman, Jean-François Jonvelle’s performance is much softer, more natural, more jovial but equally sensual. He died at the age of 58 years of terminal cancer, 15 days after it was detected on January 16, 2002, in Paris.
Jonvelle’s work is often described as being – in the time-honored formula – ‘sexy but not vulgar’. I prefer his own description of what he sought out: ‘la poésie du quotidien’, ‘the poetry of the everyday’. Photographs freeze moments of truth, all you have to do is choose the ones that do it best. “I tell myself that the present and the future don’t exist”, he also used to say. “Everyone, every day, creates their own past.”
The quality that makes his images more moving than the rest is their vulnerability. Jonvelle taught me one crucial lesson: in photography, as in literature, what counts is feeling. Eroticism and tenderness are not sworn enemies. A downy arm, the frail nape of a neck, an uptilted breast, the curve of a back beneath the sheets, damp hair, closed eyelids, the trace of a kiss on the neck all these can be arousing. Jonvelle’s women are fresh and natural because they are unaware of our gaze. Jonvelle makes adoring voyeurs of us all. He shows us why heterosexuality can be so painful: everywhere, in every house and every bathroom, paradise lurks. Paradise delicately removes her T-shirt, brushes her teeth, buttocks pert, the curve of her breasts taut, timeless. Suddenly paradise parts her legs in silence, biting her fingernails as she looks you straight in the eye, teasing you as she waits for you on the sheets. Jonvelle is in paradise now, but for him nothing has changed: he was already there in his lifetime. ( text Photo.com )
www.ftn-books.com has the 1994 Stemmle publication now available. Arguably this is considered as being the most important Jonvelle publication. Book is in MINT condition.
With his sculptures, usually carved out of one massive block of wood, Stephan Balkenhol was among the first artists of his generation to reintroduce the figure to contemporary sculpture. With a hammer and chisel, the artist gouges his figures out of the tree trunk. He takes no effort to hide the shavings and traces of the tools visible in the wood with its knots, grain and cracks. Rather this is part of the work – an inheritance that was perhaps passed on by his minimalist teacher Ulrich Rückriem. In most aspects, however, Balkenhol did not follow the Minimalist and Conceptual trends he was exposed to as a young sculptor. Inspired by the social and political changes of the 80’ s, the artist felt it was necessary to reinvent the figure “to resume an interrupted tradition”.
I have been following his vcareer for over 20 years now and to me Balkenhol is always a surprise. His technicque of woodsculpting it at his very best at this moment asnd his sculptures grow bigger and bigger and keep getting more important by the years. www.ftn-books.com has some nice Balkenhol titles available.
The Parisian nightclub, Le Chat Noir was an absolute hotbed for the fin-de-siècle literary and artistic avant-garde, including many printmakers. In particular, the shadow theatre performed there inspired their quest for a modern style.
The club also commissioned illustrations from printmakers for its in-house magazine, Le Chat Noir, which included picture stories and sheet music, as well as articles and the schedule of upcoming performances.
In 1881, Rodolphe Salis opened the club in Montmartre, together with a group of progressive writers, as a reaction to the populist and censored café-concerts. Entry was considerably more expensive, and the tone of the songs and performances was intellectual and provocative.Le Chat Noir did not represent any specific political or artistic movement, and was described by one of its regulars as ‘ironic, cynical, mystical, religious, revolutionary and reactionary: everything, in other words, but boring.. A few years ago the van Gogh Museum held an exebition on Le Chat Noir and his artists, but the best way to make yourself acquainted with the artists is the book which is now on offer at www.ftn-books.com
An important blog, not because Buchsbaum has become important for dutch art, but for me personally he was the man who introduced me into Modern Art. He was the founder of ARTA (1947)and stayed with Arta until 1979. After this period he travelled and moved to France. During his ARTA years i became a regular customer and because of him i acquired some beautiful photographs and etchings. Some of these purchases were financially succesfull and some not, but at the time all seemed relevant and interesting and even almost 50 years later some have proven to be excellent purchases (Lucien Clerque). I know that Buchsbaum was a gifted photographer himself but rarely encountered books, but now i finally have found one which is now for sale at www.ftn-books.com
Georges de Feure (real name Georges Joseph van Sluijters, 6 September 1868 – 26 November 1943) was a French painter, theatrical designer, and industrial art designer in the symbolism and Art Nouveau styles.
De Feure was born in Paris. His father was an affluent Dutch architect, and his mother was Belgian. De Feure had two sons, Jean Corneille and Pierre Louis, in the early 1890s with his mistress Pauline Domec and a daughter with his first wife Marguerite Guibert (married 7 July 1897).
In 1886, de Feure was one of the eleven students admitted at the Rijkscademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, which he did however leave very quickly for Paris since he felt that formal academic training had nothing to offer him. Being of very independent nature, de Feure never again took up formal artistic studies, and forged his own independent path. He was however influenced by Jules Chéret in his posters for the café concert but most likely was never his pupil and became the key designer of Siegfried Bing for L’Art Nouveau.
He showed work in the Exposition Universelle de Paris exhibition in 1900. He designed furniture, worked for newspapers, created theater designs for Le Chat Noircabaret and posters. In August 1901, de Feure was nominated Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur for his contribution to the decorative arts. He died in poverty at the age of 75 years in Paris. www.ftn-books.com has the Van Gogh MUseum on this artist available.
Until one year ago i had not heard of MUGO, but a recent auction appearance triggered my interest in this artist. Truly original and hardly known outside Gent in Belgium. But this artist has kept his childhood alive and uses it for his drawings and paintings. Perhaps a little childish but certainly recognisable and a style which you will not forget. It looks a bit like the early british prints from the beginning of the Twentieth Century but transferred in time to make these by subject and appearance more 21th century.
I love these works by MUGO and that is the reason i recently bought a seceond copy of the Mugoland book. Published i a Mugo tin making this a truly remarkable object and a great collectible. The tin+ book is now available at www.ftn-books.com
Snoecks 2004, Snoecks is a yearly published book on all cultural subjects that were held or are being held in the Low Countries. It is originally published by the printer /publisher Snoeck Ducaju from Gent and the reaason why i write this blog is that 18 years ago the most important of all Snoecks was published. Here is the list of photographers that participated in that year: Erwin Olaf, Anton Corbijn and Peter Lindbergh. There will never be a more important SNOECKS than the 2004 edition and it is now for sale at www.ftn-books.com
THis must have been one of my first art purchases ever. It was bought at galerie ARTA, run by Norbert Buchsbaum, who recommended Alechinsky. I have admired Alechinsky for a very long time, but think his art has become for too expensive for me to collect, therefore i have decided to sell this very special limited edition. It is illustrated by Alechinsky and published by Yves Riviere editeur in 1974. Text by Roger Caillois. Numbered 305/450
I dceided not to part from it without documenting this wonderful publication and i very much would like to share the result. Here is the full edition of this magnificent Alechinsky item.
UN MANNEQUIN SUR LE TROTTOIR, signed and numbered 305/450, 1974
This scarce publication is now available at www.ftn-books.com
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
