In January 2017 i wrote a blog on Bernard Buffet and the different publications i had collected over the years. My personal favorit….TOXIQUE …with a text by Françoise Sagan and published by Souvenir in the english version in 1965. This is such a strong story and impressively illustrated by Buffet. Dramatic drawings for a dramatic subject of morphine addiction. Both versions are scarce. The 1964 french version even more than the 1965 english version, but whenever i find one i can not help buying it. This is a publication worth collecting and should be in the collection of any art book collector. These are scarce but i have found two copies for my inventory in the last 3 years and both are for sale , because i already have one for my personal collection.
It is not the catalogue which steals the show, but certainly the poster designed by Wim Crouwel does.
Another iconic duo . Both designed by Wim Crouwel, but the poster is something really special which features in many publication on poster and graphic design. Bot are available at www.ftn-books.com
In total 26 volumes within the series were published over nearly 30 years.
This ante Leny magazine was first published in 1971 modelled after the great american underground like ZAP and YELLOW DOG .
The dutch youth and music magazine Aloha had its own group of illustratores who regularly were invited to illustrate in Aloha. These artist were among the best and most controversial in the Netherlands and include Joost Swarte, Ever Meulen and from later on Peter Pontiac.
They were invited to participate with a short comic in ethe first Tante Leny magazine. The initiatave was taken by Willem de Ridder and Ever Geradt , who would contribute to all volumes within the series. The series was at that time ” vanat garde” not only the subjects, but also their artistic approach in drawing text and size was completely new for the dutch readers. These series has become a classic in dutch comic art and was published irregularly until 2000 when the last number was published. This last number is something of a special volume. It contains the very best comic artist who all had a complete free hand . The best story….one by Joost Swarte who’s main character Jopo de Pojo is strugling with a rubber condom. This latest number 26 of the Tante Leny series is now available at www.ftn-books.com.
A locally known artist…that is Dirk van Dien and that is the reason why he received a retrospective exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum “het Prinsehhof” in Delft. Living and working for most of his life in the city of Delft it was the perfect choice for this exhibition.
Yes…the city depicted by Vermeer and hometown of Jan Schoonhoven, he never became as famous as the two mentioned. But his art is pleasing, colorful and lately inspiured by aboriginal art. It is noit the kind o f artist i would collect, but i know of a lot of people who like this kind of art , because it is easy and pleasing to the eye and still complex enough to be fascinated by it. I recent ly bought the 1999 Prinsenhof catalogue which was published in a small edition of only 5oo copies and i believe it is the only one on the market at this moment. So when you are an admirer do not hesitate to buy this great catalogue because it is special for more reasons than one.
Ever since i added to my personal collection of Stedelijk Museum catalogues the Willem Sandberg designed exhibition catalogue for the Campigli / 1950 exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum i became an admirer of this italian artist. Combining abstract element with figurative painting he developed a style of his own which is time less and authentic and very typical for Italian art.
His paintings have a sense of friendliness and “Joie de vivre” nd are still rooted in classic Italian art. This artist is a true Italian master painter, but also made some beautiful and highly collectible lithographs and etchings. If you look into Campigli his exhibition history you will notice that somehow people has lost interest in this great Italian artist, possibly considered “old fashioned” since one of his last major exhibitions was held in 2000 ( catalogue available at www.ftn-books.com). Still i am a fan and consider him one of the founders of great Italian Modern Art in the 20th century.
John Lefebre will of course always be remembered for the gallery owner he was from 1960-1986 introducing many European COBRA artists, but he was a very gifted photographer and because of this he decided to photograph the artist he presented in his gallery. The result.. hundreds of great artist portraits which were at one time presented together with the works of art by the gallery artists in the exhibition ” DOUBLE EXPOSURE”. Decades later a great book was published containing many of these photographs. Both publications are now available at www.ftn-books.com
After a long career in the movie business and service in the Office of War Information during World War II, Mr. Lefebre opened the Lefebre Gallery in 1960. At a time when European art was widely regarded as of small account, he persisted in showing the European artists to whom he was wholeheartedly committed.
The artists in question included Hans Hartung, Pierre Alechinsky, Asger Jorn, Carl-Henning Pedersen, Horst Antes, Pol Bury, Julius Bissier, Klaus Fussmann, Raoul Ubac, Tom Phillips, Henri Michaux and Serge Poliakoff.
”Over a quarter of a century, John Lefebre chose to further the distinguished yet generally neglected and commercially difficult work of European postwar artists,” Thomas Messer, director of the Guggenheim Museum, said yesterday. ”He did so with total devotion, meticulous attention and, ultimately, rewarding success.” a great series of portraits can be found here: https://www.albrightknox.org/person/john-lefebre
Ronnie Cutrone (July 10, 1948 – July 21, 2013) was an American pop artist known for his large-scale paintings of some of America’s favourite cartoon characters, such as Felix the Cat, Pink Panther and Woody Woodpecker.
This is how the Wikipedia listing starts , but there is so much more to Cutrone as artists. He belonged to the first wave of New York graffiti artists in the New York region it is there he met with Kenny Scharf and Keith Haring and he even made it at one time as Andy Warhol’s assistant at the Factor. trone’s paintings are colourful, lively, and less challenging than those of his contemporaries. A frequent use of comic figures makes his art accessible and appreciated for almost any age. The first generation of street artist in the US were recognized as being important and Frans Haks from the Groninger Museum invited them for an exhibition in the Netherlands in the early 80’s. the result ….a growing popularity and appreciation for this generation of street artist and as a result gallery presentation in the first half of the Eighties, after these years these artists became less popular, but interest starts to be picking up. I have seen some great auction results recently and I expect a growing interest for the decades to come.
www.ftn-books has recently acquired a nice 1984 Cutrone publication.
This time i focus on the Frank Stella exhibition from 1970, which was at that time a first for the Stedelijk Museum. A great poster and catalogue designed by Wim Crouwel completed the exhibition, The cover of the catalogue was embossed and this made it very special.
I even had at one time the official invitation ( now sold). A great set and a future collectable classic. available at www.ftn-books.com
Many of you know that www.ftn-books.com has one of the largest inventories with Stedelijk Museum oublications. Publications from as early as the Twenties from last century. The last eight weeks i made an effort to include the many publications i have in stock but did not add to my inventory until now. I have include over 1000 Stedelijk Museum publications which makes my inventory one of the largest “searchable” collections of available Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam publications. Over 900 different itesm are now available at www.ftn-books..com
visit www.ftn-books.com and search for “stedelijk” to discover many of the beautiful publications from this iconic museum.
Jewish born Martin Monnickendam never became known in the Netherlands until two decades ago (1999) the Joods Historisch Museum devoted a retropective exhibition to the artist. He painted every day life and some great interiors of Synagoges in the years just after WWI but with these only reached local fame within the Jewish community. It was not until the DE BERGENSE SCHOOL grew in popularity that the name Monnickendam surfaced again together with Kees Maks. Both artists were fond of depicting daily life of the “well to do” . Making paintings of people in theatres, circus and restaurants. These paintings reflect how the dutch spend their days and free time in the early decades of the 20th century. He died in 1945 of pneumonia leaving an oeuvre that deserves to be re discovered.
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
