The year is 1987 and PLaisier in Bruxelles published the niow much sought after series DILEMMA by Joost Swarte. The series was 10 postcards, which showed a “real life” dilemma. I do not have the complete series , but the onse i have i will show you with the text and series number .
1. card 6, ” You have gotten a girlfriend pregnant. Do you tell your wife?
2.
card 4, ” You find that your wife is having an affair. Would this be a reason for you to send her away?
3.
card 5, “You hear your neighbour beating his wife. Do you call the police?
4.
card10, ” Your Friend is constantly suffering from a bad breath. Do you tell him?
These cards from this series are on request available . please inquire at www.ftnbooksandart@gmail.com
This German sculptor is from the generation of LeWitt, Andre and Judd, but outside Germany his minimal works are not that well now. Thanks to the gallery PHOEBUS in Rotterdam, he was introduced to the Dutch collectors and a large retrospectibve in 1990 established his name in the low countries.
I love his works…sober, playful and strict at the same time. At auction i almost was lucky enought to acquire a work by Bandau, but a better bid won the item. Perhaps in the future who knows, because i will be following his career, exhibitions and the works at auction.
www.ftn-books.com has several bandau items available
Since i have met my wife , we travel every year to the Alsace region in France to have a relaxing weekend, enjoy some great meals and wine and visit the Vitra Compound and when they have nice exhibition, the Beyeler and Tinguely museums. On every occasion i have bought some additions to my inventory. Publications which were sold at bargain prices….. except the poster i am now selling. This was full price but i had to have 2 for my personal collection. One I framed , the other was lost until recently i encountered it behind a bookcase still in good condition. Surviving almost 20 years in the dark. I searched for it on the internet and discovered that a few years ago (2013) one was sold at Christies.
I was surprised to see the final bid . Making the poster i now have available, a very expensive, but scarce and highly collectable one The poster is now available at www.ftn-books.com
Born in Willemstad Curacao, Avery Preesman was educated in the Netherlands. He entered the ATELIERS in 1992 without any pre education and because of his exceptional talent he soon received the second price in the Prix de Rome 1998 contest and in the same year the WOLVECAMPPRIJS. He became soon after a galerie artist of the famous ZENO X gallery in Antwerp and received solo exhibitions at the SMAK and Kunstlerhaus in Vienna and to end this lightning career of Preesman a solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in 2001. Within a period of 9 years, Preesman had established himself as one of the leading contemporary artists in the Netherland. You can only admire such an artist. During the last 20 years , Preesman has been a regular contributor to the art and museum scene in Europe and beyond.
www.ftn-books.com has the 1999 NAi catalogue available. It is the catalogue which shows why Preesman has become so famous within a period of 10 years. He is a true natural.
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
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
card 6, ” You have gotten a girlfriend pregnant. Do you tell your wife?
card 4, ” You find that your wife is having an affair. Would this be a reason for you to send her away?
