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Aat Veldhoen (1934-2018)

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Art collecting is full of surprises. I started collecting books and art some 50 years ago and in this time I encountered some amazing works of art. I bought only a few and “forgot” to buy many, but I always had an open mind for great techniques. Aat Veldhoen was such an artist. He was arguably the first dutch artist who made his art available for the common people. Selling rotaprints by Jasper Grootveld these “erotic” prints were not appreciated and thought to be pornographic.

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These erotic prints can be considered the same as the Japanese Shunga prints, but with less colour and possible more realistic. Still the technique is stupendous. Lifelike figures making love, not hiding themselves and enjoying each other. Veldhoen became famous for these prints and drawings and during his life eventually was admired for them. Now culminating in a great solo exhibition at Museum Kranenburgh ( https://www.kranenburgh.nl/english/exhibitions-and-activities/aat-veldhoen-art-of-life). Unfortunately coles at this moment because of the Covid-19 virus, but hopefully open again later in June. Seeing these great drawings I have a feeling to compare these with Lucian Freud his works. the human figure in all its glory, not hiding anything.

Why this blog on Veldhoen now. …….Yesterday I met with a client who wanted very much to by the Jan Cremer i had in my collection for over 30 years. We made a deal and I sold him the Cremer. Today he came to fetch it and brought a beautiful drawing by Veldhoen of his former wife KABUL. I was very much impressed with this drawing and I could buy it from the Cremer buyer. So now this drawing is mine and I am still impressed by it. There are not many drawings by Veldhoen. A great many of them were destroyed and cut, but this remains and was in its former private collection for over 30 years. It was bought directly from Veldhoen and his a fitting ” Heijdenrijk” frame which enhance s the drawing. A classic ‘nude pose” of by Kabul makes this a typical Aat Veldhoen drawing.

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Aat Veldhoen (1934 – 2018) lived for and surrounded himself with his art. He worked in his teeming house and studio on Amsterdam’s Wittenburgergracht. The creative urge that underscored his versatile oeuvre, including drawings, etchings, paintings, photos, ceramics and sculptures, remained unwavering to the end.

Desire, love, sex, illness, old age, death

After studying drawing, Veldhoen set about documenting desire, love, sex, illness, old age and death, all with uncompromising zeal and compassion. This exhibition includes work Veldhoen made after suffering a partial paralysis at the age of 69, as well as Polaroids from the Rijksmuseum collection which have never been shown before.

Veldhoen’s exceptional and enduring curiosity for everything human resulted in an intimate, lifelong study of those around him. We see this in Veldhoen’s countless portraits of himself and his family, friends and artists.

Life and art

The works in Aat Veldhoen – Art of Life show remarkable connections with the work of those he knew and encountered. His life and art were inextricably intertwined. The result is a personal and tender view of human existence. Since Veldhoen often portrayed himself, the viewer is no longer the only voyeur.

for more information on the drawing please inquire at ftnbooksandart@gmail.com

 

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13 sculptors from Paris…cat no 50

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Published within the Stedelijk Museum series with no. 50, designed by Willem Sandberg and with the “creme de la creme” of sculptors from France / Paris, this has arguably become one of the most important exhibitions and catalogues for the Stedelijk Museum from the Fifties. Within the catalogue you will encounter only the most famous of names. Here they are: Brancusi, Gonzales, Gargallo, Laurens, Arp, Chauvin, Zadkine, Lipchitz, Giacometti, Richier, Couturier and Auricoste. Another important aspect to this exhibition is the catalogue. It uses multiple kinds of brown and glossy papers, making this one of the first for a series of catalogues which were designed by Willem Sandberg in such a way for the Stedelijk Museum. This design was typical for Sandberg in the Fifties and he continued to use these papers throughout his career as a designer. Wim Crouwel broke with this tradition and presented a much cleaner, more contemporary design, but i admire these Sandberg catalogues and this is probably one of the very best and most important.

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Josep Vallribera (1937)

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Vallribera in his art, books and of course his personal history has its roots strongly planted in the Spanish soil. Influences of Miro, Chilida and Tapies one can recognize in his works , but his abstract art is also personal and original . Vallribera is known in his own country, but throughout his career he mainly was presented in Germany where he had multiple gallery and museum presentations. The book that is now for sale at www.ftn-books.com was published by the gallery Carinthia and gives an almost perfect overview of Vallribera and his art.

vallribera

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Günter Wintgens (1951)

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Not much information to be found on Günter Wintgens, but still he has had quite a few exhibitions all over Europe according to his biography and now is selling on Saatchi art.

Picture planes in Günter Wintgens’s work Pictorial motifs with diaphanous planes form a central aspect of Günter Wintgens’s work. Their optical transparency, intuiting or understanding the partially concealed planes, plays with visitors’ curiosity. It allows them to recognize several pictorial planes at once. Hence, they perceive the amount of time that has passed from one stage of the creative process to the next, and are able to guess, to a certain extent, the history behind the creation of this picture. For the fragmented motifs, made up of countless, particle-like brushstrokes across a mono- or polychromatic ground, the passage of time is also an important aspect. Although it also applies to the process of creating the painting, it is mainly true of the element of instability—the apparent motion evoked by the painting’s shimmering texture, and often reinforced by its format, the tondo. Also important is the aspect of communicating information. Each bit is legible by itself, but because the individual planes of information are assembled and layered on top of each other, visitors are offered a new, conceptual projection surface. Yet another aspect is clearly of a spiritual nature: the constantly recurring question about the real essence of things. Behind a veil both delicate and tear-resistant, the answer to this question stoutly resists comprehension.

www.ftn-books.com has an early Wintgens catalogue available

wintgens

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Ah Xian (1960)

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I am not the greatest fan of Chinese art, althought i have learned to appreciate some of the artists and their works. One of the last to admire was the artist Ah Xian whose works were exhibited in the “stijl zalen” of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. They blended like they were meant to have been made for this location. Specially the “GOUDLEER” and Chinese rooms were a feast to the eye. Now i have acquired the exhibition catalogue for this exhibition. It is the one that sold out almost instantly. available at www.ftn-books.com

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Chinese artist Ah Xian lives and works in Sydney where for nearly two decades he has explored aspects of the human form using ancient Chinese craft methods including porcelain, lacquer, jase, bronze, and even concrete. The artist often uses busts of his own family members including his wife, brother, and father onto which he imprints traditional designs with a vivid cobalt blue glaze. via Colossal.

ah xian

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chateau Mouton Rothschild…the labels

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The idea originated in 1924 when Jean Carlu was invited to design the label for the Mouton Rothschild 1924 it took another 21 years before the series really was launched, but since 1945, every label of the famous chateuau Mouton Rothschild was designed by a contemporary artist. They are entirely free, depending on their own ideas, to take their inspiratrion from the theme of the vine, from the pleasure of drinking, from the symbol of the ram or simple from a particular concept of Mouton. All artists to date have accepted these terms. Since 1974 the choice of painters approached by Mouton is done by the Baron and in later years by Philippine his daughter. The label design is an honor and the recognition of being one of the great names in Modern Art. among the artists are the absolute greatest names in Modern Art. Warhol, Picasso, Steinberg, Haring and Georg Baselitz for which presentation this catalogue was published in 1992. Their payment? ….it is said that there is no payment except they receive their weight in wine.

available at ww.ftn-books.com

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Wim de Haan (1913-1967)

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Wim de Haan was a self taught artist . He invented a kind of art which can not be compared with anything made in the Fifties and Sixties. If there is an influence i would say early Cobra and Miro, but the result was very WIM DE HAAN art. Sculptures paintings, drawings all are exceptional works of art  and i really admire his art. I think his paintings are one of a kind and very appealing. His sculptures are like viewinh boxes. Opening up and with a look into a fantasy world which is typically de Haan. One of the most recent exhibitions is an exhibition from almost 40 years ago and it is now time for another major exhibition on Wim de Haan to give him a platform he deserves after so long a time.

 

Wim de Haan was born as Willem Jacobus de Haan in Amsterdam on the 14th of June, 1913. He was active as a painter and as an assemblage artist. De Haan grew up in Haarlem. In 1937 he was sent to Indonesia by the company that he worked for, where he worked as a stevedore and insurer until 1942. In addition to that he was also an actor. He is fascinated by the eastern mentality and takes in a lot of this culture. In 1942 he becomes a Japanese prisoner of war and is forced to work on the Burma Railway. He barely survives this camp and returns in 1946 to the Netherlands. For several years he studies philosophy, psychology and social sciences, he briefly was the manager of an orphanage and he draws and writes poems. In 1951 he published “Freedom in captivity,” a thesis on group phenomena in Japanese prisoner of war camps. In 1953 he decided to fully devote himself to drawing and painting. As an artist he was self-taught. In the beginning his first paintings and drawings exhibited an elaboration of themes and motifs that initially display a strong evidence to pre-war surrealism, soon after his works went into an abstract expressionist direction, in which a clear distinction can be made in his drawings and paintings. His drawings are ruled by expressive line structures, which more or less allow insightful signs tob e recognized. With continuance he keeps researching the possibilities of pen, brush, ink and paper. His unbound utilization of lines are characterized by his drawing style. The lyrical abstract paintings that arise from this process are characterized by abstract signs and unclear confined colored spots. Later on he began to mix ash, sand and other materials in his paints. At that point his painting artistry ran parallel for some time to that of his Dutch friend Jaap Wagemaker (1906-1972). Both are members of the ‘Liga Nieuw Beelden’ (League New Images). Constantly looking for new opportunities, De Haan decides to take a different path in 1957. The two-dimensional plane is broken up by his use of cut-outs, protruding and recessive surfaces. There are all kinds of ‘objets trouvés’ (found objects) added. Finally in 1958, a first exhibition of his work was held at the Galerie ‘t Venster in Rotterdam. As from the 60’s De Haan exhibited on a regular basis in London, but also in Cambridge, Lyon and Frankfurt. At that time he also joined the group ‘Europa’ and the group Oekwa with which he exhibits in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. After 1962 he creates free-standing objects, in which -even more than in his earlier works- his interest in magic and mysticism is reflected. Wim de Haan dies in 1967 in Amsterdam. In that year a memorial exhibition is held in London at the Grosvenor Gallery and about a decade later a big retrospective exhibition of his works is opened in 1975 at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

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Berend Strik (1960)

Berend Strik creates images with embroidery. Using thread and needle his images get an extra dimension, The result a strange picture of a realistic composition enhanced by an almost abstract image created with thread. Original , very personal and sometimes very explicit images occur. loo at the series CANDLE 1. 2 and 3 . And from a distance you see abstract elements but look closer you will see 3 explicit scenes. Strik is a highly original artist and i still feel regret of not having bought a nice embroidered “painting” when i had the chance a few years ago, but who knows what the future will bring.

Here follows the text from the Berend Strik site in which Rem Koolhaas commented on the works by Strik:

I don’t know quite why, but in this society at this point in time we are being urged to curb our enthusiasm. Enthusiasm creates vulnerability, it’s not cool and often seems rather ridiculous. Enthusiasm is a risk; you can get it completely wrong. But this afternoon I want to openly proclaim my enthusiasm for this new work by Berend Strik. I am fascinated by this work.
I won’t try to convince you; I just want to share with you why I am so enthusiastic. The painting is based on Strik’s photo of the floor in Jackson Pollock’s studio – part of a series of ‘artist’s studios’, all based in principle on an invasion of privacy. The floor is covered in smudge splashes. You can spot the outline of the canvases that once lay on the floor. Strik surreptitiously inserts his own work in that relatively clean, empty space. In this way, Strik introduces a new genre: the involuntary collaboration. It is a stroke of strategic genius, disguised as homage. Inserting yourself in a history that seemed to be closed…
Pollock was a real man in the days when white men were still popular. A carefully staged action painter. An artbeast.
His work appears macho but you can also see it as meticulous doodles, a tissue of threads made of ink and paint. Pollock’s surface is harmonious rather than wild – Berend isn’t wild either – so why does his combination have this strong conviction? Perhaps it is the planks that give this work its unique impact. Neither Pollock nor Strik – both really embroiderers – want to give their work visible structure but here the subdivision created by the planks has raised both to a more powerful level, given them more authority. It is time to take a fresh look at Berend Strik’s work – and eenwerk is a unique space – really a machine – that can function as a magnifying glass. See here the new Strik – a new force with new depths.
I hope you see what I see – in this unique one-off setup – and that your observation will have consequences for Strik’s future.

www.ftn-books.com has several titles on Strik of which the BODY ELECTRIC title is the most important one with an original embroidered cover

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Edmond Baudoin (1942)

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For me personally, Bauoin is one of my comic heroes. Of course there are Herge and Franquin and many others from the golden age of European Comics that deserve your admiration, but from the later generations there are only a few artists that will be historically important. Jean Giraud, Druillet and Tardi have all proven to be important, but for me there is another artist, a comic hero, who belongs in this row of great names. One that is lesser known but somebody who moves on the crossroads of comic and graphic novel.

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Edmond Baudoin is that artist. Left school at the age of 16 and has been drawing and writing comics since. The style….realistic…the stories poetic and taken from his personal life.

www.ftn-books has the LE PORTRAIT book by Baudoin now available.

baudoin portrait

 

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Luciana Matalon (1937)

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Perhaps the true importance of Luciana Matalon is that she initiated the founding of an art space in Milano as a platform for young aspiring artist to have their first exhibitions.

www.fondazionematalon.org

Luciana Matalon was born in the Veneto region but moved to Milan where she made her debut in 1968. As a multifaceted artist she dedicated herself to painting, scuplture and the creation of jewellery.

Her artstic studies took place mainly at Milan’s Accademia di Brera and during periods spent in a variety of foreign countries. Since 1966 she has taken part in numerous exhibitions and has organized her own in Europe, America and Japan.

In 2000 the artist set up a self-titled foundation in Milan, where she aspired to create a new museum space to become an international crossroads of new ideas and new artistic orientations. Moreover, since 2006 she has been promoting the Premio Beniamino Matalon per le Arti Visive (Beniamino Matalon Prize for Visual Arts), which has a duration of two years, with the aim of stimulating artists under the age of 35 to produce work that is meaningful and worthy, whilst supporting them in their  path of artistic growth.

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www.ftn-books.com has the 1981 Matalon catalogue for her EP galerie presentation available.