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Joost Swarte (1947) pins.

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I do not exactly know how many pins by Joost Swarte there have been published during the last 35 years or so, but i have counted 25 of which the most part can be found on Google . These pins are among the very best small collectibles there are. Most of them were published by HET RAADSEL in the early Nineties, but others were published on the occasion of an event  (Film Festival) or commissioned by a large corporation for their museum store (PTT museum). This is a world of small collectibles by Joost Swarte which has not been explored that much. The number of pins published can be overseen and prices are still fair , although rising quickly after recent auctions of these small objects.

www.ftn-books.com has 2 collectable Joost swarte designed pins available.

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BNO & GKf and Proost Prikkels 251

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The Beroepsorganistaie Nederlandse ontwerpers and the Beroepsvereniging van Fotografen GKF joint forces in a premium edition by the manufacturer of paper for printing purposes….Proost. Proost was known for its quality papers they delivered for printers in the Netherlands and abroad and every few month they published a Proost Prikkels edition to show in which way their papers could be used. The no. 251 is a very prestigious project since it contains fiches ( cards) on all the designers and  photgraphers that used their papers. There are 80 fiches in this cassette which itseld is a beautifully typically designed 60’s project . On the front of the card , names address and short biography of the designer and the back holds a picture of one of his most iconic designs.

On the cards famous names like Piet Zwart, Wim Crouwel, Willem Sandberg, Jurriaan Schrofer and Otto Treumann ao. This is the history of dutch design in a smalll box and available at www.ftn-books.com

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Terry Atkinson (1939)

 

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Founding member of the art project group ART & LANGUAGE and a very gifted artist in his own right too. He began to teach art at the Coventry School of Artwhile producing conceptual works, sometimes in collaboration with Michael Baldwin. In 1968 they, together with Harold Hurrell and David Bainbridge who also taught at Coventry. formed Art & Language. The group including Atkinson existed until 1974, when Atkinson left the group.

Atkinson is not the easiest artist to fall for. His subjects are war, disease and religion, making his paintings hard to admire. Still the use of color is in many cases bright and uplifting. Atkinson is an artists artist and had his exhibitions in the Netherlands at galleries and the van Abbemuseum in 1984.

www.ftn-books.com has 2 titles available

 

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Antonio Calderara (1903-1978) (continued)

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Another blog on Calderara, not only because he is an important artist, but because i have added a very special Calderara to my inventory. It is a very small publication published by the van Eyck BV in the Netherlands. An edition estimated to be less than 500 copies and , what is more important. The little book contains 7 original small serigraphs/ silkscreens by the artist. Like so many of his publications, Calderara made something special of it. It is the same as with his Stedelijk Museum catalogue , which also contains 3 original serigraphs. One is already sold but i have 2 more copies available of this very special Calderara item.

Artist/ Author: Antonio Calderara/ tekst by : Jean Leering

Title : Antonio Calderara 

Pages : 28 

Publisher: van Eyck bv

Text / Language:  dutch

printed by Rosbeek . this printer included 7 original small silkscreen/serigraphs within this beautiful publication

Measurements: 6.1 x 6.1 inches.

Condition: mint- for the cover/mint for the silkscreens

available at www.ftn-books.com

calderara eyck a

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What is in a name? KUNSTMUSEUM DEN HAAG.

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Is this the Iconic architectural masterpiece by H.P. Berlage ….Haags Gemeentemuseum?

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or is this the home of the largest Mondrian collection in the world….Gemeentemuseum Den Haag?

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Or is this the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, because the other names  are not known enough among the visiting public.

Yes,Gemeentemuseum Den Haag stands for quality of its collections and is worldwide known for its epic Mondrian collection and Yes …to change the name of this museum  is the latest idea by the current director of the Gemeentemuseum Benno Tempel who thinks that the other names are too complicated or not known enough in the art world and in this way it will be clear to everybody what the name stands for.

I personally have a different opinion. The name has changed far too many times during the last 4 decades and i am convinced that the name Gemeentemuseum Den Haag is now known among art lovers all over the world. With changing the name it is more likely that the visitors from outside Europe will think this is “new” perhaps even a german museum , since many museums in the German speaking countries are called ” KUNSTMUSEUM” (Bonn, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Solothurn Winterthur and Basel , Bern inSwitzerland). I think it is a pitty that every new director wants to make a change. Not every change is for the better and this change was not necessary at all. KUNSTMUSEUM is not very original and it does not make clear enough the high qualities of its collection.

The improvement Benno Tempel has in mind with this new name is non existent.

Many of the KUNSTMUSEUM DEN HAAG classic publications, published with its original names. Haags Gemeentemuseum and Gemeentemuseum Den Haag are available at www.ftn-books.com

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Siegfried Anzinger (1953)

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At the time Anzinger had an exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag ( curated by Franz Kaiser  i was not very interested in this kind of art, but sone 25 year ahead in time thingds change and now i find his work at least….INTERESTING and INTRIGUING.

Perhaps that is because i have learned to appreciate this kind of art. His paintings remind me of some of the ones Bacon has made and in the Netherlands John van ‘t Slot approached his subjects in the way Anzinger does. (Van ‘t Slot and Anzinger are from the same generation) and still they are rooted in the Austrian way of painting.

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If you try to find some information on Anzinger you will have a hard time finding it. There is some put on line by his gallery  MAX WEBER, but even this information is not very elaborate. An interesting artist, but hard to keep track of his works, because outside Germany and Austria his work is rarely seen.

www.ftn-books has one important publication on Anzinger available

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

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Gilbert & George, Bulletin 20

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In a period of 21 years the Art & Project gallery published 156 Bulletins. Among them several by Gilbert & George and one of these is the iconic BULLETIN 20 which was send from Japan to the subscribers of the Bulletins. This was a select circle of artists, coillectors, fellow gallery owners and museum who were the lucky ones to receive these publications by Art & Project. This BULLETIN 20 was published in AMrch 1970 and contained on the inside the famous drawing of the GILBERT & GEORGE portraits. It is now available at www.ftn-books.com and i am sure this will be the only copy which i will have ever available.

gilbert & george bulletin 20 a

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Go to the Richard Long exhibition at DE PONT

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Last week we were in Tilburg to visit the Textielmuseum with the Bauhaus Textiles with our friends David and Monica from the US. Linda and I preferred to see the modern art at the DE PONT instead and we were treated to one of the best contemporary art exhibitions from the last years. In DE PONT there was a special exhibition by Richard Long, who took full use of all the spaces available. The cabinets were all filled with smaller Long works ( except for the Kapoor cabinets ) and the great hall served as the exhibition space for his stone circles, lines and crosses.

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The result….impressive. Here are the pics i took from the space. I gladly share these with you since these pictures do not justice to the real experience.

The ” look and feel” of the space is so impressive, that you must see this yourself and to prepare your visit you can chose one of the nice Richard Long publications www.ftn-books.com has for sale. This is not meant as a spoiler. Just hurry up and go there as long as the Richard Long exhibition is there.

 

 

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Andras Gal (1968)

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This is the kind of painting that appeals to me. Monochrome, well not completely MONOCHROME, since there is a fine kind of structure in the upper layer. It is a bit like the miniimal paintings of Tomas Rajlich , who uses the surface of the paint to form a pattern on the canvas, making the painting not flat but finely structured. Combining his Monochrome canvasses in a way that makes them a composition on their own and there you have it , beautiful paintings by this young Hungarian artist.

Max Imdahl said about Gal.

„The painting finds its way behind every order, whether innate or trained, defined conceptually, mathematically, geometrically or by a (formal) aesthetic: it finds the ground of (absolute emotion )as a kind of elementary capacity.” (Max Imdahl)

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The above publication is available at www.ftn-books.com