Posted on by — Leave a comment

Josef Albers and his Christmas card from 1952

Schermafbeelding 2018-09-25 om 17.23.28

On this Christmas eve some thoughts by Josef Albers :

Wenn ich male
sehe und denke ich zunächst – Farbe

Und zumeist Farbe als Bewegung

Nicht als Begleitung
von Form, die seitwärts bewegt,
nur seitwärts verbleibt

Sondern als Farbe in dauernder innerer Bewegung

Nicht nur in Interaktion und Interdependenz
mit Nachbarfarben,
verbunden wie unverbunden

Sondern in Aggression – zum wie vom Beschauer
in direktem frontalen Uns-Anschauen

Und näher betrachtet,
als ein Atem und Pulsieren – in der Farbe

When I paint
I think and see
first and most – color
but color as motion

Color not only accompanying
form of lateral extension
and after being moved
remaining arrested

But of perpetual inner movement
as aggression – to and from the spectator
besides interaction an interdependence
with shape and hue and light

Color in a direct and frontal focus
and when closely felt
as a breathing and pulsating
– from within

Josef Albers

The card below was the original Josef Albers Christmas card from 1952

Schermafbeelding 2018-09-25 om 17.27.03

Unfortunately this card is NOT available at www.ftn-books.com, but many other Albers item are available. a Merry Xmas from Wilfried van den Elshout and FTN books

 

 

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily … Christmas edition

On the 1st of September 2016 i started the “Piet Dirkx daily” with the publishing of a Piet Dirkx cigarbox on each day since. There were over 850 cigarboxes that were once part of the installation Biotoop at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. This publication of the collection of cigarboxes has come to an end. That does not mean that the Piet Dirkx daily will not continue. Yes…. it continues ….however the frequency will be different. Every week on Saturday or Sunday a new “classic” Piet Dirkx item will be published, but this time it will be mostly very colorful larger and extreme large items. Drawings, paintings and special publications all other parts of my/our collection will eventually be published.

So it is certainly still not the time to stop, but the name will change and be different of course. the “Piet Dirkx daily” will become the “Piet Dirkx weekly”. Starting this weekend when a new chapter in the Piet Dirkx publications will start. I did not plan it, but there was some real symbolism in this last Piet Dirkx cigarbox no. 855 published .

For all those who are not familiar with the dutch language…on the last box Piet stated …De trein staat stil and positief leven, which means the “train has stopped” and “live positively”. The last few words are maybe the most important to us all. Translated they mean:

Live positively

and on a personal note….Merry Xmas to you all.

The BIOTOOP / Biotope catalogue of the Piet Dirkx exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag is available at www.ftn-books.com

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Albert Marquet (1875-1947)

 

Schermafbeelding 2018-06-28 om 16.04.01

Albert Marquet is the next stage in Impressionism, which is of course Fauvisme of which mouvement he was one of the most important contributors. It took me a very long time to finally see  “live” a painting by Marquet. It was in the “Monet to Matisse” exhibition at the Haags Gemeentemuseum . The museum had the highlights from the Pushkin museum on loan for a short period. The exhibition drew record numbers of visitors ( almost 250.000 came to visit) and among the paintings on loan there were 2 Marquet paintings of which one was my personal favorite.

Schermafbeelding 2018-06-28 om 16.07.57

The painting shows the river Seine and in a fog the silhouette of the Notre Dame on Ile Saint Louis can be seen. It is a magical painting , just a little black, some grey lines   and some white  makes one of the best and most beautiful Fauve paintings i had ever seen. In the morning without the visitors crowding the rooms of the museum, you could visit the exhibition before its opening. It was quiet then and every time i saw the painting i was impressed. As a book dealer i learned that Marquet was not unknown in the dutch art and collectors scene, because several publications were published of which some are available at www.ftn-books.com

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Gerard Verdijk THE MOUNTAIN OF EINSTEIN

verdijk monografie

Finally, after a period of over 7 years , the long awaited publication on Gerard Verdijk and his art was presented last month in Amsterdam.  After hard work and contributions by many a  true MAGNUS OPUS has been published on the art and life of Gerard Verdijk. To give an impression….. it is thick and heavy, a publication with approximately 1000 photographs on Verdijk and his works. 382 pages, size is 12 x 12 inches and the weight…. a heavy 3.1 kg.

But what is more important, this publication has hardly any faults and is an absolute must for the art lover and collector. Edition size is only 700 copies of this 1st and only printing. The MOUNTAIN OF EINSTEIN is a book to hold, collect and cherish and can be ordered as long as it is available for only euro 99,00 ( excl. postage) at :

www.ftn-books.com or you can place your order with Josephine Sloet at : josephinesloet@gmail.com.

btw. More news on Josephine Sloet and her art in the next couple of days.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Pierre Buraglio (1939)

Schermafbeelding 2018-09-25 om 16.26.13.png

Never heard of him before until i found a beautiful and impressive catalogue on this painter some years ago. Put together is a jar the works by Picasso, Tremois and Buffet. Hussle and the result is a work by Pierre Buraglio. THis look simple , but study more closely and you will see that his art is a very personal kind of art with some subtle influences by the mentioned artists. Outside France this artist is hardly known and i do not know of any exhibitions held in the Netherlands and when you look at the very long Wikipedia lists of exhibitions held in Museums and at art galleries you will only see venues in France where exhibitions were held. Still it is a very good artist of whom some publications are available at www.ftn-books.com

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Yves Tanguy (1900-1955)

Schermafbeelding 2018-09-19 om 11.35.00

Look at the portrait and you think Tanguy is a punk from the Seventies, but he is far from ….

He is rooted in the surreal mouvement of the mid Twenties from last century and met with artists like Dali, Miro and de Chirico and found himself in the middle of a surrealistic art mouvement. His paintings are typical for surrealism, but because of the landscape qualities  and the typical Tanguy surreal elements they more look like abstract forms in a landscape than other typical surreal paintings that always have a realistic element in them.

Schermafbeelding 2018-09-19 om 11.39.54

For me Tanguy’s art goes beyond surrealism and is more an abstract kind of art than surreal. In the Netherlands there was a painter who had the same qualities. Pieter Ouborg started as a surreal painter but later he developed an art language of his own. Turning surreal elements into abstract elements. This is the same what i think Tanguy does. Turning forms in to abstract elements and composing them in the landscape of the painting.  www.ftn-books.com has Tanguy titles available