FTN-blog

Posted on 19 December 201711 February 2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Jean Dewasne (1921-1999) a very special print

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Before i visited for the first time the Quadrat Museum in Bottrop i never had seen many Jean Dewasne paintings. Yes there were a few in Brussels and Antwerp, but as many as there were in Bottrop was new to me. It made me realize that Dewasne was arguably one of the most influential and important Belgian painters from the last century and the Josef Albers/ Quadrat museum recognized his importance by holding a large retrospective on him in 1991.

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I depicted the poster of this exhibition in this blog , because it is very special. The poster is a specially designed silkscreen and available at http://www.ftn-books.com

Not only the silkscreen exhibition print is special but also the catalogue with the 1991 exhibition contains 3 small silkscreens within , making this a true artist book. Since my visit of the Dewasne exhibition i always have been admiring him and i am still wondering why he has not become the great name in art he deserves to be.

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Posted on 19 December 201722 October 2017 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily …475

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Piet Dirkx cigarbox 475

Posted on 18 December 201711 February 2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

The collection by Salco Tromp Meesters and the JCJ Vanderheyden (1928-2012)

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Like last weeks auction of the Klein Breteler collection, Salco Tromp Meesters decided that he had to sell his collection because he could not find a proper location for the 770 works to be preserved and shown. At one time there was the Congresgebouw in Den Haag who exhibited the collection, but this location ended when a valuable Schoonhoven painting was stolen from the building. The 770 works were practically all sold during auction in 1990 and one of them was a beautiful J.Cj. Vanderheyden. An early “pop art” like painting which i tried to acquire for my own collection, but was far from successful because the end price went way to high. What i remember about the painting is there were several mirrors fixed to the canvas and one of the painted object was a Citroen 2VC. I looked for the painting on Google but still can not find it. I every much would like to know its whereabouts, because for me this is one of the most iconic JCJ. van der Heyden paintings ever. Of course www.ftn-books.com has the most important JCJ. van der Heyden catalogues from the last 40 years available.

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Posted on 18 December 201722 October 2017 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily …474

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Piet Dirkx cigarbox 474

Posted on 17 December 201711 February 2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Hendrik Kerstens ( 1956 )

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Today i added a book on Hendrik Kerstens to my inventory. At first glance you see a classic portrait , but when you follow his works through several decades, you note 3 elements in the photograph. The model is in most cases Paula, his daughter , who progresses in age, and looks when getting older ….more and more like a “dutch Golden Age” figure by Johannes Vermeer. Secondly the props within the photograph ( mainly hats ) are common household items. Blankets, plastic bags, empty tin cans ….all have a function within the portrait. Modern elements making a classic portrait of a beautiful woman. Hendrik Kerstens is now also represented in the US and his name as an important dutch photographer is now established among the great dutch photographers from his generation.

‘HENDRIK KERSTENS DID NOT TRAIN FORMALLY AS AN ARTIST. HOWEVER, HE WISHED TO DEVOTE HIMSELF TO A MORE CREATIVE PROFESSION AND IN 1995, AT THE AGE OF FORTY, HE LEFT THE BUSINESS WORLD AND TOOK UP PHOTOGRAPHY. HIS WIFE ANNA WORKED FULL TIME TO SUPPORT THIS CHANGE OF DIRECTION. IN A REVERSAL OF MORE TRADITIONAL ROLES, KERSTENS CARED FOR THEIR YOUNG DAUGHTER PAULA, WHILE ALSO STUDYING PHOTOGRAPHY DURING THE DAY. HAVING A CHILD LEFT A DEEP IMPRESSION ON KERSTENS. THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY, HE EXPLORED THE ACCOMPANYING FEELINGS OF RESPONSIBILITY, VULNERABILITY AND LOVE HE FELT TOWARDS HIS DAUGHTER, STARTING WITH DOCUMENTARY FAMILY SNAPSHOTS.
AS PAULA PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY GREW, KERSTENS SEARCHED FOR AN ARTISTIC MANIFESTATION OF THESE CHANGES, LEADING TO HIS INTERPRETATIONS OF THE GREAT DUTCH MASTER PAINTERS OF THE 17TH CENTURY WITH PAULA AS HIS MUSE.’

EXCERPT FROM AN ESSAY BY MARTIN BARNES, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

this book is now availabel at www.ftn-books.com

Posted on 17 December 201722 October 2017 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily …473

dirkx 473.JPG Piet Dirkx cigarbox 473

Posted on 16 December 201711 February 2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Gerhard Richter (1932)

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A grand old master from the German art scene from last century.

Here is how his own biography is starting on the Gerhard Richter site. This is one of the best biographies on the internet because it covers all Richter’s history starting in his early years and finishing in the present.

Gerhard Richter was born to Horst and Hildegard Richter in Dresden on February 9, 1932. Having married the year before, Gerhard was their first child, with a daughter, Gisela, arriving in 1936. Horst Richter, with whom Gerhard did not have a close relationship, was a teacher at a secondary school in Dresden.¹ Hildegard was a bookseller and, like her father, a talented pianist. She was passionate about literature, and passed on her enthusiasm and knowledge to the young Gerhard. They were, in many respects, an average middle-class family. In an interview with Robert Storr Richter described his early family life as “simple, orderly, structured – mother playing the piano and the father earning money”

Find the rest of this very extensive biography at :

https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/biography

and for Gerhard Richter publications visit www.ftn-books.com

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Posted on 16 December 201722 October 2017 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily …472

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Piet Dirkx cigarbox 472

Posted on 15 December 201711 February 2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948)…. Die Scheuche. Märchen. (1925)

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This blog is on a book i recently sold . The perfect reprint from 1980, but when i searched for it i found it to be no longer available anywhere, so I decided to photograph the pages before i shipped it to my customer in Switzerland and make it available in this Blog . It is one of the great books/ designs from last century:

Die Scheuche. Märchen. by Kurt Schwitters

Next year i will publish another blog on Kurt Schwitters , but to emphasize the importance of this publication i give you an integral version in this blog….enjoy!

and for other Schwitters books visit www.ftn-books.com

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