the attraction of Robert Zandvliet (1970)
I can not add more than the short documentary the fantastic HOLLANDSE MEESTERS series made on this artist. Unfortunately it is in dutch, but the images tell more than a 1000 words.
books available at www.ftn-books.com on Robert Zandvliet
Frans Franciscus (1959)
There was a time that i wanted to buy a very large painting by Frans Franciscus. I had seen it, i do not remember where or when, but wanted to see the painting in real life because i had my doubts about its size. To see the painting we visited the studio of Franciscus which he shared with Erwin Olaf, who was only locally known as a photographer. I remember it was somewhere behind the Amstel hotel and it must have been some 25 years ago. Still i remember the painting. It was a scene below the surface of the water and included several nude figures. I tried to find it on the internet , but could not find it. When we saw the painting in reality we concluded it was much too large . It would have covered the entire wall above our bed, leaving no space around it at all. This was a wise decision we made, but when i had a chance to acquire a nice print by Franciscus a few years ago i did not hesitate to buy it and it is now for sale
…..and of course for some classic Frans Franciscus publications visit www.ftn-books.com
Piet Dirkx daily …518
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Ian Hamilton Finlay and Little Sparta
“Little Sparta” is the art filled garden of Ian Hamilton Finlay. IHF for some, because of his poems, a controversial artist, but for others a deserved nominee for the Turner price and invited for the Documenta 8, was a Scottish born artist who was evacuated to the Orkney Islands at the beginning of WWII but later joined the British army in in 1942. Since 1963 he publishes his own poetry and limited editions with the the Wild Hawthorne Press.
A publishing company owned by IHF himself. The little Sparta garden is filled with his poetry carved into stone , but beside these objects the garden itself is a true haven of tranquility and when of the classic works in the LAND ART scene.
www.ftn-books.com has some nice publications by and on Ian Hamilton Finlay.
Piet Dirkx daily …517
Piet Dirkx cigarbox 517
Kees van Bohemen (1928-1985)
Yesterday i mentioned the POSTHOORNGROEP and one of its members was Kees van Bohemen.
I remember that at one time, me and my parents visited a restaurant next door to the Haagse Kunstkring on the Denneweg in Den Haag and my mother told me that at the bar was a famous The Hague artist….Kees van Bohemen. I only knew his name from the paintings i had seen at the Gemeentemuseum, but possibly this was the first time i saw a true artist/painter in the “wild”. I remember he was drinking a beer and never left the bar during our meal. Many years later we met again in the Gemeentemuseum and at that occasion van Bohemen was offering his publications and some prints to be sold at the museumstore of the Gemeentemuseum. We took some of them in consignation and since i have been following his career. Making exhibitions at Pulchri, Kunstkring and Delta gallery it always struck me that his style was typical sixties and highly recognizable. Nowadays you encounter his works at the less prestigious auctions ( Venduehuis and AAG) but this does not mean they are not to be admired, they may not be in a price bracket of the Warhol’s and Basquiat’s, but that is not what art is about. The art of van Bohemen is admirable and deserves to be collected and shown in museums and fortunately many do admire his works. Here are the publications available at www.ftn-books.com
Piet Dirkx daily …516
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Willem Hussem (1900-1974) and the “Posthoorngroep”
What about these glasses!….it is the first thing you see when you look at this portrait of Willem Hussem, a dutch painter from the Hague who formed together with Nanninga , Roede and Bohemen the core of the “Posthoorngroep”. The met weekly in the famous cafe de Posthoorn where they discussed art and everything else, but most of all inspired each other to some of the greatest art found in the Netherlands in those days, Among them Willem Hussem was perhaps the most diverse ( painting , sculpture and poetry), but certainly one of the most outspoken member of the group. Willem Hussem his works are spread all over the Netherlands in Museums ( Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Stedelijk Museum, Dordrechts museum) and many private collections. If you are searching to add a beautiful Hussem to your collection, let me know because i know of the whereabouts of some excellent paintings that are for sale by this great artist and of course www.ftn-books.com has some nice publications available.
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