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Keith Haring (1958-1990)… a special bookmark

 

Schermafbeelding 2017-10-22 om 10.28.13The year 1987, location Channel Surf Club in Knokke Belgium

Quote from the Keith Haring Journals, Penguin 1997, page 221

” I began mural and immediately attract a crowd. By the time i finish, to applause, there are 50-60 people watching. The sun is really hot and i wear sunblock and a hat. The audience is incredible ”

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This container mural was put of for sale in last auction season and found in the after sale an appreciative buyer. But to attract more visitors for the auction a bookmark/invite  was published of this exceptional piece of art and it is available at www.ftn-books.com.

Below you will find the text as published in the auction catalogue and it is well worth reading.

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Charlotte Salomon (1917-1943)….Leben oder Theater

 

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An important blog on an important subject. The Joods Historisch Museum in Amsterdam shows the complete set of “LEBEN ODER THEATER” the magnificent works by Charlotte Salomon . It is the equivalent of a written diary of her life in Auschwitz before she was murdered. The complete original set is now on show at the Joods Historisch Museum until the 25th of March 2018, but…. not only the complete set is on show, there is another way of viewing the set…..for those who are interested and live to far away you can view the complete set at :

https://charlotte.jck.nl/section

This is what makes the internet worthwhile, so visit this site and convince yourself why this is not only a historical important work, but also a great work of art by a gifted artist.

www.ftn-books.com has the very rare first dutch publication on Charlotte Salomon availablel at www.ftn-books.com

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Black Friday – Ko Verzuu Besteldienst

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Yes….Black Friday and you would expect a nice offer from www.ftn-books.com

Well there is one…. it is a very nice offer for collectors, admirers and people searching for a nice collectible as Christmas present. It is the originally Ko Verzuu designed ( de STIJL artist) Besteldienst which was one of the prestige replica projects by the ADO factory who has made ADO products for over 70 years. The factory does not exist anymore , but these Prestige editions are among the highest sought after collectable toys in the world. This prestige Besteldienst is one of the last projects ADO has done before it closed its doors. Hand built -and painted, all numbered on the base and car and each model comes with its certificate in its original ADO box. Limited edition of 250 , numbered.

It is a large model , measuring  53 x 19 x 25 cm. Condition Mint in Box.

You can find the Besteldienst over here: original price USD 245.00

https://ftn-books.com/products/ado-stijl-ko-verzuu-besteldienst-42-cm-wooden-toy-ltd-ed-250

If you order and checkout use the discount: BFverzuu

and the price will be reduced to USD 150.00

Only valid for 3 days during the Black Friday weekend and only 5 available. Have a nice weekend.

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Jean Arp and Denise Rene 1959

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Those of you following this blog , know of my admiration for the gallery Denise Rene and in 1959 they presented one of my favorite artists…..Jean Arp.

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Jean Arp was at that not the name he is nowadays but his works were collected by some who thought his works were great. If ever there is an Arp for sale, it draws interest from all over the world , but at the time of this 1959 exhibition at Denise Rene there were so many great works for sale. Drawings, Paintings, sculptures, bronzes….all were presented and for sale. I can not offer an original Arp at www.ftn-books.com, but this great and rare catalogue comes for sale  at my site today.

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SEX PRESS … La Revolution Sexuelle vue par la Presse Underground 1965-1975

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Sometinmes you have to walk i a foreign city to find a book which covers an important part of the sexual revolution of the Sixties. In Troyes  ( France ) of all places, i discovered this title with a local bookseller who had it on offer. Mint condition. This is far more than a coffeetable book. It shows the first nudity in major magazines, but what makes this special and stand out from other publications,is that it shows where these outings of nudity came from…… They came from the underground presses that published these magazines and books without any retsraint and making subjects on sexuality available in print for the masses. A highly interesting publication. Beautifully published and in MINT condition this is a desirable collectable book and available at www.ftn-books.com

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Dora Maurer (1937) …special silkscreen edition (1998)

It is not that long that i admire the works by Dora Maurer. It took me 20 years to appreciate minimal art and not much less to appreciate constructivist works, but the instant i encountered works by Maurer i became fascinated.

Dora Maurer (born 1937 in Budapest) is a Hungarian artist whose work has spanned a 50-year career. With an emphasis on photography, film, graphic design, amongst other things, Maurer has made herself a household name in the art world. Principally achieving recognition in the 1970s with avant-garde work, Maurer has developed her art career from works with contemporary and modern influences that have been shown worldwide. All of her art is based on mathematical and complex system processes. Most of Maurer’s work follows the theme of showing options to the viewer and what the viewer can do with those options. Many of her works break down simple actions so the viewer can really view the piece as movement, not a photograph of movement. Dora Maurer has in addition been a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Budapest and a curator.

In 1998 she was given a nice retrospective at the Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop for which occasion she made a wonderful and original silkscreen print for her exhibition. The Josef Albers museum had, beside the small edition for publicity purposes, about 15 copies signed by Dora Maurer and www.ftn-books.com has 3 available of these rare signed silkscreen prints.

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Just a thought….

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Are there any works of art that justify an auction result/price as much as the recently sold “assumed” Leonardo da Vinci painting?

Imagine what you could do with an amount as large as 450 million USD. There are so many within the world of arts that are suffering financial problems. Starting artists, experimental theater companies, dance companies and of course orchestras all over the world, not all…., but many could be helped with a substantial sum and if you do not like the arts, what about hunger, water projects and small micro finance projects? I can think about dozens of projects other and far better than buying an ugly painting like the “Salvator Mundi” by Leonardo da Vinci.

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Otto Egberts… SCHAAMSTREKEN vol. 4

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Here is the fourth and final volume within the series Schaamstreken by Otto Egberts. And again totally different. Shadows of animal figures are combined with geometrical compositions making it completely different from the other volumes. Beautifully executed small paintings on Danish and German maps this time. Because of the thick paper used for these maps these paintings feel like real paintings , bound again in goat leather. This series has been a joy to photograph and in my opinion one of the best artist books series by a contemporary artist. Let me know what you think about it.

measures : 39,5 x 10,9 cm.

contains : 28 pages plus goat leather cover

contains : 11 “paintingss” on old geographical maps spread over 2 pages and 2 paintings on  a singular page

signed and dated, 2000 by Otto Egberts at the end page in pencil.

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A special Donald Judd publication, 1993

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The Sikkens foundation chooses every year an artist for their prestigious Sikkens Award and in 1993 the honor was Donald Judd’s. He received the award for his entire oeuvre and delivered a lecture/speech on the subject and the importance of Piet Mondriaan on that occasion.  The title “SOME ASPECTS OF COLOR IN GENERAL AND RED AND BLACK IN PARTICULAR”. For years i tried to find the little book which was published on that occasion and presented to the invited audience. A beautiful little book , cahier stitching, designed by Rutger Fuchs, with a typical Donald Judd cover and finally i have found one for www.ftn-books.com. The book is not the perfect copy i would have wished for. On a scale from 1 to 10 i would rate it as 7.5 ,but given the fact that only about 400 copies have been published this is the best copy which is on the market at this moment and possibly the only one for a long time to come available and for sale, because these are scarce and extremely hard to find.

So if you think the Judd publication is  a “ghost” publication….it is not ! It is real!. Here is a short impression.

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Pipilotti Rist (1957)… another great Suisse artist

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Today i realized that there have been so many great Suisse artist during the last 100 years and certainly Pipilotti Rist is one of them a deserves a small blog to draw attention to her works.

As a video and installation artist she has one element which returns in every one of her projects and it is the use of bright colors. The use of color makes them like 60’s halucinations.

During her studies Pipilotti Rist began making super 8 films. Her works generally last only a few minutes, and contained alterations in their colors, speed, and sound. Her works generally treat issues related to gender, sexuality, and the human body.

Her colorful and musical works transmit a sense of happiness and simplicity. Rist’s work is regarded as feminist by some art critics. Her works are held by many important art collections worldwide.

Because of the use of Video in most of het installations it is hard to find good publications on Rist, but there are some on the market and certainly one of them is available at www.ftn-books.com

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