Piet Dirkx 
Piet Dirkx cigarbox 434 bis
Wessel Couzijn (1912-1984)…iI
One of the most impressive publications i have in my inventory at www.ftn-books.com is a book in a limited edition of only 75 copies . Book design by Willem Sandberg and filled with 12 etchings ( signed/numbered ) by Wessel Couzijn.
The book was published in 1966, when abstract expressionism was at its height. Great quality etchings by Couzijn who beside a painter/ graphic artist was one of the most gifted sculptors from his generation. A multi talented artist which was recognized by Sandberg who admired him and gave him many times a platform to show his latest art in the Stedelijk Museum. This publication “iI” is rarely offered therefore i am proud to show in this blog the complete set of etchings from this rare and extremely important publication. Enjoy!
Piet Dirkx daily …434
Piet Dirkx cigarbox 434
Sigurður Guðmundsson / Gudmundsson(1942)…humor in art
My admiration for Gudmundsson started when i first saw his “paper boat” in an edition of only 20 copies. The reason i was attracted to this work was because the same boat was depicted in a painting by Massimo Rao and for years both works were combined in my living room.
Now i have only the boat nearby and it has not lost its appeal in 20+ years. The edition was bought after i had traded in a Pieter Laurens Mol which was not the right piece of art in the right place and so the Gudmundsson was bought to make the Rao more complete and it stayed in my collection. It has pure humor and because of its presentation in a show case it still has a lot of style. This edition is only 20 copies and it was bought at DE EXPEDITIE in Amsterdam and is of course sold out now for decades , but i know of a special edition of a unique life size large paper boat which is/was in the collection of the AMC Amsterdam which is even more unique than the smaller i have on my windowsill.
For some nice Gudmundsson publications please visit www.ftn-books.com
Piet Dirkx daily …432 bis
Piet Dirkx cigarbox 432 bis
Marc Mulders (1958) …a real painter
Chosen as artist of the year in 2017 , Marc Mulders has proven to be among the best in the dutch art scene . A multi talent to whom i devoted a blog over a year ago in which i showed the complete set of a TRAVEL TO ROME I
https://wordpressstrato-pacfwc5kp0.live-website.com/2016/07/28/marc-mulders-a-travel-to-rome-part-i/
But Marc Mulders is much more than the complete artists he is. Glas, paint, paper all these materials that he uses do not have any secrets anymore for the multi talented artist he is. He always surprises with his works of art. Some times his work is raw and bloody and at other times it is outright sweet and lovely.
He seeks contrasts within his work but there is one constant given in his works and that is his religion. Mulders is a Catholic and a faithful believer and the respect he has for nature and his religion shows in his works. There is one other artist that i admire and who has the same attitude towards his religion in relation to his art and that is Janpeter Muilwijk ….( see blog tomorrow).
And of course when you admire an artist you collect a nice collection of his publications. These are ao available at www.ftn-books.com
Piet Dirkx daily …431 bis
Piet Dirkx cigarbox 431 bis
Otto Egberts .. SCHAAMSTREKEN vol. 2
Here is the second volume within the series Schaamstreken by Otto Egberts. At first glance this looks the least spectacular, but study it closely and you see that each page is worked over. Erased inks, sandpapered surfaces, folds and stamped “vervallen” (dilapidated). These were original maps too and i found some names which make it look like these come from the German Dutch Wadden region.
measures : 39,5 x 10,9 cm.
contains : 38 pages plus goat leather cover
contains : 32 “drawings” on old geographical maps
signed and dated, 2000 by Otto Egberts at the end page in pencil
Piet Dirkx daily …435
Piet Dirkx cigarbox 435
Barnett Newman (1905-1970)
Possibly, the Stedelijk Museum had the most important Barnett Newman painting in their collection until……Who’s afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III was destroyed by a mentally unstable artist . The painting was cut several times, over almost its total length of 5 meters with a Stanley knife. Destroying the painting completely.
There was an attempt to restore the painting by Goldreyer, but the result was just an overpainted painting without any nuances in the monochrome colors. This restoration resulted in a lawsuit in which there had to be decided who was responsible. Goldreyer claimed 250 million with the Amsterdam Municipality. The result Goldreyer had to be compensated and the Stedelijk Museum “lost” its beautiful iconic colourfield painting because of the bad restoration. The last few years the painting Who’s afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue III is on and off on show again in the Stedelijk, but unfortunately the restoration has devalued it tremendously in a financial and artistic way. www.ftn-books.com has the Stedelijk Museum catalogue ( a.o. Newman titles ) for the Barnett Newman exhibition for sale.
There is an article on Newman and its destruction in the Stedelijk by the New York times over here:
