It took us over 3 months to move my inventory to Oegstgeest, but finally, today, i can say that we have moved the complete collection of Flight To Neverland books & collectibles. Some 280 boxes with books and 10 drawers of an architect cabinet filled with posters have now found a new location in Oegstgeest. We did not plan to move for another 5 years or so, because we thoroughly enjoyed our old home, but the opportunity to buy the new location was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A home which will suit us for the coming years. So now it is business as usual and to celebrate this i offer you a discount code until the 6th of January 2025.
Use: MoveOegstgeest
to get an immediate 10% discount at checkout.
Thank you all for your patience and our best regards from OEGSTGEEST
American painter William Copley (1919–1996), known by his alias CPLY, was a maverick storyteller, whose paintings, drawings, and installations defied the conventions of the art world. A connoisseur and benefactor, Copley forged connections with prominent 20th century artists, particularly Surrealists from Europe and Pop artists from America. In collaboration with Milan’s Prada Foundation, roughly 100 of Copley’s pieces, including paintings and works on paper, comprise the pioneering exhibition, William N. Copley: The World According to CPLY, marking the first extensive showcasing of his work in an American institution. This presentation, accompanied by a corresponding book, explores Copley’s artistic trajectory, from the 1950s to the 1990s, tracing his evolution of painterly techniques and his consistent exploration of line, color, design, symbolism, and wit.
In the early 1950s, while living in Paris, Copley honed his distinct and risqué figurative style, bucking the prevailing trends of abstraction. Developing a naive, unfiltered storytelling voice, he drew inspiration from Surrealist compositions, Mexican folk art, and American cartoons and silent films, as seen in his works from the 1950s and 1960s, created primarily in France. Throughout his career, Copley continuously revisited themes of nudity, automobiles, patriotism, and the playful poetry of Robert W. Service, also known as the “Bard of the Yukon.” Later pieces demonstrate Copley’s ongoing evolution as an artist, showcasing his sustained interest in political and psychosexual themes, surreal visual wordplay, and vaudevillian Americana. Diverse in style, these works also exhibit Copley’s keen awareness of contemporary artistic movements and his role as a bridge between the Surrealist and Pop realms.
Known for his unique relief paintings, Enrico Castellani rose to fame as a member of the renowned mid-century Group Zero. His unconventional approach involved stretching canvas over protruding nailheads, creating a striking interplay of light, shade, and positive and negative space. Throughout his career, Castellani continued to incorporate innovative techniques, such as inlaid patterns, tensile surfaces, and varied textures, to push the boundaries of his art. He also experimented with different materials and colors, diversifying his creative repertoire.
Apart from his iconic paintings, Castellani also dabbled in the production of partly ready-made installations and sculptures, further solidifying his reputation as a trailblazer in the art world. His bold spirit extended beyond his art, as seen in his influential Galleria Azimut exhibition space and journal, Azimuth. This publication featured avant-garde painting and showcased works by prominent artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Heinz Mack, Jean Tinguely, and Yves Klein.
Castellani’s captivating art has been displayed at prestigious institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Fondazione Prada. On the secondary market, his pieces have sold for seven figures, a testament to his enduring legacy. In 1964, 1966, and 1984, Castellani proudly represented Italy at the esteemed Venice Biennale.
As “living sculptures,” Gilbert & George have become an icon in the art world: initially despised by art critics for being too vulgar, too loud, and too flat, but soon becoming immensely popular and globally respected. They were the first in the 1960s to boldly and shamelessly place themselves at the center of their work. Always immaculately dressed in tweed suits, flawlessly elegant and politely friendly. In physical symbiosis, they move synchronously, composed and almost mechanically through their lives and work. In their shared universe, they seamlessly finish each other’s thoughts and sentences: “It’s very simple. We are two people, but one artist. That’s the secret.”
The artists met as students in 1967 in London and have worked and lived together as Gilbert & George since ’68. Their early work mainly consisted of performances, in which they portrayed living statues. Soon their oeuvre also included video, drawings, and especially photography. In the 1970s, their work evolved from assemblages with black and white photography to grid-like combinations of photos. The bright colors they added in the 1980s emphasized the smooth, caricatural nature of their montages. The works from this period depict life in the modern metropolis and the hopes and fears dominating the zeitgeist. In 1989, they created 25 large works on illness and destruction for a charity organization for AIDS patients. In “New Democratic Pictures” (1991), full of homo-erotic and Christian references, the artists appear completely nude for the first time.
Gilbert & George have rebelled against the elitism of art throughout their entire careers. They live in a working-class neighborhood in London and label their oeuvre as “Art for All.” Their goal is to reach the widest possible audience. “We simply cannot understand why an artist should intentionally be unclear, or do something that 99% of the population cannot comprehend. We aim to bring meaning and substance into art.” Their consciously cultivated disdain for the art world and their high productivity – up to 153 works in one year – perhaps explain why art critics initially loathed them. However, the absurd, ironic, and caricatural elements in their work are not merely mischievous parodies. Beneath the surface of the bold colors, silly faces, and intentionally unesthetic compositions lies an incredibly resistant criticism of reality.
fascinated by the works of G&G , www.ftn-books.com has built a large collection of GG related books and items.
Not only does Heartfield manage to evade military service through a feigned psychological disorder, shortly thereafter, as German zeppelins sow bombs and fear over London, he protests by permanently exchanging his birth name Hellmuth Herzfeld for John Heartfield. In 1916, he meets like-minded artist George Grosz. At that time, Heartfield – trained at academies in Munich and Charlottenburg – is still working on landscapes. He burns them. His first considered photomontage is created a year later. At the bottom of the image lies a mutilated soldier, his battered body barely distinguishable from the earth of the battlefield. Above, a carpet of dead bodies stretches to the lead-gray horizon. In the narrow white strip in the middle, inscribed in his own handwriting, reads: This is what hero’s death looks like.
Together with Grosz, Heartfield is involved in the founding of the Berlin Club Dada, in which artists unite in response to the horrors of the war. Their absurdism and nihilism are directed against the prevailing values in the art world, but also against society. For Grosz and Heartfield, Dada is just the beginning. In 1918, they join the newly formed Communist Party of Germany, for which Heartfield creates a legendary election poster ten years later with a simple but effective photograph of the hand of a worker reaching out to grasp the viewer. His communist beliefs are also reflected in the way he works. Using mass media, he prefers to work as a laborer in overalls. And do not call him an artist, but a photomonteur.
Revered as a leading contemporary Canadian photographer, Jeff Wall’s work delves into the complexities of images, representation, and memory. His larger-than-life photographs embody the visual style of advertisement, employing backlit transparencies and grandeur in their presentation. Known to recreate everyday moments, fiction, and art history in a “cinematographic” manner, he aptly dubs his work as “near documentary”. With a deep-rooted connection to his personal experiences, Wall explains, “[Near documentary] signifies that my pictures are inspired by my own encounters, and that I strive to capture those moments with utmost precision and accuracy.”
Having been born on September 29, 1946 in Vancouver, Canada, Wall attained his MA from the University of British Columbia in 1970. Dedicating his time to academia in the following decade, he pursued further education under the tutelage of renowned British historian T.J. Clark at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. His background as a Conceptual artist and art historian paved the way for his exploration of diverse subjects, including Hokusai, Édouard Manet, and even novels like The Invisible Man. Garnering immense recognition, a print of his piece Dead Troops Talk (1993) shattered auction records at Christie’s in 2012 and was then the third highest-selling photograph ever.
Presently, his works are housed in the esteemed collections of Tate Gallery in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and the Kunstmuseum Basel, to name a few. Holding steadfast to his roots, Wall continues to reside and create in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.
George Hendrik Breitner was born in Rotterdam. From 1876 to 1880, he attended the art academy in The Hague where his exceptional talent was recognized on numerous occasions. From October 1878 to April 1879, he worked as a drawing teacher at the Leiden academy Ars Aemula Naturae. In 1880, he was banned from the Art Academy in The Hague due to misconduct, as he had destroyed the rules of the board.
That same year, he stayed with the garden architect Willem Maris in Loosduinen and became a member of the Pulchri Studio, an important artists’ association in The Hague. Later, he distanced himself from the Hague School and is now widely regarded as an Amsterdam impressionist.
In the period of 1880-1881, he collaborated with Hendrik Mesdag, S. Mesdag-van Houten, Theophile de Bock, and Barend Blommers on the famous Panorama Mesdag. In 1882, he met and worked with Vincent Van Gogh, often sketching together in the poorer neighborhoods of The Hague. Breitner preferred working with models from the working class: laborers, maids, and people from the lower classes. This interest in common people was shared by many artists during that time.
He was associated with the Dutch literary group known as the “Tachtigers” (English translation: “Eighty-ers”). They were proponents of impressionism and naturalism, rejecting romanticism and other painters such as Isaac Israels, Willem Witsen, and poets like Willem Kloos.
Breitner saw himself as “le peintre du peuple”, the painter of the people. He was the quintessential painter of cityscapes: wooden piles in the harbor, demolition works and construction sites in the old center, horse trams on the Dam, or canals in the rain. Amsterdam (1901).
At the spot where one would typically expect a human head, there is instead a skull of an animal or an exotic mask. The attire is equally diverse, ranging from traditional clothing of far-off lands to futuristic uniforms, fur coats, and sharply tailored suits. Cowboy boots, pink pumps, or sandals on their feet and an assortment of objects in hand: spears, guns, a stylish handbag, or a falcon. It’s often impossible for the viewer to discern whether the figure is male or female.
Schleiffert predominantly depicts these figures on a large scale, making them larger than life. Her choice of materials is varied, from chalk to paint and from faux fur to aluminum foil. Schleiffert works with compositions of imagery, using collages as a starting point for her drawings and paintings. Redrawing is important to Schleiffert because, in her own words, it allows her to avoid creating everything from imagination.
Themes of oppression, freedom, power, and gender play a central role in Schleiffert’s body of work. By combining different styles, eras, and locations, her work raises questions about tolerance in life: her potential figures display a longing for what should be possible. Schleiffert says, “My figures are not always content with their lives and dream of an alternative.”
In addition to drawings and paintings, Schleiffert also creates installations and sculptures. She studied at the Academy of Arts and Design in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (1985-1990) and at De Ateliers (1990-1992). In 1999, Schleiffert won the Prix de Rome. Her work has been exhibited at places such as Heden (The Hague), Museum Het Domein (Sittard), and CBK Drenthe (Assen).
Per Kirkeby, a Danish creative, took inspiration from geology and natural surroundings, greatly influencing his paintings and brick sculptures. His devotion to the conceptual understanding of structures led him to work within specific parameters, containing the urgency of mark making. “A structure-less painting holds no significance to me. Structure reflects your level of responsibility towards the work,” he explained. “You can’t simply let it float around in pretty colors. It needs a core.”
Born on September 1, 1938, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Kirkeby pursued a degree in geology from the University of Copenhagen. However, he continued to cultivate his artistic practice, producing paintings, sculptures, films, and prints. In the 1960s, his performance art brought collaborations with Fluxus artists such as Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, and Charlotte Moorman. Tragically, in 2013, Kirkeby suffered a severe brain injury from a fall and was unable to paint before his passing on May 9, 2018, in his hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Today, Kirkeby’s creations are held in esteemed collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark.
Artist/ Author: Oliver Boberg
Title : Memorial
Publisher: Oliver Boberg
Measurements: Frame measures 51 x 42 cm. original C print is 35 x 25 cm.
Condition: mint
signed by Oliver Boberg in pen and numbered 14/20 from an edition of 20
