FTN-blog

When Ute and Werner Mahler embarked on their first collaborative project in 2009, they had been in a relationship for over 40 years. Both highly accomplished photographers in former East Germany, they continued to flourish after German reunification. Having studied photography in Leipzig, they worked as freelancers on both commissioned assignments and personal ventures. In 1990, they co-founded the renowned Ostkreuz photography agency with five other esteemed East German photographers. Although they had assisted each other on various projects for many years, it wasn’t until their self-initiated project “Mona Lisas of the Suburbs” that their collaboration took a new form.

Together, they have since created numerous photography series, including “Small Town”, which documents German communities with populations ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 people. Many of these towns have been facing a significant decline in population as more and more residents move to larger cities in search of employment, culture, and well-established infrastructures. To gain an insight into the lives of those who remain, the Mahlers traveled across Germany, capturing the essence of these dwindling communities, particularly for young people. Their images often portray the stereotypes associated with small towns: unsightly architecture, violations of urban planning, close-mindedness, and a sense of desolation. However, their aim was not to expose these places and their inhabitants, but to examine a prevalent phenomenon and search for glimmers of hope.

The Mahlers’ series “Strange Days” features large-format pictures that are, at first glance, not typical of their photographic style. With vividly colored, almost abstract, and notably enigmatic motifs, the pictures exude an aura of mystery. In their work, the Mahlers often stumbled upon surreal scenes that lingered in their minds for a considerable time. This prompted them to actively seek out unusual phenomena and capture them through their lens. Surprisingly, their “expeditions” did not take them to far-flung destinations, but rather through the neighboring state of Brandenburg. In this unassuming region, they stumbled upon a container filled with a bizarre-looking group of trees, destined for transport. They also discovered a dilapidated mural in the dining room of a deserted Russian army camp, its peeling paint revealing a unique beauty.

Through their long-term projects, Ute and Werner Mahler explore the dynamic between humans and nature in various ways. Driven by their insatiable curiosity and their remarkable attention to detail, they uncover stunning visuals in the most unexpected of places – their immediate surroundings.

www.ftn-books.com has the Fotomuseum invitation on the Mahlers available.

Renowned as a pivotal German artist born on March 8, 1931, Heinz Mack is celebrated for his fundamental role in the ZERO movement, which he co-founded with Otto Piene in 1957. His innovative body of work, encompassing op-art, light art, and kinetic art, has been exhibited at major art events such as Documenta in 1964 and 1977, and he notably represented Germany at the Venice Biennale in 1970.

Hailing from the picturesque town of Lollar, Germany, Mack’s artistic journey began at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he honed his craft from 1950 to 1956. In 1957, Mack and Otto Piene started a series of “Abendausstellungen” (evening exhibitions) at their Düsseldorf studio. These gatherings marked the birth of the ZERO group, with Mack, Piene, and Günther Uecker at its core, and eventually led to the formation of the international ZERO movement. This avant-garde collective included greats such as Yves Klein, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, and Jean Tinguely, who together explored new artistic expressions and mediums.

In the early 1960s, Mack, along with Gotthard Graubner, contributed to art education as a teacher at the Lessing Gymnasium in Düsseldorf. The year 1964 was significant for Mack, Piene, and Uecker, as they presented the “ZERO Lichtraum (Hommage á Lucio Fontana)” at Documenta in Kassel, solidifying their influence in the art world. Mack’s exploration of artistic boundaries continued with a stay in New York from 1964 to 1966, culminating in a solo exhibition at the Howard Wise Gallery in 1966.

www.ftn-books.com has several Mack titles available.

Raised in a long line of artists, Nuria was constantly surrounded by art – both physically, in and outside the house, and in late night conversations with her parents in their ateliers. Her sister and herself were steeped in the world of art from a young age. Even during summer vacations in Italy, the escape from the intense 48 degree heat was often found in old churches and museums, rather than the swimming pool. This was where her deep interest in art began to take root.

After completing high school, Nuria enrolled in the University of Amsterdam to pursue Cultural Studies. However, after just one month, she knew it wasn’t the right fit. She then attempted to study Psychology at the University of Tilburg, but once again, it didn’t feel right. To clear her mind, she traveled to Florence, Italy and took a two month language course. Surrounded by a plethora of paintings, churches, frescoes, and statues, she felt truly content, and it was in this moment that she decided to embark on a path studying her greatest passion in life: art.

In 2012, Nuria began her studies at the art academy in Maastricht with the intention of learning how to paint. However, she soon discovered her true calling in video art. Combining her own music with captivating video imagery, she found a new medium to express herself. The weather often served as an inspiration and even became the subject of her videos. In 2014, she graduated with a video installation telling the story of a love affair between summer and autumn. Just two months later, she returned to painting once again.

Initially, the paintings portrayed movie scene-like setups in a figurative manner. However, over time, the subjects evolved into more abstract representations. Despite this shift, the weather continued to hold a significant place in her artwork – she strived to capture the essence of a particular moment, a day in a season, a memory, or a specific type of lighting. The colors imbued the atmosphere while the interaction between the subjects crafted the scenario: beckoning, repelling, drifting, falling, soaring, or being swept off the canvas; mirroring the laws of nature and also capturing a more personal perspective – the interplay between individuals or one’s own state of mind.
Currently, Nuria resides in both Rotterdam and the countryside near Maastricht – her hometown and a place she frequents more often now. Living in the countryside invigorates her with positive energy. Moreover, engaging in late-night discussions in her studio is an experience she wouldn’t trade for anything.
“This is where you can smell the changing seasons, hear the rustle of leaves in the wind, and witness a unique type of illumination.
Ultimately, for me, the utmost goal is to express and transmit something from within, to the outside world; be it a reflection of what resides within oneself. It’s like capturing a moment that caught your eye, a moment that formed a universe of its own in that instant, and bringing it to life again. Just like a Camera Obscura, back and forth.

www.ftn-books.com has one Nuria Maria Item available.

The Public Land Survey System, also known as the Jefferson Grid, was the system used by surveyors in the late 18th century to divide the middle and western regions of the United States into neat squares, each exactly one mile by one mile. However, due to the earth’s curvature, the lines tapered towards the north. This required the grid to be corrected: grid corrections were made every 20 miles to reconcile theory and practice.

During a residency in Wichita, Kansas in 2016, aerial photographer Gerco de Ruijter drove along these straight roads and encountered them: small kinks and T-junctions amidst an otherwise perfectly geometrical network of roads. The variations in the grid create a diverse and dynamic series of images that both alienate and captivate the viewer. With the help of Google Earth, De Ruijter combed through thousands of these corrections, documenting them in different seasons and landscapes, from snow-covered cities to dried-out deserts.

www.ftn-books.com has teh de Ruijter invitation for his Fotomuseum exhibition now available.

Serving as a vital figure in the “Capitalistic Realism” movement alongside Konrad Lueg, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, and Wolf Vostell, KP Brehmer (1938-1997) emerged in the late 1960s with politically-charged works reminiscent of Pop Art.

His repertoire consists of paintings, prints, drawings, and films that assume the form of diagrams, visual statistics, abstract art, and even advertising posters. Embedded within his imagery lies a sense of irony, through which he critiques the art world, the media landscape, and society as a whole. His goal is to raise awareness among his audience of the influence wielded by images, statistics, and other “scientific sources,” urging us to view them critically and independently. His convictions revolve around the notion that no image is ever truly objective; they all carry an underlying intention. Surprisingly, over two decades after his passing, his observations prove to still be relevant in our contemporary world.

Born in Berlin, Brehmer pursued a career in printing and studied graphic arts as a form of fine art. In 1971, he became a professor at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg, and later, in 1987 and 1988, he served as a guest lecturer at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. This exhibition in The Hague is presented in collaboration with the Neues Museum in Nuremberg, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, and Arter Istanbul, providing a comprehensive overview of Brehmer’s works brimming with both serious societal criticism and light-hearted irony and humor. With his creative mind and imagination, he unmasks images and ideas, tackling themes that remain relevant to this day.

www.ftn-books.com has the invitation card for his Gemeentemuseum Den Haag now available.

The “Neue Wilde” of Cologne, also referred to as the “Mülheimer Freiheit”, exhibited their works at a shared studio located at “Mülheimer Freiheit no. 110” in Cologne-Mülheim. This group, known for its vigour and fervency, emerged following the footsteps of the Berlin “Wilden” (Wild Ones).

The “Mülheimer Freiheit” had a distinct artistic temperament, unlike the “Heftige Malerei” (Vigorous Painting) in Berlin which claimed to be a revolutionary style epoch. In contrast, Cologne boasted a stronger sense of artistic individuality. The artists of this group, Hans Peter Adamski (b. 1947), Peter Bömmels (b. 1951), Walter Dahn (b. 1954), Jiri Georg Dokoupil (b. 1954), Gerard Kever (b. 1956), and Gerhard Naschberger (b. 1955) cannot be limited to a common theme.

Peter Bömmels epitomized the individuality of the Cologne group with his words, “my pictures are about me”. Despite this emphasis on self-expression, group pieces by Walter Dahn and Jiri Georg Dokoupil were also created to protest against traditional art. Surrealist elements can be observed in many of Peter Bömmels’ works, while Hans Peter Adamski intentionally infused his works with encrypted messages.

www.ftn-books.com has many titles available on the artists of the Mulheimer Freiheit group.

Jules Chéret (born May 31, 1836, Paris, France—died September 23, 1932, Nice) was a French poster illustrator and graphic designer who has been called “the father of the modern poster.”

After apprenticing as a lithographer from 1849 and studying drawing, Chéret received his first major poster commission in 1858 for Jacques Offenbach’s operetta Orpheus in the Underworld (1858), and from 1859 to 1866 he designed posters and book jackets in London. During this period he also created packages for perfume manufacturer Eugène Rimmel, whose funding enabled Chéret to establish a lithography firm in Paris in 1866.

Owning his own firm allowed Chéret to maintain artistic control and to establish an innovative design approach. Most lithographers of the time commissioned an artist to create a poster design, which was then copied onto a stone by a skilled craftsman. Chéret, however, worked directly on the stone, using spirited brush lines, crosshatch, stipple, soft watercolor-like washes, and areas of flat color to create a dynamic image. Throughout the 1870s and ’80s, his style evolved from one typical of Victorian graphics, that is, dominated by complex decoration, to a simpler, more dynamic approach in which compositions were dominated by large central figures, prominent hand-lettered titles, simplified backgrounds, and large areas of glowing color and gestural textures. His artistic influences included the idyllic romances of the Rococo painters Antoine Watteau and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, the churning compositions of Baroque painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and the flat color and stylized linear contours of Japanese woodblock prints.

In the year 1890, Chéret was bestowed with the esteemed Legion of Honour by the French government. They praised his contribution to the world of printing, as well as his aid in fulfilling the demands of commerce and industry. As his career came to a close, Chéret’s portfolio boasted over one thousand posters, advertising various music halls, theaters, performers and consumer products such as beverages, medicines and lamp oil. His legacy served as a source of inspiration for a prominent cohort of graphic designers and artists, including the likes of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha. They built upon his pioneering work, continuing to push the boundaries of artistic expression and graphic design.

www.ftn-books.com has one Cheret title available.

Charles Matton was a visionary artist with the spirit of a fascinated miniature-maker. As a self-professed “creator of images,” Matton utilized sketches, paintings, sculptures, and films in an enduring journey to reveal and magnify the essence of his beloved subjects for all to behold. His works were inspired by the early European tradition of handmade cabinet houses and the optical illusions found within 17th-century Dutch perspective boxes. His interiors, both real and imagined, defy modern categorization, imbuing a sense of magic and wonder. Detailed yet enchanting models evoke a child-like fascination with all things tiny, meticulously crafted, and make-believe.

Born in 1933, Mr. Matton first displayed his work in his hometown of Paris in the early 1960s before pursuing a career in magazine illustration and book publishing. While working for Esquire Magazine and other French publications in New York (at times), he continued to create art for himself and a select group of collectors. In 1983, he resurfaced as an artist and in 2002, Forum Gallery New York presented his first American exhibit. He regularly exhibited his work until his passing in 2008.

Mr. Matton’s expertise in lighting and spatial depth is a prominent hallmark of his art. Mirrors are strategically placed to create a seemingly endless depth of space. Meticulously crafted sets, composed of cast and carved resin, continue into an intangible distance. The mirrors’ reflections, augmented by the speculum effect, produce an illusion of expansive landscapes. The end result is a world reflected in a looking-glass, as ornate and fanciful as Carroll’s White Knight mounted on his upside-down box.

Many of Mr. Matton’s creations are faithful reproductions of revered locations, such as Sigmund Freud’s study and Marcel Proust’s library, imbuing them with an air of reverence and pilgrimage.

www.ftn-books.com has one Matton title available.

Here is Louise Sudell on her own work

My artistic discourse revolves around architectural vestiges; using them as a starting point to revisit and position the individual in relation to their surroundings.

The “Arcoducto” is a stone bridge built in the bed of the Galligants River in the Sant Daniel Valley of Girona. The ancient carved stones form a bridge at ground level, resembling the ruins of an old building or a fallen civilization.

Located behind the Girona Cathedral and near several monasteries, the “Arcoducto” marks the boundary between the city and the countryside. It is a convergence of water and people.

I chose a site where human passage leaves a mark, with a clear diversion that cuts off the path when the river is dry or low. Here, citizens use a narrow street and descend a path to cross the river diagonally, towards a staircase that leads up to the mountain. In this part of the river, the flow can increase in the summer with torrential storms or in the autumn with sudden floods. The water is absent in the river for several months of the year and abundant in others. The current can cover the stone bridge, submerging it under the water flow.

The “Arcoducto” (stepping stone bridge) is a bridge that connects the banks (not in a straight line like many bridges), with a hemispherical deviation from the path. A distortion of the straight path. A person stepping on each of the carved stones must pay attention to their body balance to cross the river. Then, once they reach solid ground, they can enjoy the surroundings or the landscape with a new perspective.

www.ftn-books.com has Sudell title now available.

Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990) was a Polish dramatist and visual artist, considered among the avant-garde of the previous century. Teacher and playwright André Lefèvre analyzed the creative process of his cycle, “The Theater of Love and Death,” and in particular his production “Wielopole, Wielopole,” as a so-called “dramaturgy of memory.” On April 18, 2012, he will defend his dissertation, “The Passion of Tadeusz Kantor.”

Tadeusz Kantor refused to conform to the social realism prevailing in communist Poland. He incorporated memories from his childhood and experiences of the violence of two world wars into his theater, drawings, paintings, and writings in the form of memory art. Lefèvre focuses on unraveling the cycle, which includes his main theatrical works: “The Dead Class” (1975), “Wielopole, Wielopole” (1980), “Artists Can Suffocate!” (1985), “I Will Never Return Here” (1988), and “Today is My Birthday” (1991).

In this cycle, Kantor sought to evoke memories and bring death among the living through various techniques. He created memory theater that challenged the audience to make moral choices. At the same time, he caused alienation in the audience by being present on and beside the stage. Kantor employed a variety of techniques from the visual arts, such as the tableau, photography, happening, packaging and assemblage, and repetition and duplication.

www.ftn-books.com has one Kantor title available.