Dan Flavin, an iconic minimalist artist from America, gained fame for his unconventional approach to creating sculptures and installations using easily accessible fluorescent light fixtures.
Flavin was a visionary artist of the 20th century, renowned for his fusion of minimalism and Op art. He was best known for his unique technique of utilizing only fluorescent lights as his medium, obtained from commercial sources. These readymade lights consisted of four standard lengths and ten different colors, including four variations of white. Flavin’s focus was not only on the use of light as a material, but also on its ability to transform and interact with the surrounding space.
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François Morellet (1926 – 2016), a prolific self-taught artist who pursued painting, sculpting, and installation throughout a successful career spanning over six decades. His approach to geometric abstraction was radical and innovative, continuously exploring the creative potential of kinetic systems and challenging the viewer’s perception and understanding of the physical picture plane. Through a commitment to basic geometric forms and a methodology of rigorous objectivity and personal detachment, Morellet achieved a unique artistic voice.
In his work, Morellet incorporated a range of materials such as steel, neon tubes, iron, adhesive tape, wire mesh, and wood, effectively breaking down traditional hierarchies and embracing elements of randomness and chance. This playfulness and wit are evident not only in his artwork itself, but also in the titles he gave to each piece, often utilizing tongue-in-cheek puns, parody, and wordplay.
The prolific artist’s dedication to his craft and his transformative use of materials have left a lasting impression on the world of contemporary art. His legacy continues to inspire and captivate audiences, reminding us of the importance of pushing boundaries and constantly evolving.
Born and raised in the charming town of Cholet, France, François Morellet devoted himself entirely to his literary pursuits before returning to take reins of his family’s toy factory. This provided him with financial stability, as well as the opportunity to familiarize himself with various fabrication techniques, ultimately shaping his artistic practice. Initially, Morellet delved into figurative painting in the 1940s, but it was his visit to Brazil in 1950 that proved to be a pivotal moment, exposing him to Concrete art and the captivating works of Max Bill. Other influential figures for the artist include Jean Arp and Theo van Doesburg, along with the precise geometric patterns and ethereal beauty of Islamic decorative art, which he encountered while exploring the Alhambra in Spain in 1952. As a result, Morellet’s works evolved into simple systems and rules, effectively removing his own subjectivity and challenging traditional notions of composition. In his own words, his artistic journey became “an adventure, as whimsical as it is systematic.” In the late 1950s, Morellet was introduced to the “Duo-collages” of Jean Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp through his friend, Ellsworth Kelly. This inspired him to incorporate chance as a central element in his works, often creating pieces based on random numbers found in his local phone directory or using the infinite sequence of decimals of pi.
One of the founding members of the experimental artist collective, Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (GRAV), Morellet delved into the possibilities of Kinetic art and the viewer’s active engagement, effectively demystifying the romantic notion of the individual genius artist. Before the group’s formation, Morellet, Piero Manzoni, and several other collaborators were invited to showcase their works at Manzoni’s Galleria Azimuth in Milan. The exhibition was an intriguing one, with the artists’ names withheld at the instigation of none other than François Morellet himself.
Morellet’s oeuvre has been featured in several noteworthy international group exhibitions including Documenta in Kassel, Germany (1964 [in collaboration with GRAV], 1968, and 1977), and the Venice Biennale (1970 and 1990). In 1971, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands organized his debut solo museum exhibition, which subsequently toured across Europe. Noteworthy about the exhibition was the varied presentation of Morellet’s pieces in each venue, creatively experimenting with different orientations such as horizontal, vertical, and even upside down. Some of the major retrospectives of Morellet’s work have been hosted by esteemed institutions such as Nationalgalerie in Berlin (1977), the Centre Pompidou (1986 and 2011), and the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume (2000-2001) in Paris. In an unprecedented move, Morellet became only the second living artist to exhibit at the Louvre Museum in 2010, showcasing a site-specific permanent installation titled ‘L’esprit d’escalier’. His work is prominently featured in notable public collections including Centre Pompidou, Dia Art Foundation, Los Angeles Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Seoul Museum of Art, Tate Britain, the Tel Aviv Museum, the Kunsthaus Zurich, and the Nationalgalerie Berlin.
Morellet first garnered attention from the American audience when his work was showcased at the iconic 1965 exhibition ‘The Responsive Eye’ at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. A comprehensive retrospective of his work was later held in North America in 1984-85, traveling to acclaimed institutions such as the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, Musée d’art contemporain in Montreal, Brooklyn Museum, and Center for the Fine Arts in Miami. In 2017, Dia Art Foundation presented the long-awaited major survey of Morellet’s work in the United States, marking over three decades since his last retrospective in the country.
www.ftn-books.com has some of the greatest Morellet titles available.
We are relocating! In the coming weeks we will be occupied with packing and moving our internet store inventory. The entire collection needs to be transferred from Leidschendam to Oegstgeest, and this will take some time. If all goes according to plan, we will be fully operational again on November 21st, but until then, it may happen that we are unable to immediately assist you with your order. We ask for your understanding, but as soon as possible, your order will be fulfilled with the utmost speed.
Marcel van Eeden (born in 1965 in The Hague) weaves intricate visual narratives. Drawing inspiration from existing images found in magazines, newspapers, and books, he skillfully reinterprets them through his own unique lens. Uniquely, all the source material he utilizes predates his own existence.
This intentional choice reflects Van Eeden’s fascination with the notion of non-existence: the period that came before his own existence. By manipulating and adapting found images, he seeks to claim ownership over experiences that he himself cannot physically have.
Since 2005, Van Eeden has worked in a series format. One striking example is Cat. 2.8: Desserts (2015), a series of lithographs depicting various desserts. Although clearly not photographs, the glazed icing and greasy textures are brought to life through Van Eeden’s realistic style. More importantly, his “translations” of these images allow them to become part of a larger, more meaningful narrative. They take on new, personalized significance. Typography also plays a crucial role in Van Eeden’s work. It serves both as a preview of an aspect of the visual narrative and a standalone piece. By piecing together images from various sources and time periods, Van Eeden creates a fictional storyline.
Through his unique method of finding and utilizing visual elements, Van Eeden transforms seemingly unrelated images into a cohesive and multifaceted story. He integrates disparate sources, both in terms of content and time, to construct a fictional world. In his oeuvre, a few recurring characters appear time and time again: archaeologist Oswald Sollmann, botanist K.M. Wiegand, and psychiatrist Matheus Boryna.
I have always aspired to be a writer. However, I have discovered that building a story using photographs from magazines is indeed possible. It’s like using history as a giant bin of Lego pieces, with each piece representing a historical fact or photo. These pieces may seem unrelated, but they can be used to construct a story entirely made up of separate facts that, as a whole, may not be entirely true.
Van Eeden received his education at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague (1989-1993). His works have been exhibited at prestigious locations such as Albertina in Vienna, Drawing Room in London, Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin, and GEM in The Hague.
www.ftn-books.com has a nice selection of van Eeden titles available.
We are relocating! In the coming weeks we will be occupied with packing and moving our internet store inventory. The entire collection needs to be transferred from Leidschendam to Oegstgeest, and this will take some time. If all goes according to plan, we will be fully operational again on November 21st, but until then, it may happen that we are unable to immediately assist you with your order. We ask for your understanding, but as soon as possible, your order will be fulfilled with the utmost speed.
Enzo Cucchi, born in 1949 in Morro d’Alba, a rural village in the central Italian province of Ancona, embarked on a journey of self-taught painting that would earn him various accolades in his early years. Despite his initial focus on poetry, Cucchi was frequently in the company of poet Mino De Angelis, who oversaw the publication “Tau.” Through “La Nuova Foglio di Macerata,” a small publishing house, Cucchi forged a connection with art critic Achille Bonito Oliva, a crucial figure in the artist’s future success.
In its catalogues, “La Nuova Foglio di Macerata” featured written works by artists such as Cucchi’s “Il veleno è stato sollevato e trasportato!” in 1976. Cucchi’s frequent trips to Rome in the mid-seventies reignited his interest in the visual arts, prompting him to temporarily abandon his poetry in order to solely focus on his craft. It was during this time that Cucchi encountered various artists, including Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Mimmo Paladino, and Nicola de Maria, with whom he engaged in close collaborations and thought-provoking intellectual dialogues.
Achille Bonito Oliva was the first to recognize this emerging group of Italian artists of the seventies as a cohesive unit. As a result, the group has often held exhibitions collectively or featured individual artists in the Netherlands. The Groninger Museum and the Stedelijk Museum both held exhibitions during the eighties and nineties and acquired several works for their collections. Along with these exhibitions, some outstanding catalogues were published, a selection of which can be found at www.ftn-books.com.
We are relocating! In the coming weeks we will be occupied with packing and moving our internet store inventory. The entire collection needs to be transferred from Leidschendam to Oegstgeest, and this will take some time. If all goes according to plan, we will be fully operational again on November 21st, but until then, it may happen that we are unable to immediately assist you with your order. We ask for your understanding, but as soon as possible, your order will be fulfilled with the utmost speed.
Eduardo Paolozzi, a remarkable figure in the world of Pop Art, was a sculptor and printmaker. His elaborate public projects, including the British Library courtyard and the London Underground, transformed spaces and captured the public’s attention.
Raised in Edinburgh by Italian parents, Paolozzi was greatly influenced by the American magazines he read, often collecting and pasting his favorite pictures into a scrapbook. This habit eventually became a defining technique in many of his iconic pieces. However, when Italy joined forces with Germany during World War II, Paolozzi, then a teenager, was labeled an enemy alien and interned. His father and grandfather were tragically killed when the ship they were on was attacked by a German U-boat.
After his release from internment, Paolozzi was conscripted into the army but managed to secure a discharge by feigning madness. He then pursued his passion for art, studying in both Edinburgh and London before moving to Paris in 1947. There, he met and was greatly inspired by renowned artists such as Georges Braque, Constantin Brancusi, and Alberto Giacometti. It was during this time that he created I Was A Rich Man’s Plaything, now widely considered to be one of the pioneering examples of Pop Art.
However, it wasn’t until 1952 that Paolozzi publicly displayed this work and over 40 other collages at the inaugural meeting of the Independent Group. Along with other influential artists, including photographer Nigel Henderson and sculptor Richard Hamilton, Paolozzi championed the use of found objects and popular culture in art. Their revolutionary ideas were brought to life in the groundbreaking 1956 exhibition, This is Tomorrow, held at the Whitechapel Gallery.
In the 1960s, Paolozzi continued to work prolifically, taking on teaching positions, experimenting with sculpture, and further developing his screenprinting skills. One of his most notable works from this time is As Is When, a series of prints inspired by the renowned philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. For his contributions to the arts, Paolozzi was bestowed with the title of CBE in 1968 and elected a Royal Academician in 1979.
We are relocating! In the coming weeks we will be occupied with packing and moving our internet store inventory. The entire collection needs to be transferred from Leidschendam to Oegstgeest, and this will take some time. If all goes according to plan, we will be fully operational again on November 21st, but until then, it may happen that we are unable to immediately assist you with your order. We ask for your understanding, but as soon as possible, your order will be fulfilled with the utmost speed.
Francesco Clemente, an Italian contemporary artist, boasts a diverse background having lived in Italy, India, and New York City. His artistic style draws inspiration from traditional Indian art and culture. Clemente’s expertise spans various mediums, including drawing, fresco, graphics, mosaic, oils, and sculpture. He rose to prominence as a key figure in the Italian Transavanguardia movement of the 1980s, which rejected Formalism and conceptual art in favor of figurative art and Symbolism.
Born in 1952 in Naples, located in the southern region of Campania in Italy, Clemente briefly attended the faculty of architecture at the Sapienza, the university of Rome. However, he did not obtain a degree before shifting his focus entirely to his artistic pursuits. In Rome, he rubbed shoulders with fellow contemporary artists such as Luigi Ontani, Alighiero Boetti, and the American Cy Twombly. Boetti, who was a decade older, took on the role of both friend and mentor, and the two even ventured to Afghanistan in 1974. With Ontani, Clemente performed at the Galleria L’Attico. Despite his associations with artists from the Arte povera movement and his admiration for others such as Pino Pascali and Michelangelo Pistoletto, Clemente chose to concentrate on paper as his primary medium. He produced ink drawings based on his dreams and memories from his childhood and showcased his collages in a solo exhibition at the Galleria Giulia in Rome in 1971.
Clemente’s fascination with India began in 1973 on his first of many visits to the country. He eventually set up a studio in Madras (now Chennai) and immersed himself in the religious and folk traditions of India, as well as the country’s traditional art and crafts. In 1976 and 1977, he visited the library of the Theosophical Society of Madras to examine its religious literature. In 1980 and 1981, he collaborated with miniature painters from Orissa on his project “Francesco Clemente Pinxit”; a collection of twenty-four gouaches on antique hand-made rag paper.
We are relocating! In the coming weeks we will be occupied with packing and moving our internet store inventory. The entire collection needs to be transferred from Leidschendam to Oegstgeest, and this will take some time. If all goes according to plan, we will be fully operational again on November 21st, but until then, it may happen that we are unable to immediately assist you with your order. We ask for your understanding, but as soon as possible, your order will be fulfilled with the utmost speed.
Born in Venezuela, Jesús Rafael Soto was a renowned sculptor and painter whose career began as a helper in painting movie advertisements. He later received formal training at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas in Caracas, alongside contemporaries Carlos Cruz-Diez and Alejandro Otero. He also spent three years teaching at a small art academy in Venezuela.
Soto gained recognition for his contributions to the development of op-art and kinetic art – forms of art that incorporate movement. In 1950, he moved to Paris, where he became acquainted with the Atelier d’Art Abstrait through fellow artists and exhibited at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles. A year later, he visited the Netherlands with a group of friends and was inspired by the works of Piet Mondrian at the Kröller-Müller Museum and Stedelijk Museum.
It was in Paris that Soto’s career as a kinetic artist took off. His open, interactive sculptures and installations, often consisting of thin hanging tubes that viewers can walk through, constantly transform and challenge the concept of reality as a collection of individual objects.
From 1970 to the early 1990s, Soto’s works were featured in prestigious museums in Paris, New York, and Amsterdam. In 1973, a museum solely dedicated to his works was opened in his hometown of Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela.
Jesús Rafael Soto passed away in Paris in 2005, leaving behind a legacy of artwork that continues to captivate and inspire.
wwww.ftn-books.com has the catalog from the Stedelijk Museum with the Kinetic cover now available.
We are relocating! In the coming weeks we will be occupied with packing and moving our internet store inventory. The entire collection needs to be transferred from Leidschendam to Oegstgeest, and this will take some time. If all goes according to plan, we will be fully operational again on November 21st, but until then, it may happen that we are unable to immediately assist you with your order. We ask for your understanding, but as soon as possible, your order will be fulfilled with the utmost speed.
Mastermind of satirical comics such as Mr. Natural and Fritz the Cat, Robert Crumb is the enigmatic creator.
Engaging in drawing at an early age, Robert Crumb’s talent blossomed. Together with his brother, he produced comics during his teenage years and birthed the infamous Fritz the Cat.
In 1962, Crumb relocated with his family to Cleveland and joined the American Greeting Card Company. The following year saw him tie the knot with his first wife.
Working for various clients, including the underground publication Help, Crumb’s experimentation with drugs commenced during this period. While it did result in some euphoric experiences, it also brought forth undesirable trips. Mr. Natural was conceived during one of these disturbing journeys.
1966 marked Crumb’s move to San Francisco, where he collaborated with artists such as Rick Griffin, Spain Rodriguez, and Victor Moscoso. The collaborative efforts culminated in a successful magazine, propelling Crumb into the limelight as a renowned underground illustrator.
In 1970, Crumb sold the film rights to Fritz the Cat, resulting in the release of two movies.
Tranquility in Crumb’s personal life dwindled when he divorced his first wife in 1977 and relocated to Paris. In the same year, he met and wed cartoonist Aline Kominsky, co-creating the magazine Weirdo. Soon after, Crumb returned to California.
As the mid-1980s approached, Crumb’s notoriety spanned beyond borders, making him an international cult figure. His illustrations graced the pages of magazines such as Newsweek and People, and his presence on television was frequent. The walls of New York City Art Gallery were adorned with his works, and in 1990, he held an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
In 1994, during the Haarlemse Stripdagen, the Frans Hals-museum showcased a grand exhibition dedicated to Crumb.
Robert Crumb has two brothers and two sisters. One of Crumbs’ friends, director Thierry Zwigoff, filmed a documentary featuring Robert and his two brothers.
With The Cheap Suit Serenaders, Crumb indulges in folk music.
Currently, Robert Crumb has relocated from the United States to a small village in Southern France, where he purchased a home to house six of his notepads brimming with his artistic creations.
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We are relocating! In the coming weeks we will be occupied with packing and moving our internet store inventory. The entire collection needs to be transferred from Leidschendam to Oegstgeest, and this will take some time. If all goes according to plan, we will be fully operational again on November 21st, but until then, it may happen that we are unable to immediately assist you with your order. We ask for your understanding, but as soon as possible, your order will be fulfilled with the utmost speed.
Hanne Darboven behoorde tot de eerste generatie conceptuele kunstenaars. Voor haar waren getallen, classificatiesystemen en herhalingen middelen om te schrijven zonder te beschrijven. Haar seriële oeuvre heeft een romantisch, subjectief, bijna obsessief karakter en benadert de realiteit op een abstracte manier. Als een boekhouder probeerde Darboven dag na dag, vel na vel, boek na boek de tijd te overmeesteren of op z’n minst te meten in voor haarzelf functionele maar voor ons ondoorgrondelijke tijdsindelingen. Haar haast dwangneurotische werk vol cijfers, in woorden geschreven getallen en diagrammen omvat duizenden bladzijden.
We are relocating! In the coming weeks we will be occupied with packing and moving our internet store inventory. The entire collection needs to be transferred from Leidschendam to Oegstgeest, and this will take some time. If all goes according to plan, we will be fully operational again on November 21st, but until then, it may happen that we are unable to immediately assist you with your order. We ask for your understanding, but as soon as possible, your order will be fulfilled with the utmost speed.
Renowned designer and friend, Willem Sandberg, was dubbed by Jan Bons as embodying the ethos of “the buoyant minimum”. A stunning definition, one that can also be applied to Jan Bons’ own work. With minimal resources, he effortlessly conveyed his message in clear colors and distinctive style, leaving out any superfluous additions. Both men favored frayed forms; however, while Sandberg preferred to tear away, claiming it was akin to sculpting, Jan Bons took a reductionist approach, transforming cheerful shapes into concise statements, distilled to their bare necessity.
In a moment of amusement, Jan Bons remarked on how the Municipal Transport Company had clearly taken inspiration from his work. A depiction of his IDFA camera was prominently displayed on the doors of their trams, announcing the availability of video recording within. He chuckled, noting that he had never received any payment for it, nor had anyone bothered to ask for his permission! Such was Jan Bons’ lighthearted demeanor, always downplaying his contributions with understated levity, rejecting any pomp and circumstance.
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
