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Imi Knoebel (continued)

Imi Knoebel’s minimalist hybrids of painting and sculpture explore relationships between color and structure. Knoebel’s nonrepresentational works innovate on the modernist ideas and styles of Joseph Beuys, Kasimir Malevich, and the Bauhaus; the artist is interested in seriality, spare geometries, reductive color, and the use of industrial materials such as Masonite. Knoebel studied under Beuys at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and under László Moholy-Nagy at the Werkkunstschule Darmstadt; he has exhibited in Berlin, New York, Paris, Zürich, Tokyo, London, Vienna, and Rome. His work belongs in the collections of the Essl Museum, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Museo Reina Sofía, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Modern Art. While Knoebel is best known for his sculptural paintings, his practice also involves drawing, photographyI, projections, and installation. His work has sold for six figures at auction.

www.ftn-books.com has several Knoebel books available.

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Henk Peeters (continued)

Henk Peeters (1925 – 2013) is vooral bekend geworden als een van de vier leden van de Nederlandse Nul-beweging (samen met Armando, Jan Henderikse en Jan Schoonhoven) en als de internationale woordvoerder en organisator die de Nul-beweging (1960 – 1965) in contact bracht met de internationale kunstenaars overal ter wereld die zich verbonden met de van oorsprong Duitse Zero groep.

Unwavering in his dedication, Peeters tirelessly organized exhibitions in the 1960s that showcased international artists affiliated with the original German Zero group, including Yves Klein (France), Piero Manzoni (Italy), Jayoi Kusama (Japan), and the founding members from Germany. His own work remains highly sought after and is featured in numerous collections and museums. In addition to his artistic endeavors, Peeters was also a long-standing member of the Arnhem art academy.

www.ftn-books.com has a very special Peeters item now available.

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Henri Cartier Bresson (continued)

Henri Cartier-Bresson was born in Chanteloup, Seine-et-Marne in 1908 and from an early age, he was captivated by painting, specifically Surrealism. In 1932, after a year in the Ivory Coast, he came across the Leica camera, which became his go-to camera, and this sparked a lifelong passion for photography. In 1933, he held his debut exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Later on, he worked together with Jean Renoir on film projects.

In 1940, he was taken as a prisoner of war, but he managed to escape on his third attempt in 1943. He then joined an underground organization to help other prisoners and escapees. In 1945, he documented the Liberation of Paris with a group of skilled journalists and also directed the documentary Le Retour (The Return).

In 1947, Henri joined hands with Robert Capa, George Rodger, David “Chim” Seymour, and William Vandivert to establish Magnum Photos. He spent three years traveling around the East before returning to Europe in 1952, when he published his debut book, Images à la Sauvette (known as The Decisive Moment in English).

In his own words, Cartier-Bresson described his unique approach to photography as “a sketchbook, an instrument of spontaneity and intuition, the ruler of the moment which, in visual terms, poses questions and makes decisions simultaneously… It is through simplicity of expression that one achieves economy of means.”

From 1968 onwards, he began to reduce his involvement in photography, choosing to focus on painting and drawing instead. In 2003, together with his wife and daughter, he established the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris to preserve his body of work. Henri Cartier-Bresson received countless awards, honors, and honorary degrees throughout his lifetime. He passed away at his home in Provence on August 3, 2004, just a few weeks shy of his 96th birthday.

www.ftn-books.com has some of the most important Bresson titles available.

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Herb Ritts (continued)

Renowned American fashion photographer Herb Ritts (1952–2002) made his mark in the 1980s and 1990s with stunning black-and-white images of supermodels Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, renowned for their striking contrast and sensuality. This latest showcase of the artist’s work revisits his legacy, including refreshing highlights from his groundbreaking 1996 collection, “Herb Ritts: WORK,” a popular exhibit at the MFA to this day. The Ritts Foundation generously provided the Museum with a print of each image featured in the 1996 exhibit, and in 2007, also contributed to the establishment of the MFA’s first gallery exclusively dedicated to photography. Presently, the Herb Ritts and Clementine Brown galleries proudly present the latest exhibit, showcasing an array of Ritts’s captivating portraits that celebrate the human body and encapsulate the carefree California lifestyle.

www.ftn-books.com has some Ritts titles available.

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Eric Fischl (continued)

Eric Fischl, a renowned American artist and sculptor, has captured the attention of the art world since the 1970s with his contemplative depictions of the dark underbelly of suburban life. His paintings of that era delved into themes of burgeoning sexuality and voyeurism amidst the mundane world of middle-class America. Yet, despite the passing of time, Fischl’s work remains steadfast in its examination of human connections. His exceptional accomplishments have solidified his influence as one of the foremost figurative painters of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Fischl’s extensive body of work, encompassing paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints, has been the centerpiece of numerous acclaimed solo and group exhibitions. His pieces are also prominently displayed in esteemed collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the St. Louis Art Museum, and the Louisiana Museum of Art in Denmark.

www.ftn-books.com has some Fischl titles available.

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FTN books has moved to Oegstgeest

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

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William N. Copley (continued)

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.

www.ftn-books.com has some great Copley titles available.

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Enrico Castellani (continued)

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.

www.ftn-books.com has some interesting Castellani ietms available.

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Gilbert & George (continued)

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.

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Merry Christmas and discount code

No written blog today, but just the 1945 Saul Steinberg Xmas card and a discount code to wish you a Merry Christmas.

This code is valid for only 3 days and gives a 10% discount on all items.

XmasFTN10