FTN-blog

Posted on 27.03.201711.02.2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Dennis Hopper (1932-2010)

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First time i saw Dennis Hopper in a movie was in Easy Rider. Together with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson he made this movie stand out from the rest in those days. A first class road movie which has become a cult classic since. I saw this movie in the Leidseplein Movie theatre in Amsterdam and the fact that i still can remember the theater in which i saw this movie, makes this one stand out for me . It makes a part of my cultural youth together with the Dali exhibition in the Boymans van Beuningen and the movies MORE and IF. I forgot about Hopper, but as soon as i saw his maniac appearance in BLUE VELVET, i was impressed again and started to read about him and saw his Photographs for the first time and noticed that he was a a painter / sculptor too. This man is a multi talented person in which his photographs stand out for me and are even more interesting than his acting. Highly personal photographs, a unique way of seeing things and the reason why an exhibition of his photographs was brought to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam ( catalogue available at www.ftn-books.com).

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In 2010 , to early, advanced prostate cancer was diagnosed and soon after he died at the age of 78 and left us some great movies and art works which can be admired up to the length of days.

A great interview ( 45 min) on his career can be found on Youtube .

https://youtu.be/hZkC05HUzt0

Posted on 27.03.201719.02.2017 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily …206

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Piet Dirkx cigarbox 206

Posted on 26.03.201711.02.2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Malevich…the black square(1915)

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The Black square painting by Malevich is considered to be one of the key paintings in Modern Art and possibly the first suprematist painting in the world. Non-object art was a first in those days (1915).

If one looks at the picture of the Petrograd exhibition of 1915, you can not imagine that these paintings were made as early as 1915!. Place them between the “hard edge” paintings of the late sixties and seventies and there is hardly any difference except their size. Who was this artist who made such a stir with his Paintings? It was Kasimir Malevich, who is recognized as one of the founders of abstract art as it is known today. Constructivists paintings in a loose way. Critics called them Suprematist paintings. The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam has the largest collection of suprematist paintings outside Russia and because they were so fortunate to have them in their collection, almost every 10 years an exhibition on them is held and with it a beautiful catalogue. (Some available at www.ftn-books.com) is published. Worldwide, painters were influenced by Kasimir Malevich, for instance in the Netherlands in the works by Willem Hussem and Siep van den Berg, you can recognize the influence of Malevich, but also great names in the art world like Ellsworth Kelly must know their art history. If you look at his paintings there certainly is a piece of Malevich in them.

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Posted on 26.03.201719.02.2017 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily …205

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Piet Dirkx cigarbox 205

Posted on 25.03.201711.02.2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Gerard Garouste (1946)

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Gerard Garouste came to fame in the early 80’s and his since had worldwide exhibition. Painting and theater decorations made him famous outside France.

In 1980, he had his first art show at the Durand-Dessert gallery, showing figurative, mythological, and allegorical paintings. This show brought him national recognition, and then, international. His first international show took place in New York City in 1982 at the Holly Solomon Gallery. Others followed, such as those at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York and in Sperone, Italy. He was the only French artist to be invited to the Zeitgeist at Berlin. Institutional recognition came in 1987, at the CAPC of Bordeaux (Centre d’arts plastiques contemporains de Bordeaux), where he presented a combination of oils on canvas and acrylics on homespun, and then at the Fondation Cartier.

Garouste has executed works and decorations for various endeavors: paintings for the Élysée Palace, sculptures for Évry Cathedral, the ceiling of the theater at Namur, and for the church of Notre-Dame de Talant, stained glass. In 1989, he did the curtain for the Théâtre du Châtelet.

An important step for Garouste was the founding in 1991 of the association The Source, which sets itself the task of helping culturally underprivileged young people to achieve personal development through artistic expression.

He received an order in 1996 for a monumental work for the National Library of France mixing painting and wrought iron. Sculpture and engraving were attracting him more and more, as well as illustration for all sorts of writings, from Don Quixote to the Haggadah.

In 2001, he presented at the Fondation Cartier Ellipse, an arrangement of canvasses mounted on a construction of his own design.

Since 2001, he has been represented by the Daniel Templon Gallery.

The site of www.ftn-books.com has only one title on Garouste, but it is an important one and this only publication does not mean that Garouste is not important…No , Garouste is one of the most important living french contemporary artist of our days.

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Posted on 25.03.201719.02.2017 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily …204

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Piet Dirkx cigarbox 204

Posted on 24.03.201711.02.2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Peter Halley (1953) and THE HORN OF PLENTY

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1989.. Wim Beeren curated one of the iconic Stedelijk Museum from the 80’s….The Horn of Plenty.

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Contributions by Bickerton, Cemin, Doran, Dunham, Eckart, Ziegler, Gober, Halley, Kessler, Koons, LAsker, Prince,Rollins, Steinbach, Wool and Yarber. a great list of great artists from the eighties. One thing they had in common. They were all from New York. Koons is nowadays the most famous one, but i noticed that Peter Halley is among them and beside some smaller exhibitions . He is hardly known in Europe and specially this artist deserves far better. Still the exhibition one of those from the eighties that is remembered by many followers of the Stedelijk Museum exhibitions and it was one of the last gtreat ones which gave an overview of New York modern art in the eighties. This catalogue is available at www.ftn-books.com together with some catalogues of the artist mentioned . specially the Halley is rarely encountered in the Netherlands.

https://youtu.be/t5VS6Ruorlg

Posted on 24.03.201719.02.2017 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Piet Dirkx daily …203

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Piet Dirkx cigarbox 203

Posted on 23.03.201711.02.2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Dutch art …Klaas Gubbels (1934)

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Many Many people in the Netherlands know the art by Klaas Gubbels. Because his art is abstract in its execution, but realistic in its subject. Coffee and Tea pots and of course chairs are in 99% percent his subjects. Because of this popularity his works and sculptures can be found all over the Netherlands. Even in my hometown of Leidschendam, one of these blue coffee pots is executed as a large blue sculpture.

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Do i like his art….no….do i consider Gubbels one of the great artists in the Netherlands…YES, because Gubbels has developed an art language of his own. Popular, recognizable and accessible. www.ftn-books.com has some nice books on Gubbbels and a very special table with a still life of wooden apples.