Alexander Lichtveld is a Dutch multidisciplinary artist. Lichtveld’s creations exude a stillness that belies the underlying tension of dialectic polarities: obverse and depth, continuity and interruption, masses enclosed yet demarcated by the given space. One might even liken it to a bunker, or a safe, or a fortress, where floor, ceiling, and walls meld into the anonymous guise of its disguise.
Like his compatriots, Lichtveld studied at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He promptly embraced a constructivist approach, eschewing any inclinations towards expressionism derived from nature. His oeuvre not only embodies the proud legacy of the Dutch avant-garde movement; it also reimagines it with an evident touch. This may elucidate why important institutions throughout his nation have already added him to their esteemed collections.
www.ftn-books.com has now several Lichtveld publications available.
Kees Marinus was born in 1952 and was predominantly inspired creatively by the 1970s growing up. Conceptualism is often perceived as a reaction to Minimalism, and the dominant art movement of the 1970s, challenging the boundaries of art with its revolutionary features. The movements that succeeded were all characteristic of a strong desire to evolve and consolidate the art world, in response to the tensions of the previous decade. Process art branched out from Conceptualism, including some of its most crucial aspects, but going further in creating mysterious and experimental artistic journeys, while Land Art brought creation to the outdoors, initiating early ideas of environmentalism. In Germany, Expressive figure painting was given a second chance for the first time since the decline of Abstract Expressionism almost two decades, the genre regained its distinction through the brushstrokes of Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer and Georg Baselitz. The majority of the critically acclaimed artists from the 1960s, who had gained success and fame, kept their status in the 1970s. Andy Warhol was a prominent figure of those two decades, and in the 1970s started to experiment with film and magazine publishing, thus engaging in a cross-platform activity that no other visual artist of such standard had previously undertaken. By doing so, he secured his status as a celebrity. Street art started to emerge as a true and recognized form of art towards the end of the 1970s. Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring were pioneers in demonstrating that their artworks could subsist at the same time in art galleries and on city walls. Fuelled by graffiti art, street art from its earliest days showed that it could endure in a unceasing flux of self-transformation, endlessly shifting the boundaries of modern art, becoming a truly ground-breaking artistic genre.
www.ftn-books.com has now the 1990 Stedelijk Museum publication available.
The foundation of Sciarone’s work centers on autonomous art, intricately intertwined with the surrounding space. According to Sciarone, “In a room filled with various objects and items, when one object is moved, it changes the entire coherence, including the position of the person moving the object.” Sciarone crafts sculptures and draws, in addition to realizing public artworks such as the Matrozenhof in Amsterdam, 1,2,3 and Quicksand in Almelo, and the Envelope Sculpture nr. 2 in Groningen. These sculptures are meticulously placed with the intent of redefining the space, creating a new balance.
For 20 years, Sciarone served as the coordinator for the Monumental Art program at the AKI, Academy of Fine Arts in Enschede. They were also a teacher at the Academy of Architecture, a master’s program for architects, in Groningen from 2005 to 2015.
www.ftn-books.com has the Stedelijk Museum publication from 1988 now available.
Layering is a recurring theme in Kemps’ oeuvre. On one hand, he frequently employs semi-transparent and reflective materials in his work. On the other hand, his sculptures often contain multiple layers – photographic prints are “trapped” in glass, and multiple layers of imagery are overlaid. Additionally, Kemps adds a new layer of meaning through the titles he bestows upon his work.
Through his art, Kemps explores various forms and ideas of space. What is presupposed in displaying art? What is presupposed in having access to it? How does a viewer experience art in physical space? And in the realm of conceptual art, how does a viewer experience space in the idea of a museum?
In the 1980s, Kemps experimented with the concept of a hidden museum, which he virtually constructed using a 3D drawing program. He turns things inside out and reverses the order and fixed patterns. What happens if you hang a print of a virtual space on the virtual wall within the virtual space? Typically, a work that is hung on the wall occupies physical space, but what if the suggestion is made that one can also enter it? In that case, the thing that takes up space suddenly provides space: a play between virtual, physical, and mental space.
In his more recent work, exemplified by Dissolved and Flawlessly Tingled (2015), Kemps combines the classical idea of a sculpture with prints of virtual installations. Dissolved and Flawlessly Tingled consists of fifteen polyester walls, against which five prints are placed. These prints depict virtual museum rooms containing virtual works that are found throughout the space – on the ceiling, lying flat on the ground, and standing at an angle. The virtual works depicted on the physical prints also show spaces where similar prints are displayed. This leads to questions such as, what is the work, what is the work within the work, and what is reflection? In other words, what do you see, what can you see, and what do you think you can (or cannot) see?
Ardy Struwer, also known as Eduard Arnaud Strüwer, is a Swedish-Indonesian-Dutch artist who grew up in the former Dutch East Indies and in the Netherlands. He received his education at the Royal Academy in The Hague and as a guest student at the printmaking department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm. He has spent extended periods of time working in cities such as New York and Paris, where he currently resides. Strüwer’s art, including both paintings and lithographs, is characterized by a vibrant expressiveness, often with a touch of surrealism, with the recurring theme of the female form. Strüwer himself has described his style as “sensual surrealism” and “postmodern flower power”. His work is featured in various private and museum collections, such as the Peter Stuyvesant collection, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and the Gemeente Museum in The Hague.
www.ftn-books.com has currently some prints by Struwer from the Any Art collection available.
Godefroy came into this world in 1822, bearing the name Abraham Nikolaas Smit. However, in 1840, he changed his last name to Godefroy.[1] His career began in 1838, when he joined the Department of Urban Works in Amsterdam. In the same year of its establishment (1842), he became a member of the Society for the Promotion of Architecture, and he even served as its president from 1862 to 1867. From 1845 to 1850, he worked at the architectural firm of Isaäc Warnsinck. In 1851, he started his own architectural practice in Amsterdam.
www.ftn-books.com has the Nai / Arlette Brouwers designed publication now available.
Johan Thorn Prikker assumed the role of Professor for Painting at Kölner Werkschule (predecessor of KISD) from 1926 to 1932. Despite the time frame of his work predating the current century, Prikker’s life and artistic output still present us with profound insights into the intricate connections between art and craftsmanship, art and society, and art and spirituality. Drawing upon the wisdom of Aristotle, Giambattista Vico, and Friedrich von Schiller – intellectuals whose discourse features prominently in my KISD seminar, “The Eye Is Part Of The Mind” – I contend that Prikker’s comprehensive perspective offers a thought-provoking lens through which to view the realms of art and politics, particularly in light of contemporary reinventions of the therapeutic potential of art. Indeed, Prikker’s seemingly ornamental paintings and designs were never intended to simply serve as aesthetically pleasing decorations. Prikker’s vast artistic repertoire, coupled with his endeavors as an educator, curator, and designer, stem from his (romantic) conviction that art has the power to liberate the human imagination, ignite euphoric states and chaos, and that these experiences are crucial for true emancipation of creativity!
Peter Gentenaar (1946) embarked on his artistic career as a graphic artist, but his encounter with the material on which he works, paper, led him down a different path. He now creates paper pulp in his self-designed paper machine and transforms it into large, cloud-like sculptures. As the initiator of the Holland Paper Biennial, he compiles a stunning book every two years.
In 1947, Lou Kreymborg (1919-1993) established the agency firm bearing his name. His travels to Denmark resulted in acquiring the latest furniture from Poul Kjaerholm and Arne Jacobsen. He personally met with them and arranged for distribution in the Netherlands. In 1954, he made contact with the Borsani brothers of Tecno in Italy, from whom he imported revolutionary furniture until his passing. He also brought fabrics from Storck and Eggert (Tulipan), furniture from Bonacina (Franco Albini and Franca Helg), lamps from Martinelli (Gae Aulenti and Achille Castiglione), furniture from Dieter Rams (Vitsoe), and fabrics from Jack Lenor Larsen to the Netherlands. His association with Bruno and Jacqueline Danese, publishers of a progressive collection of home accessories, including works from Enzo Mari and Bruno Munari, was also significant. With an early keen eye for quality, an intense personal dedication, and an unwavering belief in his innovative contemporaries, Lou Kreymborg contributed to the Netherlands’ design emancipation. With enthusiasm bordering on missionary fervor, he showcased their work in leading home stores such as Metz, Pander, and Bas van Pelt, as well as in projects by (interior) architects such as Kho Liang Ie, Hein Salomonson, and Wim Quist.
A special blog on a special artist on a very special publication.
Bram van Velde made this publication together with Pierre Hébey for one of the best publishers in the art world. This publication LE MOT “BUVETTE” was published by Yves Riviere and acquired by a longtime collector of his work at the publisher in 1975. Since it has been in his collection and now he made a request to me to sell this. Thre is only 1 other copy at this moment available and it will be a long time before this will appear on the market at a reasonable price. This 32 page publication comes in its original slipcase with the 2 sets of 4 signed and numbered lithographs. In Total 8 lithographs all signed and numbered 80/90. One set of 4 is printed on Arches paper , the other set of 4 is printed on Japon paper. Last month i photographed the set and was blown away with its quality. This is for me one of the best and most appealing sets from the 70’s i have ever encountered. The set is now available at www.ftn-books.com
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
