Lisa, a native of Belgium, currently resides in Milan, Italy. Her artistic efforts span across multiple disciplines and have been showcased in esteemed festivals and galleries across the globe. She holds a Master of Fine Art degree from the esteemed Royal College of Art in London. In her artistry, she delves into the complexities of the female form and the portrayal of the self. Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, her work frequently touches upon themes of human vulnerabilities and uncertainties. She weaves a dreamlike and vibrant canvas, shedding light on the facade of reality, and crafting a realm where everything is not as it seems.
Jef Diederen (Heerlen, 25 augustus 1920 – Amsterdam, 26 maart 2009) was a Dutch painter and graphic artist. Diederen was part of the so-called Amsterdam Limburgers. His later painting is classified as abstract art. From 1939 to 1943, he attended the Middelbare Kunstnijverheidsschool in Maastricht, where he met Pieter Defesche and Ger Lataster. He continued his education at the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam in 1943, but left a year later and returned in 1947. He participated in the group exhibition Amsterdamse schilders van Nu in 1948 and completed his studies in 1951. In Amsterdam, he met Karel Appel and Corneille as his classmates, in addition to Lataster. Until 1955, he mostly painted landscape gouaches and drawings. These are predominantly realistic landscapes from his native region of South Limburg. Afterwards, he developed himself – like Ger Lataster – in an abstract direction, although the landscape remained a great source of inspiration for him. The dimensions of his oil paintings were often idiosyncratic and therefore stood out. He also combined canvases of various sizes with each other. The art of Jef Diederen is lyrical-abstract with a friendly and gentle appearance, despite the strong colors. France has been an important source of inspiration for him. As an independent artist, he never actively sought to align himself with groups or movements. In addition to his many paintings and works on paper, he also carried out various commissions for murals and stained glass windows. He also taught at the Kunstacademie van Den Bosch.
How much Emo Verkerk can a human being endure? We ponder in excess and perhaps even beyond what we thought. This question can be answered because the responses to the retrospective exhibition “Graag of Niet” at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (opened on November 15th) have been overwhelming from both the audience, fellow artists, and the press. And as the gallery representing Emo, we are eager to capitalize on this (though it may not display proper modesty). We cordially invite you to the opening on December 13th of a small yet refined presentation featuring several works centered around Belle van Zuylen. Paintings from the powdered-wig era. Belle dressed for a ball in The Hague, caught in Scheveningen under the full moon. And somewhere a horse appears, though I have not found it yet. But Belle has. Come see for yourself and perhaps discover who lies behind the powder and the wig.
Such a retrospective exhibition stirs up much emotion and proves that Emo has long awaited this significant showcase. And now it seems as if an unknown talent has emerged from the depths of faraway Den Helder; with so much astonishment and admiration, the works are (re)discovered. Of course, this is nonsense. Those who have been following the work of this idiosyncratic image-maker for years are familiar with the scope of his talent. As with much good art, his oeuvre demands to be conquered by its viewers. And that is not always easy with such contrariness. Moving against the current suits the character of Verkerk, who cleverly takes advantage of it. Each artwork is its own universe in which it is pulled and pushed until the construction stands, only to almost fall again at the same moment. Not a hackneyed style, but an unequivocal ode to imagination and painting, where the outcome is never certain.
Hugo Tieleman, through his paintings, delves into the dichotomy between nature and the influence of man. “The tragedy of the landscape, that is the essence of my work,” he proclaims. Art critic Micha Andriessen describes his colorful paintings as depictions of displaced and overgrown scenes of decay. Through the use of sometimes venomous hues, Tieleman showcases how humanity leaves its mark on nature. With references to traditional painting, vanitas, and the landscapes and ruins of Romanticism, Hugo Tieleman examines our altered perception of nature, the landscape, and the world around us.
www.ftn-books.com has the Livingstone gallery invitation now available.
Deviled eggs, a deceased mosquito, the taut bud of a peony, or toes tucked into sandals: Ina van Zyl presents delicate, still-life-esque paintings of everyday objects that are often overlooked. However, when Van Zyl depicts them, they demand our undivided attention. Subtly captured on the canvas as images, one can sense that they are not solely about beauty or ugliness. In fact, they offer a glimpse into the world beyond them. Each piece, whether it be a portrait or self-portrait, is an attempt to grasp this world.
Born in Ceres, South Africa in 1971, Van Zyl grew up in South Africa and studied visual art at the University of Stellenbosch. She initially had a passion for drawing comic strips, but later turned to painting when she came to the Netherlands in the mid 1990s to attend De Ateliers. Instead of creating narrative scenes, like in comics, Van Zyl found herself drawn to singular objects and honed in on them. These objects have an independent presence on the canvas, appearing larger than life and expertly framed, detached from their contexts.
Van Zyl’s fascination with a subject – whether it be a seemingly insignificant everyday item, a landscape, or a portrait – often stems from the contradictory emotions it evokes. She is attracted to the combination of power and fragility in a budding flower, or to the deep black hue of an almost ripe plum. Her works are rather sensuous, painted meticulously with precision. However, as viewers, we can pick up on the underlying tension that symbolizes something greater. Van Zyl infuses each painting with emotions and memories that can evoke a universal feeling or a sense of longing and discomfort. This is often hinted at in her titles. For example, “Mort” for the dead mosquito, where the delicate insignificance of the insect takes on a grand significance. And “Little Orgasm” for the tenderly depicted tiny carnation, which inevitably evokes thoughts of sexuality and puberty.
In her work, Van Zyl often incorporates recurring themes of strength and vulnerability, life and death, and longing and fear. One such theme is the use of protea, South Africa’s national flower, which serves as a powerful symbol of the country’s tumultuous history. In some pieces, such as Proteus Erectus (2010), the protea stands proudly upright, evoking images of male genitalia and suggesting aggression. Yet in others, like Skaamrosie Teen Skemer (2009), shame and discomfort are conveyed as the flower hangs downward. This symbol of national pride also becomes a witness to the injustices of apartheid and racism in South Africa.
Despite her unconventional use of narrative, each of Van Zyl’s paintings conveys a deep sense of history and emotion. Portraits, such as Anton (2021), are particularly notable for their intense exploration of identity and relationships. In this piece, Van Zyl’s friend is depicted in a confrontational manner, bursting off the canvas and gazing both inwardly and outwardly. The emotional detachment of the artist is evident in her use of a diverse color palette, which conveys both contrast and balance through shades of purple, green, blue, and orange. This amalgamation of discordant elements results in a striking abstract portrait that simultaneously captures the essence of the subject and conveys a sense of weight and complexity. In her succinct yet enigmatic body of work, Van Zyl skillfully blends the personal and the abstract, creating an intriguing leitmotif that leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.
www.ftn-books.com has almost all van Zyl titles avcailable
The series of paintings and works on paper, titled Eros & Psyche, was created during the period of 2017-2021 and is based on the eponymous myth from classical antiquity, written by Lucius Apuleius in the second century AD as part of his Metamorphoses.
The myth of ‘Eros & Psyche’ pertains to the removal of obstacles in the way of love between Psyche (the embodiment of the soul) and Eros (love, sexual desire, and longing for beauty) and their ultimate union. Psyche falls in love with Eros, as foretold by an oracle, but due to the interference of Aphrodite – the goddess of love who is envious of Psyche’s beauty, but also the mother of Eros – she is no longer able to meet him.
The myth describes Psyche’s quest for Eros, as she longs to be reunited with him and after many trials, she succeeds.
In the works, the myth serves as a guide, providing the overall atmosphere from which the pieces originate and ultimately depict their own reality. The deep red and reddish-purple in the paintings Eros & Psyche XI and XIII enhance the sensual and erotic world invoked by the myth.
www.ftn-books.com has the invitation for this BOuwman exhibition now available.
The concept of destruction preceding creation is given tangible form in the work of artist Ton van Kints (The Hague, 1955). His pieces are marked by traces of a working method that could be seen as both destructive and constructive. Van Kints saws wooden panels into simple, loose pieces and then reassembles them into a self-made puzzle, forming a cohesive whole. The complexity of the composition is always tempered by the readability of the process. His enigmatic titles often allude to the event that has taken place under his hands, shaping the narrative of the finished piece.
The material largely determines the appearance of Van Kints’ work. He respects how the material behaves, but also subjects it to his own scenario. He speaks of his pieces as if they were characters, co-actors in his artistic process. They are directed by the artist himself. It is a process of fitting, measuring, and rearranging.
This led to the creation of a large group of circular reliefs, collectively known as ‘koekoeksnesten’ (cuckoo nests). These works are interrelated, each with their own distinctive character. Van Kints’ most recent pieces are created by mounting two or more pieces together. He treats these “leftovers” in the same way he previously rearranged sawn-off segments. The underlying logic of Van Kints’ art – the dialogue with things – remains unchanged. The reliefs have become thicker, stacked and covered with a layer of epoxy. This glossy layer unifies the pieces, but hints of the earlier work remain visible. This is the “dialogica” of Van Kints.
Van Kints studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (MO-B Drawing 1974-1979) and the Pratt Graphic Center in New York (1981-82). He has been a teacher at the departments of Photography and Fine Arts at the KABK in The Hague since 1990.
www.ftn-books.com has a fine selction of van Kints publications available.
Outsider artists are “different,” often without formal art education and operating outside of the mainstream art world. Some of these artists have a psychological or intellectual impairment. What defines outsider artists is their inner drive to create without concern for commercial objectives or knowledge of established art movements. Their work is captivating, diverse, and unadulterated. There is also a growing interest in outsider art within the traditional art world.
www.ftn-books.com has several outsider / Art brut publications available.
With the human body and its visible suffering at the core of her oeuvre, De Bruyckere’s art continually strives to restore our sensitivity towards the timeless and universal aspect of human existence. In today’s world, we are bombarded by images of suffering to such an extent that we have become desensitized to it. However, through her work, De Bruyckere draws our attention towards this suffering and allows us to interpret and make sense of it in our own way. In doing so, she deftly navigates the boundaries of visual representation of physical and emotional pain.
De Bruyckere habiliments her sculptures using wax, resin, rope, and weathered leather or fabric, intertwining separate wax casts to form cohesive bodies. Her focus solely lies on bodies; faces concealed behind tresses of hair or garments, with heads often amiss. Employing unique pigments, she transforms wax into sallow skin with faint glimmers of blood vessels and bruises. Crimson blotches and simulated “wounds” create the illusion of a tormented body, evoking religious connotations, particularly the symbolism surrounding martyrs like St. Sebastian – an influential figure to Cripplewood. Apart from these religious elements, classical mythology also plays a crucial role in De Bruyckere’s compositions, with Ovid’s Metamorphoses serving as a continuous wellspring of inspiration.
Horses also hold significance as a symbol in her oeuvre, functioning predominantly as a metaphor to convey deep human emotions pertaining to death and mortality.
In addition to her sculptural works, the upcoming exhibition will also showcase drawings and early textile pieces. De Bruyckere utilizes her drawings, often composed in a blend of watercolor and gouache on upcycled paper or cardboard, as exploratory studies delving into the themes of her sculptures. In this regard, her inspiration often emanates from the movements of dancers. The process of developing ideas with dancers in the studio holds great importance for her and has resulted in an array of wax sculptures, as well as various series of drawings. These series are not mere preparatory studies, but rather function as standalone works of art, emphasizing the recurring themes that define her entire body of work. De Bruyckere’s sketches, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures are all intertwined, collectively forming a cohesive “body of work.”
The works of Mark Bradford, born in 1961 in Los Angeles, California, USA, delves deep into the complexities of socio-political issues, often mirroring the lived realities of Black Americans and drawing inspiration from his own upbringing in the city of angels. His unique style of abstract composition is masterfully crafted using everyday materials and found objects, such as posters and newspaper clippings, many of which are sourced from his hometown. This exhibition draws a striking parallel between the journeys depicted in Bradford’s pieces and the history of the Hamburger Bahnhof, which was originally a 19th-century train station symbolizing both arrival and departure – key themes that resonate throughout Bradford’s collection.
One of the standout works in this exhibition is the grandiose hanging sculpture titled “Spoiled Foot”, which was originally created for the US Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Also showcased are the multimedia installation “Pinocchio Is On Fire” (2010/2015) that boldly confronts the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, and the walkable floor painting “Float” (2019/2024), adapted specifically for this exhibition. Visitors are invited to physically engage with these pieces, becoming aware of their own movement within the space and reflecting on the unwavering strength of marginalized communities in the face of systemic violence and oppression.
Mark Bradford, a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, has garnered significant acclaim through major solo exhibitions at renowned institutions such as Tate, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 2017, he was chosen as the official representative for the United States at the Venice Biennale. Beyond his impressive artistic prowess, Bradford is also a co-founder of “Art + Practice,” a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles dedicated to supporting foster youth and promoting access to contemporary art.
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
