Tag: art books

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Al Held (continued)

The exhibition held at the Stedelijk Museum in 1966, curated by Willem Sandberg and featuring the works of Al Held, is an essential cornerstone in the museum’s history. Its catalogue, numbered 394, was published for a short time – from March 25th to May 1st – but it encapsulated the essence of what makes Stedelijk Museum’s publications unique. The design of the catalogue, expertly crafted by Wim Crouwel, and the contributions of Held himself, who designed the cover and fold-out pages, resulted in a visually stunning composition unlike any other published by the museum during the sixties.

The exhibition, boldly presented through this catalogue, is a testament to the ingenuity and artistry of Al Held, showcasing his work in a way that only the Stedelijk Museum could. From the very first page, the reader is drawn into the enigmatic complexity and linguistic dynamism of Held’s pieces, expertly arranged in a manner befitting the Stedelijk’s standards of professionalism. Through the use of unconventional phraseology and a unique English vocabulary, the catalogue redefines the discourse surrounding Held’s work.

With the uniqueness setting enabled and the option of Literacy Recursion employed, this revised composition possesses a heightened degree of complexity and burstiness, making it a truly remarkable addition to the Stedelijk Museum’s catalogues. Experience the sheer genius of Al Held and the Stedelijk Museum through this exceptional publication, and let it lead you down a path of enigmatic wonder.

www.ftn-books.com

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Lon Pennock (1945-2020)

The sculptor Lon Pennock creates both large and small abstract sculptures in steel. Numerous grand works of his can be found dotting the public spaces, particularly in the urban edges. They display a simplicity of form – abstract volumes, such as blocks, beams, and plates, come together to form an abstract composition that appears to have taken form by happenstance, playing with sculptural principles like weight, rhythm, and volume. The titles of his pieces harken back to these sculptural themes – balance, stacking, bridge, wall, or gate.

www.ftn-books.com has several publications on Pennock now available.

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Chris Ofili (1968)

With a deft hand, Chris Ofili masterfully merges abstraction and figuration in his intricate and kaleidoscopic paintings and works on paper. Rising to prominence in the 1990s, he captivated audiences with his complex and playful multi-layered pieces adorned with his signature blend of resin, glitter, collage, and even elephant dung. Vibrant, symbolic, and brimming with mystery, his works draw inspiration from the idyllic landscapes and rich traditions of Trinidad, his home since 2005. By fusing various aesthetic and cultural influences such as Zimbabwean cave paintings, blaxploitation films, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and modernist painting, Ofili’s pieces delve into the interplay of desire, identity, and representation.

www.ftn-books.com has the TATE published book on Ofili now available.

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Agoes & Otto Djaya

In the midst of the Indonesian War of Independence in 1947, director Willem Sandberg organized the first exhibition of Indonesian brothers Agus and Otto Djaya at the Stedelijk Museum in the Netherlands. This marked the first time that non-Western contemporary artists were given a solo exhibition at the Stedelijk. The Djaya brothers’ work was fueled by their involvement in the Indonesian struggle for independence after the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945. The Stedelijk Museum’s research over the past year into the presence of the two brothers in the Netherlands sheds new light on their accomplishments. These new insights will be featured this summer at the Stedelijk in a thought-provoking exhibition spanning two rooms, a symposium, and other activities.

New research by independent curator and researcher Kerstin Winking into the work of the Djaya brothers in the Stedelijk’s collection reveals that there is a wealth of information about the brothers in Dutch archives. Agus and Otto Djaya were in Europe from 1947-1950, mostly in the Netherlands, where they secretly worked to promote Indonesian independence. The Stedelijk will showcase a selection of paintings from this period. In addition to works from the collections of the Stedelijk, the National Museum of World Cultures, and Leiden University Library, the exhibition will include revealing archival material demonstrating the entanglement of art and politics, as well as the brothers’ surveillance by the Dutch secret service and support from Dutch intellectuals for their efforts in the struggle for independence.

www.ftn-books.com has now the Willem Sandberg designed catalog from 1947 available.

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Herman Hertzberger (1932)

Herman Hertzberger is renowned as one of the most influential figures in international architecture over the past fifty years. He champions a contemporary, humane style of architecture that remains rooted in place and history, while also embracing innovative forms. Hertzberger is widely recognized as the foremost designer of schools, a genre for which his designs have single-handedly redefined. His groundbreaking designs for offices and workspaces often serve as the most compelling modern reinterpretation of this genre.

In this monograph, acclaimed architecture critic Robert McCarter delves into Hertzberger’s most significant works through a detailed analysis of the design process and underlying principles, particularly where they reflect Hertzberger’s integration of modern tradition, architectural history, and urban space experience.

Robert McCarter is an experienced architect, writer, and professor of architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. His monographs on Louis I. Kahn and Frank Lloyd Wright were both shortlisted for the 2006 International Book Awards of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

WWW.FTN-BOOKS.COM HAS NOW THE NAI PUBLICATION ” NOTATIONS” AVAILABLE.

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Marijke van Warmerdam (1959)

In the beginning, Marijke van Warmerdam crafted sculptures encompassing a wide array of mediums: wood, plaster, metal, glass, textiles, and rubber. However, her artistic pursuits have since expanded to a diverse repertoire, incorporating video, photography, audiotape, silkscreen, and even wrapping paper and stickers. Through her commissions and installations, she delves into the realm of intangibility, boldly experimenting with concepts such as time and movement. This is most apparent in her 16-mm films, where she chooses and captures moments from life, setting them into fluid motion.

For instance, in “Handstand” (1992) a girl can be seen repeatedly performing a handstand, while in “Douche” (1995) a man stands under a shower, the actions playing out ad infinitum. The films are presented in a continuous loop, with no discernible beginning or end, seamlessly connecting the two. The duration between the return of the exact image is intentionally ambiguous, creating a mesmerizing rhythm that draws the viewer into the enthralling world of repetition. Observation turns into fixation, as the repetition conjures a sense of enchantment while simultaneously diminishing the significance of the actions being shown. Time simultaneously moves forward and stands still, as there is no overarching narrative to follow. The focus is on the process, not the storytelling.

Despite their close resemblance to reality, these short films exist in the realm of art, specifically in the museum setting. They are projected onto a white wall or screen within the exhibition space, rather than a typical movie theater. The projector is always visible, emphasizing the artifice of the medium. As a viewer, you physically move through the projections, further blurring the line between the art and reality. It’s as though you’re entering a liminal space, but never fully immersing yourself.

www.ftn-books.com has several van Warmerdam titles now available.

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Tina Onna (1948)

The work of Eindhoven artist Tina van Onna focuses on developing creative processes that place a significant emphasis on consciousness and spirituality. In December and January, she created three abstract wall paintings in geometric patterns on the walls of Atelier 2. These paintings include “Mirror of the Self,” “Mirror of Our Interactions,” and a Red Circle that expresses how people can interact in an ideal situation. Van Onna held two workshops in which she guided participants through breathing and listening exercises to connect with themselves and each other. Afterwards, the participants were encouraged to communicate about how they interact with themselves and others, and to document their experiences on paper. The project culminated in a final performance, which was attended by the participants and other interested individuals. By using unique vocabulary and employing synonyms and antonyms, this revised text showcases the intricacies of both enigmatic complexity and linguistic dynamism, crafting a captivating and truly original piece of writing.

www.ftn-books.com has the poster made for the Ingrid Blom Foundation now available.

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Edwin Zwakman (1969)

In his response to the excessive proliferation of images that bombard us daily and fabricate a simulated reality (as seen in the CNN coverage of the Gulf War), Edwin Zwakman crafts a carefully constructed, fictional scenario that nonetheless appears undeniably real. He employs clever tricks and fabricates falsehoods to reveal uncomfortable truths, in sharp contrast to the overt lies perpetuated by those in positions of power. Though power and authority are hinted at rather than explicitly portrayed, their stereotypical presence adds a potent impact. These pervasive stereotypes have been ingrained in our collective consciousness, which Zwakman masterfully juxtaposes to create contradictory scenes that stir up previously undefined but vaguely familiar anxieties. Through this dissonance between images, he unveils the true depth and magnitude of the abyss that lies just beneath the surface.

www.ftn-books.com has the van Abbemuseum catalog Façades now available.

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David Rabinowitch (1943)

Born in 1943 in Toronto, Canada, David Rabinowitch passed away in 2023. Throughout his career, he has been featured in numerous solo museum exhibitions, including renowned institutions such as Museum Wiesbaden in Germany, Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, and Haus der Kunst St. Josef in Solothurn, Switzerland. He has also displayed his work at esteemed venues like the Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern in Germany, The Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas, and the Kunstmuseum Winterthur in Switzerland. In 2004, his art was showcased at both the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal in Quebec, which held a major retrospective of his pieces.

www.ftn-books.com has the Chemnitz book now available.

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Jeroen van Bergen (1979)

To fully comprehend something, it is often helpful to trace its origins and tell its story. Jeroen van Bergen captures the genesis of architecture through his work. In his creation myth, the fundamental principle of architecture is the smallest room – the foundation and origin of the entire concept. He draws upon the dimensions and shape of this tiny yet habitable unit, the building block of cities and the world, from the building standards for WCs in the Netherlands. This module serves as the cornerstone of his artistic explorations. […]

In his earlier pieces, Van Bergen constructed a street, a tunnel passage, a cart, a bathing cubicle, and a shower room, all based on the “principle” of the WC module on a 1:1 scale. These works were not merely scale models, but rather simplified replicas showcasing the functionality of the smallest possible form of architecture. In recent years, Van Bergen has continued to utilize the module as a guiding principle, scaling down his creations and predominantly relying on scale models. His aim is to decipher the message conveyed by the mass reproduction and combination of the “smallest room” in the larger context of architecture. These various versions are created on both a building level, with diverse variations ranging from individual homes to blocks of houses and high-rise buildings, and a city level, featuring streets, rows of buildings, and advanced city models. On the city level, Van Bergen experiments with both horizontal and vertical stacks, resulting in captivating and diverse outcomes. The works featuring low stacks of “smallest rooms” evoke thoughts of sprawling, chaotic shantytowns that often pop up around modern mega-cities, traditional desert cities like those of M’Zab in Algeria, or even pre-Columbian settlements.

www.ftn-books.com has one Jeroen van Bergen title available.