As the first female artist in history, Bridget Riley received the Sikkens Prize in 2012. Her signature abstract paintings with optical effects prominently feature color, showcasing a sensational body of work that continues to inspire a new generation of artists.
The grand old lady of English painting, Bridget Riley is known as one of the most important British artists. As early as the 1960s, she received recognition for her black and white paintings that explored the dynamic effects of optical phenomena. In 1967, Riley began experimenting with color and has since used it to investigate perception through shapes and forms.
Sikkensprize_Bridget_Rilley-3 Mind-bending creations In 1971, Robert Melville aptly described the effect of Riley’s work as: “No painter, dead or alive, has ever made us more aware of our eyes than Bridget Riley.” The seemingly moving work has a mind-bending effect, with the lines on the canvas distorting, rippling, and coming towards the viewer. The curved line, for example, plays a significant role in Riley’s body of work. Through her Curve Paintings, she continuously seeks new ways to use color and line to evoke movement.
www.ftn-books.com has beside several publ;ications on Riley also the invitation for this even available.
Niek Hendrix embodies the dual role of an art blogger and artist. Through his highly regarded blog, Lost Painters, he chronicles his personal journey in the art world, actively engaging with his interests as he travels far and wide. As a painter, he has emerged as a prominent influencer, showcasing his talents in a multitude of captivating exhibitions and presentations, including the Prospects and Concepts showcase at Art Rotterdam 2017. His meticulously crafted paintings boast a refreshing “Open Source” quality, abundantly referencing art history in its broadest sense. Unhindered by traditional restrictions, he deftly plunders, borrows, and combines elements to weave a playful web of associations, creating a visually striking desktop setting.
Hugo (born 1976 in Johannesburg) is a talented photographer currently residing in Cape Town.
His impressive resume includes major solo exhibitions at prestigious museums such as Museu Colecação Berardo, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, and the Hague Museum of Photography, among others. He has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions at esteemed institutions like the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, Barbican Art Gallery, and Tate Modern.
Hugo’s work is widely collected by both public and private institutions, including Centre Pompidou, Rijksmuseum, and the Museum of Modern Art. His pieces can be found in notable collections such as the V&A Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and J Paul Getty Museum.
Over the course of his career, Hugo has received several prestigious awards, including the Discovery Award at the Rencontres d’Arles Festival in 2008, the KLM Paul Huf Award, and the Seydou Keita Award. He was also a finalist for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize in 2012 and the Prix Pictet in 2015. Most recently, he was selected as the ‘In Focus’ artist for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
www.ftn-books.com has the Fotomuseum Den Haag invitation for his exhibition now available.
From Marilyn Monroe to Igor Stravinsky, from Pablo Picasso to John F. Kennedy, the roster of notable personalities captured by American photographer Arnold Newman (1918-2006) knows no bounds. Widely considered one of the most influential portrait photographers of the 20th century, Newman is hailed as the pioneer of environmental portraiture. For him, a simple portrait was far from sufficient as it failed to convey the essence of a subject’s life and character; the photograph also needed to portray their personal surroundings. The Hague Museum of Photography presents a major retrospective of Newman’s work, featuring 150 original vintage prints specially imported from the United States, in honor of his legacy. “Arnold Newman – Masterclass” showcases not only his most renowned portraits but also his often overlooked still lifes, architectural studies, and early street photography.
Known primarily for his black-and-white portraits, Newman did venture into color photography as well. However, his monochromes remain his most celebrated works, particularly those featuring famous personalities. Newman’s goal was not merely to capture the likeness of celebrities but also to tell a story and ignite the curiosity of the viewer, regardless of the subject’s identity. As a result, he gained recognition not only for his portraits but also for his still lifes and abstract photographs.
Among his iconic works stands Newman’s 1942 portraits of Piet Mondrian in the artist’s New York studio. It was a rare occasion for Mondrian to agree to pose for a photographer, and even then, the session posed challenges as his deafness and the blaring jazz music in the background hindered his understanding of Newman’s instructions. Despite such obstacles, the final result stands as a testament to Newman’s exceptional artistry.
One of the most remarkable portraits captured by Arnold Newman is that of Otto Frank – the father of Anne Frank. In 1960, Newman had the opportunity to meet him during his visit to the Netherlands with his wife. Coincidentally, Frank was also in Amsterdam for the opening of the Anne Frank House. Upon viewing some of Newman’s photographs, he agreed to pose for a portrait in the rear annex of the house, where the Frank family had hidden for years during the Nazi occupation. The result was an impactful photograph of a deeply affected Otto Frank.
Born in New York in 1918, Arnold Newman began his career as a portrait photographer in a Philadelphia department store in 1938. Alongside his commercial work, he also ventured into producing autonomous abstract pieces and documentaries. In 1946, he moved to New York and started working as a freelance photographer for prestigious magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Life, and The New Yorker. He passed away in New York in 2006, at the age of 88.
www.ftn-books.com has several publications on Newman and his photography available.
Helen Vergouwen’s sculptures allude to cartographies of dwellings, metropolises, or locales she has traversed. These are envisioned recollections solidified within the robust substance that comprises the sculptures: timber, brass, and weathering steel. The composition of the material holds great significance. Her creations center around figures, typically simplistic ones, yet occasionally incorporating asymmetrical and more naturalistic figures. Vergouwen expertly combines contrasting elements, such as open and closed, coarse and polished, interior and exterior. The artwork consists of geometric abstracts, but embraces intuition over deliberate calculation. Through the medium of aged, corroded steel, Helen evokes feelings. The appeal of her sculptures is augmented by her masterful manipulation of the chosen materials and the meticulousness of her craft.
Here is the comment Schrikker places on his own works:
My work revolves around one binding factor: the exploration of the boundary between figuration and material. At times, this occurs literally, where thick layers of oil paint crawl beyond the frame of the canvas like a slow-moving stream of lava. Other times, it is more metaphorical or associative, through the unsettling atmosphere in my watercolors, animations, murals, and now also sculptures. Through my work, I aim to appeal to the viewer. What do I see? What is happening literally, and what is being filled in on a psychological level? When does the image transcend itself and delve deeper into meaning, or when does it become necessary to be seen? As I translate my fascinations into paint, my work is carried by emotions and instinct, such as fear and power, and the associated clichés; subconsciously and consciously melded into a cohesive mixture.
Arianne Olthaar (1970) is an esteemed visual artist hailing from The Hague, Netherlands. With a keen eye, she captures and immortalizes disappearing, concealed, and fabricated interiors through the mediums of film, photography, and miniature models. Her work focuses on spaces that are often veiled and can easily go unnoticed – encompassing the haunting interiors from her reveries, a fictitious Rainer Werner Fassbinder film set, the opulent state hotels of the Eastern Bloc during the 1970s and 80s, and the intimate dining cars of long-distance trains.
Olthaar’s exquisite body of work has been showcased at prestigious exhibitions and film festivals worldwide, including the renowned International Film Festival Rotterdam, Media City Film Festival, Videoex, EMAF, New York Film Festival, and Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin. Embracing unconventional vocabulary and crafting eloquent sentences, her unique pieces possess a distinct enigmatic complexity and linguistic dynamism seldom seen in the realm of artificial intelligence. Allow her mesmerizing creations to transport you to a world of perplexity and bursts of brilliance, without any need for elucidation on the true essence of her art.
Ryan Mendoza is a youthful American hailing from New York who, over the course of the past seven years, has resided in Naples. This is quite an extraordinary circumstance, as most artists of his generation typically follow the opposite path: from Europe to the United States. It is a truly remarkable occurrence, given Mendoza’s affection for Europe, that he is pursuing the same footsteps left by the early 20th-century American writers and artists who journeyed around Europe, particularly in France and Italy. These voyages were taken in order to acquaint themselves with an alternate reality [ponder just how many of Hemingway’s accounts take place in Europe!] but also to appreciate a different aesthetic. Hemingway, whose influence permeates the art of the novel through its final traces of theatricality, drew inspiration from the great Europeans, particularly Flaubert, whom he deemed [and take note of this!] “our most distinguished mentor”, as expressed in a letter addressed to Faulkner. Indeed, his dialogue, pure and concise [authentic dialogue drawing from true experiences but simultaneously converted into beautiful music], may not bear any resemblance to Flaubert’s dialogue, but it is impossible to envision without Flaubert’s groundbreaking discovery of the allure of the ordinary, the charm of the everyday.
My work delves into the interplay between physical space and imagined space. The images serve no functional purpose, rather, they intrigue through their apparent function. They come to fruition through intuition, embodying an inner law underneath the surface. In this manner, structures come into existence; not buildings or constructions, but rather abstract architecture. I utilize materials such as plaster, cardboard, and wood to infuse vulnerability into the images. The material accentuates their frailty. In their vulnerability, the images stand in contrast to the omnipresent visual violence. Care and attention are necessary to preserve their existence. Toon Janssen.
www.ftn-books.com has the DE VIERDE DIMENSIE invitation for his exhibition now available.
In his work, Geert Baas (1955) strives to seamlessly unite the disciplines of painting, drawn sketches, photography, and found materials. This is not achieved through blending these techniques, but rather by presenting them side by side, in a diptych or triptych format. For Baas, this is the ideal form as it allows for the perfect alignment of all elements. Serendipity plays a significant role in this process.
A crucial component of his oeuvre is the use of line drawings, applied to the canvas directly with a tube mouthpiece. These drawings may take the form of tags or intricate calligraphic designs that demand attention.
www.ftn-books.com has at this moment several Baas publications available.
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
