This blog is meant to be a long overdue tribute to one of the artists I have admired in the first decade I was collecting art. I purchases my First KLEMENT at Arta in the early 70’s and realized when I visit my doctor, who has several Klements’ on the wall) that his art Is still appealing to me and has survived for 5 decades now.
Fon Klement’s journey as an artist began as a self-taught individual. After gaining recognition as a figurative painter and woodcutter, he ventured into the world of multicolored graphic sheets in 1960, using his distinctive technique known as “the relief cut board”. Gradually, recognizable forms made space for more abstract motifs, presented in a muted color palette.
The timing of Fon Klement’s rediscovery of the watercolor technique was impeccable, as he found himself at a crossroads in his artistic journey. The desire for change became increasingly strong, leading him on a quest that took him on a ten-week exploration of the Provence region. In his improvised studio in the southern French town of Lorgues, flowers were in abundance. Poppies, irises, roses, delphiniums, and hibiscus seduced the artist to continue pursuing the path he had previously embarked on: painting and watercoloring still lifes of flowers.
Since 1961, Fon Klement has been a member of Xylon, the international association of woodcutters, which regularly exhibits graphic art across Europe. The exhibition “Prints today in the USA”, featuring a comprehensive overview of Dutch artists’ prints including Fon Klement’s works, traveled extensively throughout the United States for many years. Fon Klement was awarded the Audience Prize during the “Grafiek Nu” graphic art biennial in Laren in autumn 1990, and later at the first international graphic art biennial in Maastricht in summer 1993.
www.ftn-books.com has now the van SPIJK publication on Fon Klement available.
