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Lei Molin (1927-1990)

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Lei Molin followed in his very own way “the road to abstraction”.

Making black and white landscapes in the early years of his career, painting portraits to make a living, he moved in the mid Sixties to Amsterdam where he made a connection with Pieter Defesche, Jef Diederen en Ger Latster, they were called the ” Amsterdamse Limburgers”, because they all moved from Limburg to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam he was influenced by Cobra and Minimalism, resulting in a style of his own losing the bright colors and presenting his works in a sober black an white. In the early Eighties color returned into his works and the us e of plastic foils made his paintings stand out from the ones of his colleagues.

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After Amsterdam he movend to Ijmuiden, where he became a member of the Ijmuider kring and got inspired by the harbors of Ijmuiden.

In 1986 he told the interrviewer for a nespaper that he considered his latest works to be the ones of his 40 year career. I have known i could make it, but now i finally i am confident enough to make it. It will not become better, also not worse…this is the result of a lifelong career.

Thr above titles are available at www.ftn-books.com

 

 

 

 

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Arthur Spronken (1930- 2018)

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A few weeks ago Arthur Spronken died, Famous in the South of the Netherlands with his horse sculptures. He has become each decade of more importance for the dutch sculpture scene. His statues are widely spread in public spaces in Limburg and because of their size in most cases outside.

What do i think of Spronken as a sculptor and his sculptures. To me they look like classic sculptures , influenced by the “classic” Chinese Tang hors ceramic horses. Their legs in most cases missing , leaving a muscular torso of the horse and in most cases there is “action and mouvement ” in the torso.

A little like the technique the futurists used to use within their paintings, suggesting a mouvement. After his initial fame in Limburg, his sculptures spread over the Netherlands. Making sculptures in public places in towns like Amsterdam, Haarlem and Zwolle. I respect his craftsmanship but his sculptures never fascinated me enough to buy a small one for my collection,. They come up for auction regularly and their prices are still on the verge of affordable. His sculptures are nice to look at and they draw your attention immediately when you encounter them, but for me the do not intrigue long enough to collect them.

Arthur Spronken has had some important exhibitions in the Netherlands. Among them Beelden Aan Zee and the Frans Hals Museum and www.ftn-books.com has some nice titles on the sculptor Arthur Spronken. What i personally like about Spronken is the catalogue which was made for the van Bohemen/Spronken Stedelijk Museum exhibition in 1968. A designed catalogue by Wim Crouwel.