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André Kertész (1894-1985)… a leporello

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André Kertész is one of the most important and influential photographers from last century. Not only his works cover all important decades from the century, but also his innovative way in seeing and photographing subjects made him famous during his life. One of the special items i have in my inventory is a leporello on the studio of Piet Mondrian. A selection of photographs resembling the classci still lifes of the dutch painters from the golden age. Great photography which proves the quality of these photographs. This leporello is available with other great Kertesz titles at www.ftn-books.com

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Arman (1928-2005)

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Arman stand for Armand Pierre Fernandez, I encountered his name today and remembered our visit to the cemetery of Père-Lachaise, the place where so many frnech and foreign celebrities are buried and remembered. There was of course the “shrine” of Jim Morrisson, who died in Paris and is still remembered by many admirers. His grave is full with grafiti and names of them and at an another side of the place there was a beautiful poetic grave of Arman.

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The grave was covered with violins and made quite an impression on me. Arman was one of the founders of the group Nouveau Realisme and can be seen as the European part of the Pop Art mouvement. In France this group grew famous with works by Spoerri, Klein and Tinguely , but the works by Arman stand out by their own. Accumulations of objects arranged and repeated on canvasses were his trademark. Including many times the use of Violins. This combination of violins in his works and for his shrine was remarkable to me. Some of his books are available at www.ftn-books.com

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Sonia Delaunay (1885-1979)

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Sonia Delaunay… I always thought she was french, but she lived in France because she married Robert Delaunay, but was born in Ukrainia. She became known as the cofounder of the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colors and geometric shapes. Her work extends to painting, textile design and stage set design. She was the first living female artist to have a retrospective exhibition at the Louvre in 1964.

In short she was one of the first female modern artists to became known all over the world. Her patterns, tissues and paintings have been of influence to many modern artists after her, including the hard edge and kinetic artists who combined her use of colors and patterns into their own works of art. Art Deco fashion could not have existed without Delaunay tissues she had fabricated for her costumes.

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A fascinating artist who’s patterns and paintings look still very modern and one of those artists who made her publications very special by using serigraphs, lithographs and pochoir prints as a cover. Making these publications stand out from the others and turning them into very desirable collectable items. There are a few available at www.ftn-books.com

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Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985)

It was early February that we visited Paris and ended our 3 day’s in this city with a visit of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Situated next door to the Louvre it is much less known, but the reason to visit was the Bauhaus exhibition which was held over there.  However , it was not the Bauhaus exhibition , but de exquisite Dubuffet collection which won me over. Because www.ftn-books.com has a large inventory of Dubuffet publications ( 24 available items) i searched for this blog the internet and found a great short synopsis on this Art Brut artist.

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Jean Dubuffet disliked authority from a very early age. He left home at 17, failed to complete his art education, and wavered for many years between painting and working in his father’s wine business. He would later be a successful propagandist, gaining notoriety for his attacks on conformism and mainstream culture, which he described as “asphyxiating.” He was attracted to the art of children and the mentally ill, and did much to promote their work, collecting it and promulgating the notion of Art Brut. His early work was influenced by that of outsiders, but it was also shaped by the interests in materiality that preoccupied many post-war French artists associated with the Art Informel movement. In the early 1960s, he developed a radically new, graphic style, which he called “Hourloupe,” and would deploy it on many important public commissions, but he remains best known for the thick textured and gritty surfaces of his pictures from the 1940s and ’50s.

Key Ideas

Dubuffet was launched to success with a series of exhibitions that opposed the prevailing mood of post-war Paris and consequently sparked enormous scandal. While the public looked for a redemptive art and a restoration of old values, Dubuffet confronted them with childlike images that satirized the conventional genres of high art. And while the public looked for beauty, he gave them pictures with coarse textures and drab colors, which critics likened to dirt and excrement.
The emphasis on texture and materiality in Dubuffet’s paintings might be read as an insistence on the real. In the aftermath of the war, it represented an appeal to acknowledge humanity’s failings and begin again from the ground – literally the soil – up.
Dubuffet’s Hourloupe style developed from a chance doodle while he was on the telephone. The basis of it was a tangle of clean black lines that forms cells, which are sometimes filled with unmixed color. He believed the style evoked the manner in which objects appear in the mind. This contrast between physical and mental representation later encouraged him to use the approach to create sculpture.
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/musees/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/parcours/galeries-thematiques/galerie-jean-dubuffet/
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Denise Rene new additions

 

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The followers of this blog know that i have a preference for some galeries. Among them there is of course Galerie de France, galerie Steltman and certainly galerie Denise Rene. From the last one i have acquired some nice additions to my inventory.

Catalogue by Francois Morellet – 1967

Catalogue by Victoir Vasarely – 1966

Catalogue by Le Parc – Couleur – 1959

The catalogues of this gallery always amaze me. They stand out from many of the other catalogues published in the sixties and they are well worth collecting, because in many cases the edition size is very small and almost always the design is top notch…. even in some cases an original work of art is included. ( ~VASARELY invitation).

The choice is far from complete, but there are some very nice examples of GALERIE DENISE RENE catalogues available at www.ftn-books.com

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SOTO and galerie Denise Rene

One of my favorite galleries of all time is the galerie Denise Rene in Paris and not only because the artists they represent are the ones i like most, but also because of their publications which in many cases contain something extra. Like this SOTO catalogue from 1970 which i acquired last week. The blue, silver and yellow squares within the catalogue are all executed in silkscreen prints and which combinations forms an abstract composition within the catalogue, which makes this catalogue some kind of an artist book and not an ordinary catalogue. This catalogue is now available at www.ftn-books.com. As for the other Denise Rene catalogues search for Denise Rene and find some other great catalogues by this famous gallery in Paris.

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Brancusi studio

 

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One of the best (free) places to visit in Paris is the studio of Constantin Brancusi. This Studio and all its contents was left to the state of France by Brancusi after his death on the condition that it should be kept complete and on show. First it was located in the Modern art Museum at the Avenue Wilson, but later it became part of the Centre Pompidou complex. A special building by Renzo Piano ( co architect of the Pompidou) was erected and in it the complete studio with all its magnificent art works by Brancusi was re created including all his tools and equipment what makes it the complete setting as it was and gives excellent insight in the proces of creation. 30 minutes is all you need for your visit, but the memory will last a lifetime and to keep this alive there are the books available at www.ftn-books.com

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Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957)

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With a little bit of luck i will be able to visit the studio of Constantin Brâncuși in the next couple of weeks. We are planning a Paris visit and one of the things i would like to see is the studio by Constantin Brâncuși. One which i visited over 35 years ago when i was living in Paris for a year. At that time the studio was just reconstructed and could be visited in the Modern Art Museum at the Avenue Wilson. Since the studio has been relocated and now can be visited in a special building designed by architect Renzo Pian0. The building is partly build into the surface of the square, right in front of the entrance of the Centre Georges Pompidou and the only one time i could have visited it( 8 years ago)…it was closed. There were exhibitions in between, all with works by Brancusi ( Beyeler and Boymans), but to see all of these magnificent works, brought together in one place is one of the things i really am looking forward to.

There are some nice older Brancusi titles available at www.ftn-books.com

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Matisse…..La Dance (1933)

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On the location of the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, there is a basement and within that basement is one of the best kept art secrets of Paris. Open for the public, no ticket needed,……just walk down the stairs and see one of most breath taking paintings by Matisse ever.

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Matisse La Dance

The 3 works form together one large mural/painting in which elements of the Dance are depicted. Size approx. 25 x 5 meters.

No crowds, because people forget to visit this space with the Palais de Chaillot, but it is very well worth visiting and i can predict you will be in the neighbourhood, because when you visit Paris and want to have the best view on the Eiffel tower, you will stand opposite it at the Palais de Chaillot, walk another 200 meters to the left and you are standing before the LA DANCE, at least as impressive as the Eiffel tower you came for.

title: La danse

year : 1933

adresse: Palais de Chaillot, 1 Place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre, Paris

+: Installé dans le Palais de Chaillot en 1977

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Vasarely at Denise Rene, 1970

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The year….1970…..the exhibition MASTERS OF MODERN ART, location gallery Denise Rene…the invitation…..a special object designed by Victor Vasarely.

This is one of the most impressive invitations ever, because it was made in a limited edition and only a few will have remained during the past 47 years. The invitation is printed in an oblong format and consist on one side of the name of and the artists within the exhibition. The other side is printed with a Vasarely design on which a transparent, but printed design can be placed and moved over the original design. Resulting in an ever changing Vasarely composition. … a spectacular original Vasarely which is available at www.ftn-books.com