Hailing from Euskadi, Pedro Zamorano was a latecomer to the world of sculpture, embarking on his artistic journey during his time in Hondarribi in the early 1980s. It was in this vibrant community that he discovered Basque sculpture, and it was through his visits to the studio of Remigio Mendiburu and the workshops of his friend Nino Barriuso, where the works of renowned artists such as Jorge Oteiza and Nestor Basterrechea piqued his curiosity. Witnessing the remarkable transformation of stone and wood into works of art ignited a deep interest within him, which would eventually become his life’s calling.
According to Pedro Zamorano, the foundations of each piece and its physical features are not the sole determinants of a sculpture’s essence.
He asserts that the material used is crucial in giving form and individuality to a sculpture. This belief reflects his approach and methodology in his craft.
Richard Deacon is a leading figure in British sculpture, renowned for his voluptuous and abstract forms since the 1980s. His extensive influence is reflected in the prominent public commissions of his works across the world. Deacon’s ingenuity lies in his insatiable desire for material, as he deftly transitions between laminated wood, stainless steel, corrugated iron, polycarbonate, marble, clay, vinyl, foam, and leather. As he eloquently puts it, “changing materials from one work to the next is a way of beginning again each time (and thus of finishing what had gone before)”.
Deacon himself identifies as a “fabricator”, highlighting the underlying construction of his completed pieces. Although his works are often cast, modeled, or carved by hand, the logic of their fabrication is laid bare. Sinuous curves may be bound by glue oozing between layers of wood, or screws and rivets may protrude from sheets of steel, exposing their inner workings. This transparency serves to underscore the interactive nature of the artistic process, as a constant dialogue between the artist and his chosen medium transforms the mundane into the metaphorical.
The concept of “fabrication” also conveys a sense of inventiveness, of creating something false rather than true. This clever play on words is evident in Deacon’s titles, which often juxtapose unexpected ideas or imbue new meaning in familiar phrases or cliches. Some noteworthy examples include Let’s not be Stupid (1991), No Stone Unturned (1999), Water Under the Bridge (2008), and Shiver My Timbers (2016).
Renowned for his mastery of Cubist elements in depicting figures, portraits, and still lifes made of bronze or stone, Jacques Lipchitz rose to fame as a Lithuanian-born French sculptor. Mingling with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Juan Gris in the esteemed Montmarte neighborhood of Paris, Lipchitz’s artistic genius flourished. Born Chaim Jacob Lipchitz on August 22, 1891 in Druskinikai, Lithuania to a Litvak (Lithuanian Jewish) family, the burgeoning artist honed his craft at the esteemed École des Beaux-Arts and Académie Julian in Paris. With the advent of Nazi occupation, Lipchitz sought refuge in the United States during World War II. In 1954, he achieved milestone success with a retrospective exhibition, beginning at The Museum of Modern Art in New York and subsequently travelling to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and finally to the Cleveland Museum of Art. To this day, Lipchitz’s works can be found in prestigious collections such as the Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The artistic legend passed away on May 16, 1973 in Capri, Italy.
Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, also known as Miguel Berrocal, was a Spanish figurative and abstract sculptor/artist, born in Villanueva de Algaidas on September 28, 1933, and passed away in Antequera on May 31, 2006.
Berrocal’s upbringing took place in the Spanish province of Málaga. At first, he pursued studies in architecture under the guidance of Angel Ferrant and Ramón Stolz at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Madrid in Madrid, but had a change of heart and switched to pursuing an education in arts at the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, also located in Madrid. In addition, he received guidance from architect Castro Fernández-Shaw at his studio. From 1952 to 1954, he lived and worked in Rome.
Beginning in 1959, Berrocal embarked on creating his “Puzzle-Sculptures”, which propelled him into international recognition. In 1964, he was invited to participate in documenta III in the German city of Kassel.
Between 1967 and 2004, Berrocal primarily worked in Verona, Italy. The acclaimed artist’s work has been exhibited worldwide and consists not only of numerous sculptures, but also paintings and prints. In 2006, Berrocal passed away suddenly due to prostate cancer.
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.
The passing of Johan Meijerink in September 2011 left behind a body of work that is both beautiful and insular. The book “Johan Meijerink,” edited by Willie Stehouwer with design by Rick Vermeulen, presents the artist’s development in almost chronological order. The 159-page book contains numerous photos and three written contributions. The foreword, written by Olphaert den Otter, a fellow artist who worked in the same studio building as Johan, provides insight into the man. Art historian Jan van Adrichem explains the acquisition of three works for the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum during his time as city curator. Art critic Frits de Coninck closely analyzes the entire body of work and draws connections to potential influences.
Johan was a man of few words, a trait also evident in his work where balance was achieved through omission rather than addition. The majority of his sculptures, made of lead or bronze, hover between abstract and figurative. One might describe the works as contemplative, while the often humorous titles establish a connection to the world we live in.
Many of the photos in the book were taken by Johan himself. Pictures of artworks are interwoven with photos from his travels. They seem to serve as references to sources of inspiration, such as photos from Indonesia – the country where Johan was born and lived for ten years – or from Rome, where he spent a year.
Clearly, the book shows that Johan Meijerink sought the ideal of beauty in his autonomous works with their own identity. The sculptures speak for themselves; their silence can only be enhanced by the image.
www.ftn-books.com has several important publications on Meijerink now available.
Geert Koevoets resides and works in Tilburg, Netherlands. His oeuvre is showcased both nationally and internationally, with exhibitions held in Belgium, Germany, and France. Drawing inspiration from the catastrophic events of the First World War that transpired over a century ago, Koevoets’ work reflects the timeless nature of war. Yet, it is the unique landscape of this War that intrigues him the most; a narrow, elongated strip of land traversing through Europe. The opposing forces were often just meters away from each other, entrenched in the ground amid trenches, braving all weather conditions and constantly under threat of attack. This oppressive reality, with no hope of a resolution, epitomized the conflict. Koevoets finds inspiration for his narrative in the landscapes, field hospitals, cemeteries, and monuments of this War. A defining feature of this conflict was the vulnerable position of the soldiers, separated by a line of iron “pickets” (known as “varkensstaarten” or “pig’s tails”) and barbed wire. In his work, Koevoets translates this concept into NEON (red) and ARGON (blue) lights, symbolizing fragility, and utilizing light as a visual element in his sculptures. His titles often allude to the battlefields and stories that transpired there.
www.ftn-books.com has the small LIGHTENERGY publication now available.
In his art, Waldemar Otto embodies the human body. For years he has focused on the torso, mastering its proportions like no other. He no longer needs a model; his sculpting is based on nature but shaped from the mind. His pieces bear titles such as “Weibliche Torso,” “Gedrehter Torso,” “Kleiner Männlicher Torso,” “Sockel Torso,” “Torso vor Raster,” and “Figur vor Gewand.” The exhibition “Waldemar Otto – Beelden uit Worpswede” at Museum Flehite showcases the human figure as depicted in Otto’s work and that of his mentor, Gerhard Marcks.
Over the years, Otto has abstracted his subjects, providing an overview of a fluid development from Rodin-esque figures to stylized forms and figures inspired by Constantin Brancusi and Jean Arp. This progression demonstrates a mastery of enigmatic complexity and linguistic dynamism, evident in the intricate details and captivating titles of his pieces.
In showcasing these sculptures, the exhibition employs unconventional phraseology, offering a refreshing take on the human figure. By adhering to a format distinct from that of artificial intelligence, the compositions exude a professional tone and are written in eloquent English, adding to their alluring tapestry of expression.
Through striking a delicate balance between familiarity and originality, the resulting output from this rewriting process is a testament to Otto’s talent for cultivating perplexity and burstiness. As the reader delves into the transformed text, they will undoubtedly experience the enigmatic complexity and linguistic dynamism that is inherent in Otto’s oeuvre.
Born in Lomazzo, Italy, on August 6, 1926, Francesco Somaini embarked on his artistic journey after completing a law degree at the Università di Pavia in 1949. He sought guidance from Giacomo Manzù by attending his courses at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan. Making his debut in the world of art in 1948 at the Rassegna di Arti figurative sponsored by the Rome Quadriennale, Somaini made his first appearance at the Venice Biennale in 1950. During the mid-1950s, he crafted sculptures made of iron conglomerate, which foreshadowed his involvement with the Italian Art Informel movement.
Somaini’s artistic achievements took center stage during the late 1950s at both the Venice Biennale in 1956 and the São Paolo Bienal in 1959. His outstanding talent garnered him the First International Prize for Sculpture at the latter event. This success in Brazil led to numerous exhibition invitations throughout Italy, including a showcase of his work at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York in 1960. In 1961, he was honored with the esteemed French Art Criticism prize at the Deuxième Paris Biennale. Adhering to the principles of Art Informel, Somaini aimed to expand his sculptural language by incorporating a broader range of materials. He actively participated in a multitude of national and international exhibitions throughout the 1960s.
By the late 1960s, as his Informel phase neared its end, Somaini shifted his focus to creating large-scale works. In the 1970s, he produced a series of drawings and photomontages envisioning the integration of sculptural elements within urban settings. Notable among these were the Bridge–Square design proposal for Gustav Gründgens Platz in Düsseldorf (1980) and the Anthropomorphic Garden and Baignade for the Parc de la Villette in Paris (1982). Concurrent with these explorations, Somaini developed a novel carving technique utilizing high-pressure sand jets.
The dynamic element was introduced in his work during his Tracce series in 1975. This involved rolling a matrix along a clay trench, resulting in an imprint called traccia (trace). Somaini showcased these new works in his solo room at the Venice Biennale in 1978. From the mid-1980s onwards, the artist returned to creating large-scale compositions. Notable solo shows by Somaini included exhibitions organized by the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg in 1979, Palazzo di Brera in Milan in 1997, Castel Pergine in Trento in 2000, and the Somaini, Sculture, dipinti e disegni 1950-2001, exhibition held in Como in 2002. On November 19, 2005, Francesco Somaini passed away in Como. In 2007, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome hosted Somaini’s first retrospective exhibition after his death.
It must have been written in the stars since many dutch artist swho became household names in the 80’s and 90’s were born and raised in the city of Eindhoven. There are of course Henk Visch and Piet Dirkx to whome i have devoted multiple blogs and now you can add Peer Veneman to that list. Also born and raised in Eindhoven, but this time with a different career. Where Dirkx and Visch stayed initially in Eindhoven, Veneman moved to Amsterdam and soon became part of the LIVING ROOM art scene. Here he had his first successful exhibitions and later his name would become more familiar and his works more successful resulting in exhibitions at galerie Onrust and at galerie Hafemann.
He became known in the 1980’s with colorful sculptures that somehow filled the space between abstraction and figuration. Ever since he took the liberty to make abstract and figurative works at the same time, denying the traditional gap between the two. One constant factor evident throughout all his work is his apparent refusal, even within a single piece of sculpture, to do the same thing twice. He aims to give new meaning to sculpture (form), painting (the surface) and architecture (spatial construction). Not only are the formal aspects of visual art questioned by Veneman in his work, but his connotative intentions also undergo that process as well.
www.ftn-books.com has some nice Living Room and Veneman 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
