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Donald Judd and the Sikkens prijs ’93

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In 1993 Donald Judd was awarded the Sikkens Prijs for his radical approach to Modern Art. It was a well deserverd award for an artist who stood at the brink of Minimal Art and founded one of the most inspiring artists “colonies” in Marfa texas.

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Not much later Judd died in 1994 of Cancer, but his art remains and has proven to be (arguably) being the most important art made in the 20th century. The Stedelijk Museum and the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag both have some very important Judd’s in their collections and over time these works have not lost their appeal. I am personally convinced that in a few decades , the Minimal art by Judd is considered to be of the highest importance in the development of Modern Art/ www.ftn-books.com has the Judd publication published with the Sikkens Award ao. available .

judd sik a

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Jan van Munster (continued)

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If i would make a top 10 of my favorit Stedelijk Museum publications this Jan van Munster publication from 1970 would be ceertainly somewhere in my top 10.

 

Published in 1970. It is typical Wim Crouwel design, but some details make it exceptional. First there is the use of a viny cover which has a silkscreened print in bright red on cover and backside. The vinyl cover is used as a portfolio for just one 2 page publication. Printed recto/verso and protected by a blank sheet of white paper. This publication is very special and instead of being a full catalogue with the exhibition , this is a true artist publication making this much more valuable for all Stedelijk Museum collectors and Jan van Munster admirers. The Jan van Munster 1970 / Stedelijk Museum by Wim Crouwel publication is now available at www.ftn-books.com

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Gilbert & George (continued)

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I have a large collection of Gilbert & George publications . Small and large ones, artist books and retropective catalogues. I asked myself why i am fascinated by these artists. My fascination started when Rudi Fuchs presented Gilbert & George at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and has grown since. The result is….. numerous publications in my inventory all on this illustrous artist couple.

The ones of Art & Project and the Stedelijk Museum are maybe the most scarce and wanted ones, But now i have acquired , what is perhaps the most accessable book and best introduction to the art of Gilbert & george. It is the Robin Dutt book , published by PWP who shows the works of G&G over several decades and perhaps more important, the development of their art. The book is now available at www.ftn-books.com but more important is, that it feels like their partnership is now complete and any new work is a repetition of earlier ones. Gilbert & George have established themselves as one of the truly great modern art artist and it i snow time for every art lover to recognize their importance and learn to appreciate their works.

gilbert george dutt

 

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Balthus ( 1908-2001 )

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Balthus was the older brother of Pierre Klossowski, but beside the style which is almost identical, their subject and approach to painting are too. Where Balthus uses voyeurism in many of his paintings, Pierre Klossowski is more outspoken in his approach to sexuality.

I have always thought they were the same artist until i discoverd an exhibition where the were presented next to eachother and explained that these were brothers,

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Balthus (1908-2001) was a Polish-French artist who rejected the usual conventions of the art world and did not want to be associated with any of the art movements. His paintings often portray young girls in erotic and voyeuristic poses, but beside this his painting have a dreamlike composition. Figures are frozen in their action and the use of colors is warm and comforting. 

He is viewed as one of the great masters of twentieth-century art, and is certainly one of the truly singular painters of his time. In his complex and multifaceted oeuvre, admired by some and spurned by others, he pursued an artistic approach that embodied an alternative, and a challenge, to modern avant-gardes. In his opposition to prevailing views, he refers to a whole range of art-historical traditions and precursors. Yet in his eccentric detachment from modernism, he developed his own specific avant-garde attitude, which now appears almost postmodern and contemporary.

These are paintings to savour, but are rarely encountered outside France. His paintings are spread all over the world, but if you ask me which public collection has them, thre is only one that comes to mind. It is the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Beyler collection in Riehen, so when you find a Balthus painting, to your tme with it and savour the moment.

The above publications are available at www.ftn-books.com

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Melle (1908-1976)

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Melle Johannes Oldeboerrigter in short MELLE, was born on 27 May 1908 in Wittenburg, a residential neighbourhood adjacent to Amsterdam’s harbour area. He was the youngest of three and the only son. His parents, who were forty-three and thirty-seven when Melle was born, had each been through a lot by then. His father, Hendericus Oldeboerrigter, was born on 31 January 1865 in the village of Nijega in Friesland. At age 12, he signed on to work on a sailing vessel and advanced from junior seaman to boatswain. Raised Catholic, he soon became a socialist and was politically active in the seamen’s league, an organization that subscribed to the ideals of the social-anarchist Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis. Tnis is in short a “dry” biography, but it misses the reason why Melle has become famous in the Netherlands. Melle was the first to combine surrealistic scenes , combining genitals with fantasy figures into, considered by many, controversial paintings. Melle is important and had some followers who stillpaint in the tradition he started. I will give you only one example….Hans Kanters …on both artist www.ftn-books.com has some publications available.

left Melle….right Kanters

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Mark Kadota (1951)

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A video, performing, sculptor and painter, artist Mark Kadota splits his time between his homes in Hawaii and the Netherlands. “Living in two very different places allows a unique observation of each place with a new and fresh view.It also lets me get a different perspective of each place,” he says. Kadota’s art covers visual recording and performing arts in the broadest spectrum. He has been on exhibit in galleries throughout the world and his collections are to be seen in several museums in Europe and Hawaii.His video artworks have been shown at the Beijing and London Olympic exhibition halls and have been acquired by Stedelijk museum in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherands. Appointed the honorary city artist for Honolulu USA he is presently finishing a commission for the renovation of the Honolulu city hall

In his Dutch landscape series Kadota updates the concept of documenting landscapes void of any human content in an effort to find spaces of refuge in an age of overpopulation. His main motivation is to create artwork of universal languages, searching for common truths that unite rather than separate. His artwork, at its best, mirrors society and our interior selves, raises questions, and presents communication and reflection. He makes his messages human, poetic, inclusive, humorous, accessible and comprehensible to everyone. As a conceptual artist, Kadota uses both traditional and non-traditional media to explore idea which he expands upon using video, painting, photography, installations, performance, movement, music, poetry, kinetic stage sets, sculpture, ceramics and film. Like many artists he tends to work in series. Kadota cites “I explore the concept through the series of work till I exhaust the idea. Usually I move to the next concept and at times return to former concepts with newfound ideas.”

kadota

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Esther Tielemans (1976)

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Her first major exhibition was at the Stedelijk Museum, but her best publication by far is the one which was made for her exhibition at the Museum Bommel van Dam in 2011.

(available at www.ftn-books.com) Great publication, designed by Adriaan Mellegers and printed by one of the very best printers in the business, Lecturis. Tielemans works differ in size. From intimate small sculptures to a room filled with installed sculptures altering and reconstructing the room in a fascinating way.

Her work is now part of the exhibition Momentum at the Voorlinden Museum.
Our world is poised on the brink of a tipping point as well. We must make choices regarding climate and migration, issues that are impacting our lives more and more intensely.

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Momentum brings together more than thirty works that embody this tension. This selection from our collection unites new and established names working in a wide range of media. Together they offer insights into the personal and collective challenges of our time. With works from artists including Anish Kapoor, Rineke Dijkstra, Jacco Olivier, Esther Tielemans, Ryan Gander, Gabriel Rico and Mona Hatoum.

new scenes

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Andre Volten ( 1925-2002)

 

Schermafbeelding 2020-11-18 om 16.53.14.pngOver the years I have seen many Wim Crouwel designed catalogues. But one is definitely in my personal top 10 of Crowel designed catalogues.

It is the 1966 ANDRÉ VOLTEN catalogue he made for the Voltens Stedelijk Museum exhibition. Just some features of this great catalogue. The size. It has never been better than the size of the catalogues he designed in the early Sixties. The back has that typical Crouwel designed element. The lettering. Just look at the E of Andre. is has a hardly noticable accent aigu making it the perfect É. And than there is this graphical element taken from a Volten sculpture . It is there , but it also underlines is a very subtle way the name of Volten.

Than there is the inside cover. A shiny silver  . Just that one page but a very very powerful elemnt in the catalogue. All pages have a tranquility with lots of space, making the catalogue breath. Photography is top with a brilliant Volten portrait in his studio at work…… a lovely and highly collectable catalogue and still for sale at www.ftn-books.com

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Gerard Verdijk and Peter Stuyvesant

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Readers of this blog know of my admiration for Gerard Verdijk and did not hesitate a single secoond when in 2011 a very large painting by Verdijk was put up for auction and did not receive its first bid. It appeared to be the winning bid and since the moment this painting entered our home it has been on display in our living room. The painting was part of the Peter Stuyvesant collection but a decade ago the staff of the Turmac Tobacco company and the founders of the Stuyvesant foundation decided to sell their collection. This collection is very well documented  and from its earliest of beginnings the best dutch designers made the catalogues which documented their additions. I knew almost for certain that our paintings was in one of these publications but i never found the right one, but…..i now have it and i am very pleased that our painting is prominently present in a beautiful large catalogue, designed by Anton Beeke …and the title of it is “GROOT” in de collectie Peter Stuyvesant.

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Published in 1997, the new additions were curated by the former director of the Stedelijk Museum, Wim Beeren.( see photo above this blog) An interesting final addition which almost completes all Peter Stuyvesant publications. This one is not for sale but there are others which are available at www.ftn-books.com.

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Stedelijk Museum “on line” visits

Blog readers know of the large collection i have for sale on the Stedelijk Museum, its artists and its exhibitions ( www.ftn-books.com), but it is hard to grow this collection . No book markets, no museum visits and the only thing i could do is to photograph and describe my stock and add this to my inventory. It has now grown over by 1100 entries and i am convinced it is one of the largest collections for sale on the Stedelijk Museum and itss history. But to bridge the time between closure and reopening its collections to visitors, they made available some interesting virtual visits to the museum and its collections. Guided by curators and director Rein Wolfs , you can now make a virtual visit. One of the best i think is the one Rein Wolfs hosts. It shows the direction into which the Stedelijk is developing for the next decade or so. Interesting…. yes…., but i do hope they still will keep their focus on their history and great collection, they build over the years.