topor – FTN-blog

Posted on 01.09.202401.07.2024 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Roman Cieslewicz (1930-1996)

One notable creator, omitted in my previous blog discussing Topor, is Roman Cieslewicz. Cieslewicz, a close acquaintance of Topor who resided in Paris, rose to prominence in the 1960s with his graphic design for prestigious publications such as Vogue and Elle, as well as for various event posters.

For the Dutch, the Stedelijk Museum presented his work for the first time in 1973. A superb catalogue, crafted by Wim Crouwel, was published in commemoration of the exhibition. This showcase demonstrated the remarkable talent of Cieslewicz, with the majority of the collection featuring his poster designs over the span of two decades.

Cieslewicz stands as an exceptional artist, whose recognition in his lifetime was far less than what he receives today. In recent years, his books have piqued the interest of graphic art students worldwide, a testament to his rising popularity. It is only a matter of time before books on Cieslewicz become scarce collectibles.

The catalogue is currently available at www.ftn-books.com, a valuable addition to any collection.

www.ftn-books.com has several titles on or with Roman Ciesliewicz available.

Posted on 01.11.201612.02.2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Roman Cieslewicz

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Another great artist who i forgot to mention in my blog on Topor is Roman Cieslewicz. Cieslewicz was a long time friend of Topor , lived in Paris too and rose to fame in the sixties with his graphic design for Vogue and Elle and the posters he designed for several other events.

For the dutch his work was presented for the first time in the Stedelijk Museum in 1973 . An excellent catalogue designed by Wim Crouwel was published on that occasion. The exhibition showed the strength of this artist, because the main part of the exhibition consisted of poster designs he had made in the previous 20 years.

Cieslewicz is one of those rare artist, who in his life was far less appreciated than in these days. Graphic art students from all over the world have inquired about his books in the last few years, which shows to me his star is on the rise and soon the books on Cieslewicz will become rare collectable items.

catalogue available at www.ftn-books.com

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Posted on 30.10.201612.02.2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Roland Topor

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I first heard about Topor when i was living in Paris for almost a year. It was one of these artists who was known for his illustrations and not for his Fluxus works. Later on… my idea about his works was reversed and i primarily saw him as a Fluxus artist. There were several times when i could buy his works at auction, but in only one i was successful . The remainder of the Vogtschmidt gallery was auctioned to compensate with gallery Vogtschmidt for the Karel Appels she had sold and not paid for. In the auction i bid a fair amount for a little drawing of an angel and this is still in my collection. Because it is not on the wall i decided to sell it and this made me remember Topor.

There is one Fluxus book you have to be on the look out for… SOUVENIR… a book with crossed out words so nothing can be read. Published by the Harmonie in 1975. Topor was the only person in the world who knows which text he had written and crossed out.

Arnon Grunberg made a nice biography ( incl. cd) on Roland Topor which is also for sale so please take a look at the Topor items i currently have available at www.ftn-books.com

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Posted on 26.08.201612.02.2018 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Roland Topor…an original drawing

It was about 15 years ago that the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag produced some original Karel Appel lithographs and sold them through galerie Vogtschmidt in Amsterdam. All were sold but none were paid. So after a long time arguing about the payment we decided to go there ourselves and “rescue” what was left. A colleague of mine and i went to Amsterdam and chose some art from the stock of galerie Vogtschmidt and among these items was this Roland Topor drawing which i bought privately in an auction which i organized among the personnel of the Gemeentemuseum . This together with a series of prints was mine. At a fair price, but not as cheap as i hoped for , because others were bidding with me on these items. Now some 15 years later the purchase price is forgotten and what remains is the memory of the auction and the many nice items which were for sale at that time. I wish i had bid on the Henk Peeters set and the light drawing by Roland Topor but you can not have everything. and for the dutch….Martin Bril zei’ Je mist meer dan je meemaakt’

In the Netherlands many of the (special) publications were published because Topor received a lot of attention by publishers and curators. Because of this, one can regularly find nice publications, but since Fluxus is getting popular every year now, it becomes more and more difficult to find the nice ones

, but please take a look at my inventory at www.ftn-books.com and find the Topor books that i have at the moment.

wilfried