Going back in time: Daniel Gould’s 3D List, Art in Amsterdam #81

Has the art market depression finally come to an end? Get this: three galleries had 22, 18 and nine RED DOTS. Just like the old days! I can say no more except let's not make this month an exception....Contribute to the resurgency and keep the ball rolling and hop on the band wagon....A lot of people are depending on you!     

INDEX:                  

Bits & Pieces:

Museum Reviews:      Amsterdam Stadarchief: "Breitner in Amsterdam, 1886-1923"

                                    "foam": Vivian Maier (1926-2008, USofA), "Street Photographer"

What You Have Missed:

BITS & PIECES

The Cromhouthuizen (Herengracht 366-368) will have an exhibition from the 23rd October to 11th January,2015, titled, "Into the Woods." It will be an unusual art show "using elements derived from nature such as moss, twigs, tree bark and autumn leaves." This is a prelude to a future museum at the site.
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A profile of two Dutch musicians, Bas Morsch and Leon Caren, is featured in an article "Supporting the arts with a new kind of access," by Nina Siegal, in the Int New York Times (30th Oct). They are the co-founders of "We Are Public in Amsterdam." (www.inytimes.com
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...Also, A murder that still haunts the Dutch, by Rachel Donadio, (www.inyt.com). A feature story on the assisination of Theo van Gogh. He was killed on the 2nd November, 2004.
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Amsterdam Art Weekend is scheduled for 27th to the 30th of November. A total of 27 Amsterdam' galleries will participate. In addition, there will be screenings at the EYE for IDFA; performances at the Oude Kerk; and exhibition at art spaces like de Appel, Manifesta, as well as a select group of museums. And, at the same time, the Rijksakademie will open its ateliers. More info at: www.amsterdamart.com 
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The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati USA), is sponsoring the Dave Bown Projects, 9th Annual Competition, with a first prize of $10,000. The closing date for entry is: 6th December, 2014. More info: info@davebownprojects.com
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Francis Boeske and Hans Gieles have ended both their personal and artistic relationship after 24 years. Their gallery's name VOUS ETES ICI will be discontinued, but the location will be renamed Francis Boeske Projects
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Freud is either admired or critisized. There isn't much middle ground even amongst psychiatrist. What they all do agree with is that he was instrumental in bringing awareness to "diseases" of the mind and emotions.  Late in life, he would become a coke user but his addiction to tobacco was perhaps more severe. This from an article by Stephen Heyman, "In Search of Freud and Vienna," (www.inyt.com, 30th Aug): "Freud said that all addictions---smoking and alcohol included---were essentially replacements for the primal addiction: masturbation. This insight did nothing to diminish his zeal for tobacco; Freud was so addicted that nonsmokers offended him. He once offered his 17-year old nephew a cigarette, and when the young man demurred, Freud admonished him, saying, 'My boy, smoking is one of the greatest and cheapest enjoyments in life, and if you decide in advance not to smoke, I can only feel sorry for you.'

"Freud later developed a horrifying case of oral cancer, and endured more than 30 surgeries to his palate and jaw. His biographer Peter Gay writes that, at the end, his ulcerated cancer wound gave off such a fetid smell that his beloved chow, Lun, would flinch from him. Perhaps, I thought, stubbing out my cigarillo, there's a better way to commune with Freud's Viennese ghost than by smoking?"
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...And where did 3D read this: "Knowledge and wisdom are not the same. For example, knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable; wisdom is not putting one in a fruit salad." 
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3D stumbled on this website: www.overdose.am. It is a cultural newsletter dealing specifically with Amsterdam: Art, fashion, events, restaurants, et al. 
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Pithy statements: "I am not here for your amusement---you're here for mine!" Johnny Ritter of the Sex Pistols. Stenciled on the jacket of Bert Brookge. Whoever he might be.
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Film Trivia: The American Film Institute compiled the 100 greatest lines in movie history in 2005. Number one was, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" Uttered by Rheet Butler (Clark Gable) to Scarlet O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) in Gone With The Wind (1939). The producer David Selzneck "had to fight censors to keep the line from the book." In an exhibition, that shows a memo with variations the line was altered to read, "Frankly, my dear, I just don't care." Yeah, that loses something...Olivia De Haveland, who also starred in this film classic, is still alive and kicking, at the ripe old age of 98, and living in Paris. Must be the water!
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Seen on a cafe chalk board (Centuurbann 230): "You don't drink alcohol to forget the answer, but to forget the question." Now, ain't dat da truth! Set 'em up, bartender!
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Laser 3.14 has this comment: "As She French Kisses; the Dark Matter." Huh? At Prinsengracht 560. 
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3D does not own a TV. I am now in my 40th year of no-TV. I luv it! My friends tell me that they don't understand. They say, "You like movies! You get them free on TV." Yeah, well, watching a good film on TV is like reading a good novel that has been condensed by Reader's Digest. And you pay a high price by being forced to put up with the commercials; yes, and fortunately, there are  public stations which do avoid this travesty, but not enough. And second, the film is cropped for the TV screen---yes, there are exceptions, on some of the networks, but too few for my taste. However, I have seen the future and it looks top-notch. I attended, in September, the International Broadcasting Conference (IBC) at the RIA. I visited the Samsung stand and was mesmerized by their Curved UHD TV, 4K. It has four times the HD resolution and the screen is about 200 cms., by 120 cms. The flat screen version is already available and the curved version will be on the market in 2015. Amazing to look at!
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Vincent van Gogh's Still Life, Vase of Daisies and Poppies, sold at Sotheby's-New York, for $62 million on the 3rd of November.
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MUSEUM REVIEWS:

Amsterdam Stadsarchief: Breitner in Amsterdam, 1886-1923

To make it short, this is the George Hendrik Breitner story in a nutshell! Concise and arranged in chronological order from his first appearance in Amsterdam, at the age of 29, until his death in 1923. He can be, in many ways, described as the quintessential academically trained artist of the 19th century. He always carried with him a scrapbook in which he would make sketches of anything that got his attention in the city...and everything got his attention in Amsterdam. At that time, it was the beginning of its "second golden age." New and spectacular buildings were under construction; and new neighborhoods were being layed-out. He wrote: "I shall paint people in the streets and in the houses they've built---above all, life. I'll try to become the peintre du peuple---or rather, I already am, since I want to be."" 

He recorded and illustrated all this activity in 120+ scrapbooks that have been preserved which contain virtually thousands of sketches. And there is another factor at play, a mid-19th century invention was the camera. Breitner embraced it. In 1884, it became a new tool on his palette. There are over 3,000 known photographs still available today. A case can be made that he was the first "street photographer" in photographic history. 

The Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsarchief show begins at the Oosterpark, number 82. Across the street, a new park was being landscaped. And we follow him to the Prinseneiland in a space that was so large he learned to ride his first bicycle there---remember, the bicycle was a recent invention at that time. The overhead was paid by the father of Kees Maks who was then studying art and Breitner would be his mentor. Next, it was the Lauriergracht, number 8, which would be where he produced most of his most famous works. He made any number of paintings, drawings and photographs of the Jordaan. One, Rain and Wind, now considered one of his masterpieces was not without contemporary criticism In 1897, it was offered, on loan, to the new Stedelijk Museum, and for the second time, and, again, rejected. Breitner was irritated and complained in a letter dated January, 1898. Shortly thereafter, he was informed that it had been decided to hang the work in "one small room devoted to modern art."

The exhibition is in chronological segments and each section is introduced with a paragraph---on the wall---which describes the highlights. Read them by all means; it adds A'dam historical knowledge, as well as, keeping everything in context. A show well worth seeing.

Until 2nd February, 2015. Entry fee: 6 euro; children 4 euro. 

Stadsarchief: Vijzelstraat 32. https://bit.ly/1WeP2EC 
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"foam" presents Vivian Maier (1926-2008, USofA), "Street Photographer."

The name, Vivian Maier, is little known to even those professionally interested in photography. However, that is in the process of changing. There are two documentaries, Finding Vivian Maier and Who Took Nanny's Pictures now in circulation that brings her skills to light. After her death in 2008, the contents of her storage lockers were auction off for practically nothing. However, the right people got to see the "100,000 to150,000 negatives, over 3,000 prints, and also hundreds of undeveloped 35mm Ektachrome film" and began to promote her.

Here was a person that spent her adult life as a nanny. Living in other peoples houses----New York and Chicago---but with an almost secret other life: she photographed. Mostly the street people of those cities. 

As you enter the hallway leading to the three Keizersgracht gallery rooms you will see on both walls several b/w photographs of children. Since she was a "nanny" it is only natural she would focus on young children. But she saw everything on the street as worthy of documentation; from the banal---a charred chair at curbside---to the oridinary like a trash can revealing its insides. 

The adults she captures in her lens are not the beautiful, well, sometimes, but indeed the people of the street. The unattractive, the ugly, the fat, the cigar smoker, the drunks, in other words, a cross section of city' life. And all in b/w with eye-catching contrast and nuances of shadows and ambient light often coming together for a spectacular photograph (Note: there are 19 color photos in the show, but that is perhaps only ten percent of the works on display.) 

She did many self portraits. Capturing herself in mirrors and reflections from store windows and other unusual venues. There is even a series of photos that can be described as "abstract" like the metal fire escape against the bricks of a building; a street crossing; and a huge pile of wooden crates. 

There is a DVD presentations of her 8mm and 16mm short films each about three or four minutes duration. Unfortunately, the linear notes on the wall, next to the video screen, are not complete; nor are they in the proper arrangement.  But, hey, that's only  a minor thing.

What is important is her work! She has something in common with Vincent van Gogh, she sold very few works and for the most part it was to the parents of children she photographed. But, as I said, that is about to change...and in a big way.

Until January 28th 2015. 

foam, Keizersgracht 609. www.foam.org 
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WHAT YOU HAVE MISSED...but there still may be time 

Galerie Gabriel Rolt has left the centrum for a location at the edge of De Pijp (Tolstraat 84). 3D, at first, wondered Why? Then I saw the space. Rolt now has the ground floor of an old school building. Lots of space! Two large gallery rooms and one small. 

In this "first" exhibition, there are 10 artists showing: Maiken Bent (Denmark); Paul Czerlitzki (Ger); Shezad Dawood (UK); Daif King (N.Zealand/UK); Tomos van Linge (NL); Xue Mu (China); Dustin Pevey (USA); Gino Saccone (UK); Peter Schuyff (NL/Can/USA). And this list dosen't include those who performed at the opening. And all-star and truly international show. 

What you will see is a mixed bag of styles and techniques. Gino Saccone does contemporary tapestry which are expressionistic...Dustin Pevey deconstructs icons into new forms, but still recognizable....Daif King makes a "painting" with a computer, scans it and turns it into a geometric/abstraction...Shezad Dawood takes Indian made textiles and paints on them. It is east meets west...Peter Schuff does geometric/abstraction and was part of the Neo-Geo movement...Xue Mu is a contemporary Pop School artist who emulates Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground cover with a series of bananas. 

One performance was an "installation-sculpture-object" that was put into motion. Hmmm...what does that mean? Well, champagne glasses were stacked nine high from a triangular lay out at the base. There was a wooden structure standing about three meters high which had a sharp downward sloop and at the lower lip there was a loop for the bowling ball that would be propelled down the grooved ramp designed by Freddy Trathiener. The gallery' owners six year old daughter, Lee Rolt Dolron, did the honor of setting the bowling ball on course. All the glasses were shattered...except for ONE! Cool!  Until __?__  www.gabrielrolt.com 
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Christian Voight at Wanrooij Gallery (Stadhouderskade 41), is an unusual artist in that he doesn't really focus on any one theme nor does he have a specific subject matter to explore. Well, maybe he does....He likes the monumental. And that can be the interior of a former cathedral or a mountain range. His imagery is always in some way panoramic, and features abstractions of reality while capturing colors that are sometimes subtle and sometimes spectacularly vibrant. Voight travels the world looking for exciting imagery that ranges from the Shwe Nandow Monastery in Myanmar to a three meter wide view of the Himalayas which captures perhaps 100 km of the range and looking down on it. Outstanding! The colorful is best exemplified by "Entrance" which photographs a louvered garage door with an air-brushed nude decorating it. Along the curb is stenciled "No Parking"and "No Fucking." Fun! 

An interior space---the Cathedral Del Tange---which is now a "peoples" restaurant is not only a very large space but with intricate decorations and all the banal aspects of a"cheap" place to eat. "J-Craft," shot at Saint-Tropez, is an anomaly in the show. He photographs from the stern of a speedboat jetting through the water. He then veceorizes---fracturing the imagery into sharp geometric angles---with the results that are eye popping and it looks more like a silkscreen than a photograph. 
(6,500 euro to 35,000 euro) A book is also available which measures 30x60 cms., that is, 152 pages and captures his panoramic shots accurately. It is in an edition of 500 and priced at 175 euro. Until __?__ https://www.wanrooijgallery.com/ 
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At AdK (Prinsengracht 534) are two artists. Camille Smeets works with ceramics. Most look as if they have stepped from the pages of a book on mythology. There is both fun and humor in her imagery and their forms. And you are never really sure what it is you are looking at. Mystery! Her largest work, on display, looks like a "character" from Homer's The Odyssey. It has seven legs, horns, a tail and a human face. Cool! Another work is a complete short story and indescribable in my limited space. (10x7x20 cms., @ 550 euro; 33x45x70 cms., @ 2,950 euro)...Anne Marie Spijker is a difficult artist to categorize by style. She is obviously representational but she does that with the brush of an expressionist. The subjects range from dogs to a flower plant to a push broom to an open book. Its the colors that get your attention. Nice work! (all acrylic/oil on linen: 40x30 cms., @ 850 euro; 60x40 cms., @ 1,2500 euro; 123x50 cms., @ 2,050 euro). Until 8th November. www.adkactuelekunst.nl 
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Two artists are showing at BORZO (Keizersgracht 516). Carlijn Mens lives in a black and white world. She expresses this dichotomy in both a representational and in an abstract form. And the work is indeed heavy on contrast---black on black against virgin white. A work that stands out, Dansen i en Ring, is a very large charcoal on paper (200x200 cms.). The piece looks like a wreath of bubbles in b/w and in infinite shades of gray. She also hangs her photography. (74x58 cms., acrylic and oil on canvas @ 4,800 euro; 196x225 cms., charcoal on paper @ 6,000 euro)....Wieteke Heldens does conceptual geometric/abstractions with a full palette of colors. Basically, she practices conceptual redundancy. That is, repeating symbols over and over. In addition, she achieves the same style of imagery in her b/w work which are essentially studies in gray. (200x150 cms., oil on cnvas @ 4,200 euro).  Until 15th November. www.borzo.com 
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Jean-Baptiste Maitre (NL/France) is at Martin van Zomeren (Hazenstraat 20) and he has an unique voice as to his style. He displays "a body of works comprising a set of paintings on paper, on rope, and cotton, using various techniques such as acrylic and spray paint, ink jet, batik, dye and collages." Hey, what happened to the kitchen sink? He uses these materials in a variety of ways. One way is to arrange what look like spools of 35mm film strips and paints over them without destroying the imagery. The latter becomes subliminal representations. An installation incorporates his unusual style into a conceptual form accented by a video. The video emulates his painting style. No price list. Until 15th November. www.gmvz.com 
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Femmy Otten is at Galerie Fons Welters (Bloemstraat 140) with her figurative work. She uses plaster, wood, pencil and water color to achieve her conceptual ideas. Some pieces are erotic but in ironic ways like the wood carving with female breast and a male penis. A large plaster head lays on the floor of the gallery. A wall installation features pencil drawings on the wall itself in addition to a plaster torso that seems to be emerging from the wall. Small pencil portrait drawings stand-out because of their simplicity....In the front of the gallery, the Playstation area, is a video by Dan Walwin (UK, works in A'dam). It is a simple outdoor patio-like setting and at night. A motion controlled camera captures the geometric angles of a wooden balcony. The smooth camera dolly creates an hypnotic loop. Until 15th November. www.fonswelters.nl 
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Stigter Van Doesburg (Elandstraat 90) presents the first solo exhibition for Peggy Franck and...where to begin? Is she a conceptualist? An expressionist? What? She paints and sometimes make a photographic C-print of the work which is the final realization. Her paintings tend to be pure expressionism but she expresses it in several styles and with different techniques. In this show, there is a digitally printed carpet nearly four meters long. Six of her paintings are scattered across the rug. Another piece is a gouache on canvas that features an abstract C-print. (158x127 cms., C-print, Ed. 3 @ 3,500 euro; 115x78 cms., Acrylic sheet, gouache on canvas @ 6,500 euro; 385x191 cms., digitally printed rug, unique @ 13,000 euro). Until 22nd., November. www.stigtervandoesburg.com 
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Marlijke Efua Everts (NL/Ghana) and Helen Hintjens (she calls various countries home: the former Belgian Congo, Kenya, Tanzania and, now, NL) have created an installation at Galerie 23 (KNSM-laan 307). In a sense it can be described as a 3D (dimensional) collage consisting of street material, junk shop finds and original paintings, photos, film, et al. Both artist met during the final weeks before graduation at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. They found common ground and began to collaborate and the result has been in creating a "highly personal combined installation works." Everts sets the basic foundation because "she tries to explore the content of 'home' in material form." This explanation helps to explain why the small two room installations are in half-light, that is, dimly lit. "When I first came to Holland, I noticed that the living rooms of Dutch people, I visited, were rather dark. It was explained that Holland is a cold climate and minimal lighting makes for both a cozy and warm environment." Hintjens, for her part, takes an opposite approach and incorporates in her paintings collage elements creating "The multi-layered quality of the shared history of Europe and Africa is what she tries to make visible in her work." Some of the collages "look pretty" but if you study them then you will see that they are sometimes grotesque. Until 12th November. www.galerie23.nl 
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Aziz Bekkaoui---awarded the Amsterdam Art Prize, by the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, in 2007, is exhibiting onework at Witzenhausen Gallery (Hazenstraat 60). "Image body" is an androgynous-like figure with the head of a bull and all in black and it stands four meters high. He says he "writes" his "image" in black and his representational inspiration comes from the likes of Lady Gaga and Mondona There is a fetish element that he says, "symbolizes that with youth, today, it is a middle road we no longer question." (400 cms @ 10,000 euro). Until __?__. https://bit.ly/2zCqZwM 
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Two artists show at LUMEN TRAVO (Lijnbaansgracht 314). Katrin Korfman (NL) does unusual photography that, well, doesn't really appear to be a photograph. She protects her technique with the upmost secrecy as to how she attains her "illusions." One example looks, from a view above the crowd, like a group of several hundred people which is what it is and most are dressed in red and they appear to be arranged both haphazardly but, also, as a geometric configuration. (173x120 cms., photo, Ed 7 @ 12,000 euro; 244x352 cms., photo, Ed 3 @ 29,000)...Jens Pfeifer (German) is exhibiting conceptual sculpture/objects. His forms look like mountain peaks with their irregular geometric projections. They appeared to have been chromed, but, no, the material is highly polished stainless steel. On display is also a rather spectacular glass object that stands 230 cms., high. It consist of 34 glass tubes each 8 cms., wide and 80 cms., long. It is truly monumental but with the ironic realization that it is very fragile. (78x38x55 cms., stainless steel @ 4,900 euro; 230x80x80 cms., glass. Price on request). Until 22nd November. www.lumentravo.nl 
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Well, Galerie "bart" (Elandsgracht 16) present nine artist from the east of Holland. Saskia Blokzil is a represntational contemporary impressionist. There is a pleasing homage to Van Gogh in two works with their color contrast and almost nervous brush strokes (24x30 cms., oil on canvas @ 500 euro)...Ingrid Davids does conceptual sculpture/objects. The imagery is both surprising and whimsical. She works with wood, hardboard, and suede strips. (24x32 cms., @ 490 euro)...Dewi Hoppe paints, draws and does typography. From the very colorful---the Clown---to b/w. The Robot---a collage on paper + w/c---is both abstract and figurative. A w/c still-life incorporated an handwritten letter. (10x10 cms., ink on paper @ 85 euro; 150x120 oil  + pastel on canvas @ 2,000 euro)...Stella de Kort does pen and ink drawings which are free-form representational line drawings and heavy on the prespective. (42x30 cms., ink on paper @ 125 euro; 110x80 cms., ink on paper @ 500 euro)...Jannemarein Renout makes very unusual prints and the results can be mesmerizing. Sometimes simple imagery, sometimes complex geometric designs. (100x80 cms., Hahnemuhle 308 gr photo rag paper, Ed 3 @ 675 euro)...Milan van Wezel presents the exhibitions show-stopper. It is a floor sculpture with legs and shoes, the head and torso are from a canvas bag; and it is animated. Also showing are Frederique Jonker, Thomas van Rijs and Sjoerd Tegelaers. Until 6th December. www.galeriebart.nl 
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PieterJan Ginckels, showing at "andriesse & eyck" (N.B. Paul Andreisse and Zsa-Zsa Eyck have merged their galleries at  Leliegracht 47) is a conceptualist who works with several materials. One series could be described as a study in conceptual redundancy. Row upon row of 10x5 cms., sheets of sandpaper are secured in-line with push-pins. He makes "posters" where the typography and composition is at the forefront. No imagery. In the small back gallery is a series of six wooden wall sculpture/objects. Each is modeled after the new hand dryers where you stick both hands into a slot and a strong force of hot hair dries them. ("The Affordable Archive," three books, each of 1,000 pages, 30x21 cms., as a'" unique wood object" and in an Ed. 50, signed and numbered---damn, forgot to check the price; 84x32x26 cms., oil, plastic, glue, mails, multiplex, wood, veneer @ 2,700 euro.) Until __?__. https://bit.ly/2MaB2y0
and www.paulandriesse.nl 
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And the star of the show is...Envelope, please: Drum-roll: RIK SMITS at Galerie Ron Mandos (Prinsengracht 282). Smits amazes the human eye! It doesn't matter if he is making a drawing---pencil on paper---or a model city. The latter example is mind-blowing. The "city" sits on a low table and consists of 800 separate buildings; yes, the number is correct. Each "building" resembles---but doesn't copy---an existing one somewhere in the world, from Chicago to Hong Kong to Dubia. He makes a drawing, of each, before pains-takingly cutting out the image---no 3D printing involved. His fictional city took about nine months working a full-time week. His drawings are a tedious as is his sculptured models. And, again, each building is from his mind. But more importantly, while they are representational they are also geometric designs. It's a WOW! 12 RED DOTS at opening. (21x29 cms., pencil on paper @ 1,400 euro; 50x70 cms., pencil on paper @ 3,200 euro; the "city's" price is available on request....In the front gallery, of the space, is the work of Jasper de Beijer who has an unusual technique. He makes a drawing, cuts it out from the paper and adds the cut-out over a drawn background. After this step, he makes a photo of the work and then mounts it as a C-print. The drawings, themselves, have a dark and brooding sense like Gieger's "Alien" series. 6 RED DOTS at opening. (28x43 cms., C-print, Ed 7 @ 1,900 euro; 200x115 cms., C-print @ 9,100 euro). Until 22nd November. www.ronmandos.nl 
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Galerie Roger Katwijk (Lange Leidsedwarstraat 198) shows Tessa Verder who does photographic collages...but differently. She makes a panoramic photo of a nature scene or a landscape. Then she adds the sky which is a photo from an 18th or 19th century paintings where the sky was the major focal point. It creates and unusual visual effect. (Each works comes in three sizes: 40x68 cms., 70x118 cms., 100x170 cms., Ed. 10, 5 and 5 respectively @ 1,750 euro, 4,500 euro, 7,500 euro). Until 15th November. www.galerierogerkatwijk.nl 
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Martijn Hesseling is at JASKI ART GALLERY (Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 29) and he has taken the art of the collage to a new level...and, at the same time, the technique, he employs, could not be more simple. He uses newspapers, then varnishes an individual page. Once dry, he cuts out his imagery and uses the cut out parts and the newspaper that has been cut. What happens is that there is a translucent effect and the paper is mounted on plexiglass. The result is an unusual perception of depth and form, too. The imagery ranges from interior scenes---one looks on to what could be a control room for NASA---to exteriors of A'dam buildings. One, Kiosk, is a kiosk in Japan and stands-out amongst all the others. 3 RED DOTS at opening (40x45 cms., collage @ 2,100 euro; 160x120 cms.m collage @ 13,500 euro; 250x180 cms., collage @ 32,000 euro). Until 2nd. November. www.jaski.nl 
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AKINCI (Lijnbaansgracht 317) welcomes back Andrei Roiter (Rus/NL/USA) with completely new work. The gallery has been turned into an installation. Throughout the space is a b/w painted line drawing which is representational, conceptual and linear. He says that his basic theme, for the last 25 years, has been travel. The blackline drawings, connecting the various works, is a symbolic journey through Russia, the Netherlands and the USofA. Roiter's early paintings---late 80s early 90s---were  monochromatic or very close to it. In this show there is one example of a painting that is "nearly monochromatic," but he adds tension by "draping," in black/gray, next to the  all-black surface then adds a very small and colorful painting on the monochrmatic black. Most works are based on form, perspective and light. He expresses these factors in several ways. Don't miss his video which is a self portrait: short, simple and with a staccoto rhythm in his dance. Until 22nd November. www.akinci.nl 
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Jessica Skowroneck is the winner of the Koninklijke Schilderprijs 2014 award; and rightly so. She is showing at Percipi Gallery (Rozenstraat 227). Her work is pure expressionism but from time to time she adds a touch of abstraction to complement the expressionistic background. She doesn't overpower you with a chaotic use of colors, but she concentrates on one color and expresses it on different levels of intensity and variations of hues and shades. The results are subtle and mesmerizing. (30x40 cms., Acrylic + MDF @ 780 euro; 40x44 cms., acrylic + MDF @ 890 euro; 100x122 cms., acrylic _ MDF @ 2,400 euro) Until 16th November. https://bit.ly/2xrBKhW 
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Rize Gallery (de Baerlestraat 6) is new in town. They also have a gallery in Naarden. Joseph Klibansky hangs his "paintings." 3D emphasizes the technique because the work is all photographical. However, the gallery prefers referring to them as "paintings." And whom am I to argue. What we see are large scale idealistic interpretations of cityscapes in digital form. He builds the imagery with hundreds of photographs encircled with acrylic paint on archival cotton paper and overlaid with a liquid resin. Well, that's a mouth full. What you see is almost garish and kitschy colors and it is good kitsch. He captures the heart of New York, London, Paris and---at the opening---the gallery unveiled his interpretation of Amsterdam. All the prominent architectural building' icons are represented. He compresses them into a realistic looking tableau with a panoramic take. Klibansky also makes objects. They have much in common with Jeff Koons, but there is more humor: a gold poodle which has had is hind legs inverted; the Statue of Liberty holding a child in one hand and all in a sheen of green felt-like material and standings about one meter high. There is a piece that depicts the "Meaning of Life" which is figurative, representational with a feel of abstraction. No price list available. www.rizegallery.com 
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Nick van Woert (USA) is at GRIMM (Frans Halstraat 26) with work that puts 3D at a loss for words to try and describe, visually, what you will see. Think of louvered garage doors. Then try to imagine that they have been overlayed by asphalt which sometimes incorporate colored stones and whatnots. That's the starting point. There are several works hanging and each is unique in its own way. Some have had sections of the overlay scraped off thus exposing imagery underneath. Most have circular pins we attached to a sweater that have the likeness of Mickey Mouse or maybe only one word like "s***." Next he does sculptures that are reminiscent to the vertical free-standing rock formation that are common in Monument Valley, Utah (USA). Then there are the four or five stacked bronze welded balls, each in their own unique form, standing about two meters high...but, wait! there is humor to these conceptual forms. He often dresses the objects with sweaters, jackets, shirts and/or a combination of them. And there is more. Several two meter long, 15 cms., squared, plastic tubes where each is filled with every conceivable object or combination of materials; there is even one with a tree branch. They stand vertically. (152x123 cms., louvred doors, @ 18,000 euro; objects @ 25,000 and 45,000 euro). Until 22nd November. www.grimmgallery.com 
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At Gerard Hofland (Bilderdijkstraat 165) two artists are showing.  Koen Delaere does "rib-like" paintings.That is, he divides the canvas into five vertical sections. Each is further divided like the steps on a ladder, with protruding ribs where you would see the rungs of a ladder. Hmmm. Well, you gotta see them. (70x50 cms., acrylic and oil on canvas @ 3,500 euro)....Daniel Schubert is the antithesis of Delaere in both style and technique. He is basically a monochromatic painter, well the work is more interesting than that. Sometimes you see nuances of the one color and another time there is a subliminal hint of an opposing color. (45x35 cms.., egg tempera, paint on canvas @ 1,200 euro; 210x150 cms., same materials @ 5,600 euro). Until 22nd November. www.GerhardHofland.com
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Interested in conceptualism, minimalism, and geometric design? Then don't missed the 20th Year Anniversary at SLEWE(Kerkstraat 105). They celebration is a group show of the gallery's artists that have exhibited there since their opening. And what a show!!! There isn't a mediocre work in the show. And the best part is that the prices are reasonable with a range of 350 to 950 euro as mainstream and 3,500 to 18,500 for a few others. 4 RED DOTS at the opening. 
Until 22nd November. www.slewe.nl 
***
Rohn Meijer has a rather unusual range of styles. There are the full-face portraits of ladies like: Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista of Gianfranco Ferré; Marpessa of Gianni Versace to a series of seven photos of urinals. Kid you not! The exhibition is at Eduard Planting Gallery (1e Bloemdwarstraat 2).  (35x45 cms., C-print, Ed. 10 @ 850 euro; 70x70 cms., C-print, Ed 10 @ 2,450 euro; and 100x100 cms., same photos, Ed 10 @ 3,450 euro). Until 20th December. www.eduardplanting.com 
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The grand opening of OKKER ART GALLERY (Vijzelstraat 125) featured a group show for the gallery's artists and past artists that we are all familiar with: Appel, Warhol. Corneille, Lucebert. One thing that is constant amongst the works are the colors. Lots and lots of colors. Kees Salentijn stands-out with his explosion of colors. Until __?__. https://okkerartgallery.com/ 
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Galerie Rob Koudijs (Elandsgracht 12) features two jewelry artists...oppps. One is a jewelry maker and the other is the former director of the Reitveld Academy jewelry department and that's Suska Mackert who presents a very special exhibition. She offers us a journey through jewelry in print. That covers a wide range of possibilities and most are here. The editions/ephemera is a little of everything and everything nicely done. (Most priced between 60 and 350 euro; up to 3,500 euro) 9 RED DOTS, 3 GREEN (optioned)....Jantje Fleischhut make brooches from several materials: stone, plastic, quartz, silver, copper, etc She combines three or more materials into one final composition (395 to 2,200 to 3,200 euro). Until 20th December. www.galerierobkoudijs.nl 
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De Witte Voet (Kerkstraat 135) is showing the ceramic work of seven students who graduated from the Rietveld Ceramic Department over the last several years: Takako Higashihata, Jassu Kaneko, Tejo Philips, Pablo Ponce, Rem Posthuma, Nick Renshaw and Christian Wisse. Expect to see a wide variety of styles which, ironically, includes both video and etchings. Don't ask what those works have to do with ceramics, but....The purely ceramic work ranges from the conceptual form to the almost figurative. (200 euro, 10,00 euro, 1,500 euro, 3,000 euro). Until 20th December. www.galeriedewittevoet.nl 
*** 
The glass blowing art form is alive and well and being practiced in Japan +  the USofA. Japanese artists Yoshinori Kondo, Daisuke 'Disk' Saito (Slop), and Junichi 'Rose Roads' Kojima from Japan and "Salt" and "Snio," American practioneers of the art are at the ORIGINAL DAMPKRING (Singel 395) in an exhibition of five "preeminent masters of Borosilicate glass art from east to west" with a show titled, "Yo-KAi-Ju Mythical Beast of Japan." And what you will see are figures that make the Alien look Tom Cruse-handsome. How do you describe something with six legs, horns, four "fingers," looking like claws or fangs, plus a tail? Not some"thing" you want to meet on a stormy night along a dark canal. And with some works you spot it with a black light and, because the artist has used uranium glass, there is a soft glow.The Black Beast Spider is just that, an indescribable beast. Some of the figures have a duel purpose: utilitarian and decorative. That is, they can be used as a smoking apparatus. Along the walls are photos of the production process and there is also a very good video that captures the act of making the pieces. Finally, 3D was reminded of an early rock & roll song, "The one-eyed, one-horned, purple people eater." Find them here!  22 RED DOTS (500 euro to 40,000 euro). Until 30th November. https://bit.ly/2xvDiYd 
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Pieter Bijwaard has been on the Amsterdam art scene since the late 80s. 3D saw his first show, in the city, at Espace that was located on the Kerkstraat. I remember quirky and unusual drawings with great colors. In his current show at Witteveen (Konijnenstraat 16A) there are three different styles hanging. One, relates, indirectly, to those original drawings because of the colors. The imagery is geometric symbols. Then there are the 27 recent drawings, in acrylic/gouache, that are detailed and meticulous works that defy explanation. He uses short stabbing-like lines---reminiscent of Jan Schoonhoven, but different---and, at times, you think you are looking at a wash. Mystery! Another series is even more meticulous. He uses a punch to make a small paper form that resembles a jigsaw puzzle section. First, he paints the paper, then punches out the small section and arranged them in patterns. You can see small formats that measure 37.5x25 cms., and five large ones (155x100 cms., each). If you do the math, each one, of the large size, contains 8,505 small sections individually aligned; for the series of five---which are sold as one---that's 42,525. Amazing. (32.5x25 cms., acrylic and graphite on paper @ 1,300 euro; Series of five, total 155x480 cms., @ 25,000 euro). Until 22nd November. https://bit.ly/2NR0zdF 
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Another new art' space is LUMAS (Van Baerlestraat 8; next to RIZE Gallery). It is NOT a gallery per se, but like a Kunstwinkle (art shop). It features photographical art and represents 160 artist and specializes in editions and portfolios. Stefanie Harig and Marc Alexander Ullrich opened their first gallery 10 years ago, in Germany, and now have 35 locations around the world. Their artists list includes: Miles Aldridge, Christo, Damien Hirst, David LaChapelle, et al. More info at: www.lumas.com 
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Galerie RA (Nes 120), the new jewelry gallery, presents to practioners of the art. Thanh-Truc Nguyen (Ger/Vietnam) has an unsual technique, but it is a very simple one. She uses metal screens of various materials like silver and steel and "frames" them in metal bands. Some circular, some rectangular. But the light---artificial and natural---creates nuances and the screens take on imagery of geometric designs that change with the angle of the light. (Brooches 350 to 680 euro; one at 900 euro)....Georg Dobler (Ger)  works in silver, bronze, alumnium, acrylic, quartz and synthetic stones. Basically, nearly all the works are brooches except for the occasional ring and neckless. One series looks like small twigs from a tree and it is "decorated" with six sided rings. Another series is more adventurous. Using synthetic material, alumnium and silver he fashions a chaotic filigree into an abstraction. (660 to 1,200 euro; 2,200 to 3,740 euro). Until 31st December. www.galerie-ra.nl 
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Making his seventh---or is it eight?---appearance at JASKI (Nieuwe Spiegelstrsaat 29) is Emilio Kruithof. He is a contemporary member of the Pop School. He paints women's portraits. Well, sorta. Sort of because the imagery is vague. And there has been a subtle evolution in his style: less color and definition. However, there are a few works that maintian the Pop School color concept: A splash of color here and there; bright lipsticked lips; and one work where about the only thing you see is the mouth. He seems to be in a quiet phase, but still striking. (42x32 cms., oil on canvas @ 2,750 euro; 140x140 cms., oil on canvas @ 9,500 euro). Until 30th November. www.jaski.nl 
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Rento Brattinga Galerie (Lauriergracht 80) present show is something completely different than past exhibitions. And what a spectacular dichotomy there is between everything on display. There are 25+ artists, sculptors, ceramic makers and furniture designers---both chairs and tables---and lighting. And everything stands out. Artists/designers include: Erik Andriesse, Maarten Baas---the man that burns furniture to make it new---Gijs Bakker, Klass Gubbles, Fons Haagman, Gerit Rietveld, Babs Haenen, et al. (500, 750, 950, 1,600, 3,00, 8,500, 22,000 euro) Until 20th December. www.rentobrattinga.com 
***

And there you have it. The second month, of the new art season, and some of the galleries have had the measles: RED DOTS. Keep it up! Only you can make the difference. It is come-back time for Amsterdam galleries..., well, 3D's fingers are crossed.

Photo: George Hendrik Breitner, de Dam, 1898

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