Nils Buttner – författare

In his lifetime Hieronymus Bosch was already famous for his fantastic, unearthly creations. Today his name has become synonymous with the eerie, infernal and macabre. Bosch’s enigmatic paintings have resulted in numerous interpretations; some tried to understand his visual worlds through esoteric means, while others attempted to decode them through psychology and psychoanalysis. Now in paperback, Hieronymus Bosch: Visions and Nightmares traces the career of a painter who worked for the highest aristocratic and courtly circles, and explains Bosch’s paintings against the background of contemporary culture and society.

The graphic work by Wolfgang Gäfgen (born 1936 in Hamburg) encompasses more than fifty years. From the very beginning it combined the meticulous observation skills of his contemporaries with a virtuosity in drawing, something exemplary in contemporary art and still rarely seen today. His interest in superficies transforms quite unremarkable everyday things into exquisite precious items, which have set aside their original functional purpose to develop a defiantly ironic life of their own. Here, Gäfgen's drawings, along with his printed graphics and photography, which form the core of his artistic oeuvre, will be extensively acknowledged for the very first time. After studying in Hamburg and Stuttgart (1956-1961) Wolfgang Gäfgen moved to Paris. In 1977 he participated with a block of drawings in documenta 6. From 1983 to 2002 he held a professorship at the State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart. Text in German and French.

Justyna Koeke transforms children's fantasies into wearable sculptures, morphs fashion shows into performances. As a child the artist, together with her sisters, painted her heroes "princesses and saints" which she now translates into reality as a collection of vibrantly colourful outfits full of whimsical detail. These tailored fantasies are brought to life on the bodies of ladies of advanced years. The publication presents the entire project: from the child-like naive drawings, via photographs of the dressed-up models before the sterile backdrop of their retirement home, to fun-loving fashion shows - an equally humorous and critical approach to the correlation of childhood dreams and the reality of getting older, in which the unsolved issues of an increasingly ageing society invariably resonate. The art project, which fluctuates between sculpture, performance and allusions to the fashion world, was presented, among other places, at the Alternative Berlin Fashion Week. Text in English and German.

Men in stately black, women with huge ruffs, children with golden rattles, old women with wizened faces, and self-satisfied artists... These are the main players in just about every portrait ever painted in the Southern Netherlands. From the15th tothe 17th centuries, the tract of land that we today call Flanders was the economic, cultural, intellectual and financial heart of Europe. And money flows - with everyone who could afford it investing in a portrait.Today,these cherished status symbols of the past have largely lost their original significance. But beyond their functional and emotional aspects, these portraits turn their subjects into gateways to the past. This book takes masterpieces from the collection of The Phoebus Foundation and outlines the broad context in which they came into being,peeling back levels of meaning like the layers of an onion. Whether captured in an impressive Rubens or Van Dyck, or an intimate portrait bya forgotten artist, the persons portrayed were once flesh and blood, each with their own peculiarities, hidden agendas and ambitions. Some portraits are very personal and hyper-individual. Others are a little dusty, the ladies and gentleman being children of their time. In most cases, however, their dreams and aspirations are surprisingly timeless and soberingly recognisable.The Bold and the Beautifulis an appointment with history: a meeting through portraiture with men and women from bygone centuries. But for those willing to look closely, the border between the present and the past is paper-thin.Published on the occasion of the exhibition Blind Date.Portretten met blikken en blozen, Autumn 2020, in Snijders&Rockoxhuis Antwerp, curated by Dr. Katharina Van Cauteren & Hildegard Van de Velde with a scenography by Walter Van Beirendonck.

In his lifetime Hieronymus Bosch was already famous for his fantastic painterly creations. Today his name has become synonymous with eerie and infernal images. Seeing Bosch’s enigmatic paintings, the viewer is faced with riddles that result in numerous interpretations. Some have tried to explain the supposedly inexplicable symbolism by exploring the alchemical context or by suggesting that Bosch embraced secret pagan cults. With the utmost seriousness, it was debated whether he had belonged to the order of the Brethren and Sisters of the Free Spirit or the Adamites, a group that had been persecuted as heretical. Clues were sought in order to prove that he belonged to the Cathar faith and indulged in occult practices, free love, mysterious drugs and witches’ salves. Some tried to understand his visual worlds through esoteric explanations, while others tried to decode them with the methods of abnormal psychology and psychoanalysis.For a painter of his time, Bosch’s work and life is exceptionally well documented. Around 100 historical records from Bosch’s lifetime are still extant, shedding light on his works, their commissions and his social position. In this book Nils Büttner traces the career of a painter who worked for the highest aristocratic and courtly circles, and explains Bosch’s paintings against the background of contemporary culture and social reality. This fresh and insightful work on Bosch appears in the 500th anniversary year of his death.