15.10.2010 — De Best Verzorgde Boeken
(The Best Dutch Book Designs)
The catalogue ‘The Best Dutch Book Designs’,
with our selected book Fendry Ekel — The Witness
is out now.
Judges’ Report:
This book was published to accompany the artist's
first exhibition in New York. Ekel's medium is gouache
and acrylic on paper. His particular interest is in
buildings and places that have some sort of historical
overtone, such as the vast Volkshalle (People's Hall)
designed by Hitler's architect Albert Speer but never built –
but a place like Disneyland can fascinate him too.
This slim but nevertheless sturdy book presents
Ekel's work pretty straightforwardly by means of brief
notes coupled with illustrations on white paper.
The captions have a dual purpose, being employed partly
for effect by being set large and in a variety of fonts.
Individual sections are separated by wraps of thinner
paper with a printed background of pink on on side
and yellow on the other, with photographic and textual
references to Ekel's sources. They may provide the
reader with visual background material, but at the same
time they also have a slightly alienating and intriguing
effect.