Piet Franzen - The Activist

About this activity.

From January 1 to 31, 2024, Piet Franzen, artist from Leiden, will exhibit a mail art work 'The Activist' in window gallery 'De Prachtvink' at the Vinkhuizen shopping center, Platinalaan 505a, 9743 GZ Groningen.

'The Activist' is a mail art work measuring 12.4 x 16.7 cm from 2023. In this small work, Piet Franzen expresses his concern about two major global problems that have gripped our world: the war in Ukraine and climate change. He playfully depicts this in a simple pen drawing of T-shirts on a washing line. The shirts seem to tell that they have been worn in various protest marches and demonstrations and therefore needed a fresh wash. The activist must of course think about his/her/their personal hygiene and despite all the major world problems, the daily life of doing chores, eating a meal and as an end for every day: sleeping continues as usual.

The Activist is part of a long-running mail art series. Franzen's work is characterized by the use of gray cardboard cards of always the same size to which the artist adds simple drawings and stamps. His mail art entries often express a social commitment.

Piet Franzen (1940, Amsterdam) received his art training in Haarlem and later settled in Leiden, where he ran the SIDAC gallery himself. Since the 1960s he has been captivated by the art of FLUXUS. He focuses on painting, drawing, collages and mail art. Exchange with the public and activist ideas plays a major role in his projects. His larger works of art have regularly been on display in the Randstad, and his mail art is included in collections all over the world.

Raamgalerie De Prachtvink.

Raamgalerie De Prachtvink is een 24-uurs galerie aan Platinalaan 505a bij Winkelcentrum Vinkhuizen. De galerie heeft als specialiteit internationale mail art.

Location.

Raamgalerie De Prachtvink
Platinalaan 505
9743GZ Groningen
tel 050-2302991
prachtvink.blogspot.com/