Fon Klement

The Amsterdam-born artist Fon Klement (1930–2000) was self-taught. After a brief period during which he gained recognition as a figurative painter and woodcarver, he produced his first multicolored prints in 1960 using the technique that has since become his hallmark: relief woodcut. Recognizable formal elements gradually gave way to more abstract motifs in a restrained color palette. A retrospective of this work was on view in 1980 at the Museum van Bommel-Van Dam in Venlo. This exhibition was one of the reasons Fon Klement began painting again. In September 1990, to mark his sixtieth birthday, new work was exhibited at the Singer Museum in Laren. At the same time, a book featuring prints, paintings, and drawings was published.

In addition to being featured in exhibitions, his body of work is also shown in traveling print exhibitions. Since 1961, Fon Klement had been a member of Xylon, the international association of woodcut artists, which regularly exhibits prints throughout Europe. The exhibition “Prints Today in the USA,” featuring a survey of prints by Dutch artists, including Fon Klement, toured the United States for many years. During the print biennial “Grafiek Nu” in Laren in the fall of 1990, and later at the first international print biennial in Maastricht, held during the summer of 1993, Fon Klement was awarded the Audience Choice Award. In 1992, a collection featuring seven poems by Marion Bloem alongside seven prints by Fon Klement was published under the title *Zwartwit in en achter kleuren*. This album, designed in the form of a leporello, marked a new high point in Fon Klement’s graphic oeuvre.

Klement passed away in November 2000. He was considered one of the most successful artists of his time, though he would never have said so himself. Fon Klement’s artworks can be found at IQ Art Lending and Gallery. The works are available for purchase, but can also be rented through the art lending service. For businesses, the corporate art lending service is a popular option.