Composition in Red and Green
Linoleum cut, 1926-1978, Bool / Peterson G 34, edition 75. 7 1/4 x 5 3/8 in. Signed and numbered in pencil. This is a fine impression with full margins. The condition is also fine apart from a few soft handling creases in the outer margins. This is from the second edition of 75 printed in 1978 and is so numbered "26/78." The very early impressions are impossible to find as they were proofs only. Alkema was originally trained as a cabinetmaker and he eventually worked with an architectural firm in Groningen. He joined De Ploeg and produced many remarkable works of geometric abstraction in painting as well as printmaking. His paintings from the 1920s are important today and his prints are equally desirable. Alkema was also associated with the Belgian Constructivists including Jozef Peeters and the writer, Paul van Ostaijen. Alkema was a member of de Ploeg for only a year or so. He had two exhibitions in 1978; one at the Stedelijk and the other at the Gemeentemuseum in the Hague. Furthermore, the Groninger Museum had an exhibition and published a major book on the artist in 2009. This work is illustrated on page 96, also from the later edition done in 1978.
$1,800

Geometric Abstraction
Linoleum cut highlighted with white, circa 1958, edition unknown. 4 3/8 x 5 3/8 in. Initialed in ink, lower right. This is a fine impression printed on gray paper and attached to a blue support sheet. The margins are trimmed to just outside the image most likely by the artist. The condition is fine. Throughout his career Alkema remained focused on the art of geometric abstraction in painting as well as printmaking. Alkema was a member of de Ploeg for only a a year or so. He was more aligned with the Belgian artists who worked in his style.
SOLD