soft concern hard concern

Driftwoods, a research publication by Bart Lunenburg, questions the differences between reference and finished work, with a layered design that applies structured chaos to found footage, research material and finished works. Mixing 6 types of paper, 8 typefaces and various printing techniques, the book consciously obscures what came first, what was found, and what was made. Duplicates of historic images echo on studio walls, accompanying reproductions of reproductions of Lunenburg’s photographs. 88p, 19x36cm, digital printing and riso Copies available through Jesse Presse @jessepresse and Idea Books @ideabooksnl ‘’From the wooden foundations beneath Amsterdam, extending upstream to rural timber traditions in the German Rhineland, Driftwoods presents the artistic research of Bart Lunenburg, foregrounding the featured photographic series Nocturnes. Through an essay that touches upon architectural excavation, medieval timber frames, colour archaeology, rural shadows, carpentry traditions and abandoned tools, Driftwoods reflects on the relations between local wooden architecture and the landscapes that supply their materials. Layering international with personal perspectives, Lunenburg introduces us to the seemingly disappearing knowledge and traditions that still shape the landscapes and houses we inhabit. In an assemblage of various papers, inks and typography, the book embraces the notion of ‘driftwood’ as artistic framework, bundling washed-up historical references, personal observations and finished artworks that appear simultaneously adrift and fixated, decayed and restored, found and created.’’ Driftwoods was published on the occasion of the solo exhibition ‘The Sound of Night Falling in the Other Room’ at @galeriecarolineobreen (Amsterdam, NL), 14.02.26 - 11.04.26 Design by Kai Udema @__kai___________ Published by Soft concern hard concern @softconcernhardconcern Copyediting and translation by Michiel Huijben @michielhuijben Riso printing and binding by Nokiss? @nokiss___ Text editing by Annabelle Binnerts, Lieneke Hulshof and Maurits de Bruijn @annabellebinnerts @lienekehulshof @maurits_de_bruijn

We’re proud to present: Bird shaped vinyl, a 208 page, dust jacket covered book by Kai Udema. Compiling nine formal exercises, Bird shaped vinyl is a nearly completely visual book based on a collection of shapes found in the negative spaces of broken windows. In an attentively edited research on holes, repetition, and typographic character, this title explores the metaphysicality of the flat image through the 4-dimensional aspects of the book as printed art-object. Copies are available through our website (in bio), or on personal demand through [email protected]. Soon available in shops in The Netherlands, France and Belgium. Edited in collaboration with Johanna Himmelsbach (@johanna_himmelsbach ), printed in an edition of 300 by Libertas Pascal (@libertaspascal ). Realised with the support of Heij Konijn Fonds, Jaap Harten Fonds, Igepa Nederland (@igepa_nl ) and Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie (@stimuleringsfonds ) Many thanks!

Soft concern hard concern #7, Bart de Baets

📚Drijfwoud (NL) / Driftwoods (ENG), 2026 Research publication and essay 88p, 19 × 26cm, digital printing and riso 📬Copies available / distribution: Idea Books @ideabooksnl and Jesse Presse @jessepresse 🪾🪵🪜 ‘’From the wooden foundations beneath Amsterdam, extending upstream to rural timber traditions in the German Rhineland, Driftwoods presents the artistic research of Bart Lunenburg, foregrounding the featured photographic series Nocturnes. Through a textual and visual essay that touches upon architectural excavation, medieval timber frames, colour archaeology, rural shadows, carpentry traditions and abandoned tools, Driftwoods reflects on the relations between local wooden architecture and the landscapes that supply their materials. Layering international with personal perspectives, Lunenburg introduces us to the seemingly disappearing knowledge and traditions that still shape the landscapes and houses we inhabit. In an assemblage of various papers, inks and typography, the book embraces the notion of ‘driftwood’ as artistic framework, bundling washed-up historical references, personal observations and finished artworks that appear simultaneously adrift and fixated, decayed and restored, found and created.’’ The essay (NL/ENG) is also available online for free at the website of @mistermotleymagazine Thanks to @cinqsix Driftwoods is the result of my artist-in-residence at Künstlerhaus @weilermattes (Brohl, DE), a big thanks to Wilfried Lentz 🙌 and was published on the occasion of my solo exhibition ‘The Sound of Night Falling in the Other Room’ at @galeriecarolineobreen (Amsterdam, NL), 14.02.26 - 11.04.26 ❤️ Graphic design: @__kai___________ Published by: @softconcernhardconcern Copyediting and translation: @michielhuijben Riso printing and binding: @nokiss___ Text editing: @annabellebinnerts @lienekehulshof @maurits_de_bruijn Special thanks to: @afk020 for their financial support to my research project

Yesterday we were at the launch and reveil of James Beckett’s ´Graft 1-5’: a series of works for the neighborhood of Cruquiuseiland in Amsterdam, and the corresponding booklet under the same title. Knowing they extend not only 15m in the sky, but 20m into the ground as well, they’re such a unique example of public art. Congrats James! 3000 copies have been distributed around the inhabitants, of which a remaining 1000 we will proudly publish and distribute. The books elaborate on the local and colonial histories, as well as the contemporary contexts of the area that have been incorporated into the sculptures as visual references. Acting as an informative object about the area, while setting an example of what art in a public form can be. Artist / author: @james_beckett73 A project by the municipality of Amsterdam @gemeenteamsterdam Design: Kai Udema @__kai___________ Printing: Printon @printon_as Distribution will soon be online through @jessepresse and @ideabooksnl

If around in Amsterdam East tomorrow, come by to see some truly impressive public art! James Beckett will be officially revealing a long awaited, big site-specific project, consisting of five 15 metre high graft-like sculptures on Cruquiuseiland. Over the past year we’ve worked together on a corresponding book that contains the historical and contemporary references from the Island that make up the pieces. Author: James Beckett @james_beckett73 Design: Kai Udema @__kai___________ Printing: Printon @printon_as

We’re glad to share How They Met Themselves (n11) by Andrea Salerno 🤲 8 pages, 31.5×22.5cm, 45×31.5cm unfolded, 14€ Two copies of Le Point d’Ironie 11 (Hans-Peter Feldmann, 1999), woven together by the artist, are reproduced in a limited edition of 200. This large unbound booklet is folded twice to fit into a plastic sleeve and includes a cardboard insert for support. Printed in offset on 90 gsm uncoated paper, the work is presented at full scale. It is part of Salerno’s series How They Met Themselves. Andrea Salerno (1989, IT) is a visual artist based in Amsterdam whose work revolves around doubles and duplicates. @samsunggalaxya52017 Distribution worldwide: @ideabooksnl Distribution NL/BE: @jessepresse

‘The sound of night falling in the other room’ by @bart.lunenburg presents new photographs, sculptures and a new research publication. The exhibition weaves together European timber traditions and hidden wooden constructions that shape both rural landscapes and Amsterdam’s historic city centre. In the series Oever (2025–2026), layered oak structures echo the medieval houses built along the Amstel, revealing the “houses within houses” that still support the city today. The new Nocturnes (2026), a photographic series developed during Lunenburg’s a residency in rural Germany, merge sculptural studies with the atmospheric darkness of half-timber architecture. On the occasion of the exhibition, Bart Lunenburg launches his publication Drijfwoud (Driftwoods), extending his ongoing research into wood, memory and the layered histories embedded in place – published by @softconcernhardconcern . For portfolio of available works, please DM us or mail via [email protected] • • #bartlunenburg #collectingart #woodenart #woodenartwork #hedendaagsekunst

How nice to launch a new title in the company of such great work 🪜 — congratulations Bart Lunenburg on an amazing exhibition! We’re very happy with the result of the book Driftwoods (proper announcement soon), and proud to be able to support Bart’s practice, which we have been intrigued by for some years now. 🪵 Drop by the exhibition ‘The sound of night falling in the other room’, on view until March 21 at Galerie Caroline O’breen (Amsterdam)—definitely worth having a peak. @bart.lunenburg @galeriecarolineobreen @__kai___________

We’re here! Hello Tokyo Art Book Fair 2025 Accompanied by the new Andrea Salerno publication: How They Met Themselves (n11), we’re stamping its colophon at the table. (Well be sharing more info soon) Another new project that is coming to life is our series Soft concern hard concern cards, each envelope containing a visual interpretation of our name. With contributions by @bart.lunenburg @jennakaes @bdebaets @samsunggalaxya52017 and more. Also on our table is Direct Action by Ben Russel & Guillaume Cailleau, published by our good colleagues of @iris.editions and designed by our own Johanna Himmelsbach.

We are proud to have Idea Books @ideabooksnl taking care of the international distribution of Bird shaped vinyl, and future titles to come! Get your copies through ideabooks.nl Distribution in NL and BE: Jesse Presse @jessepresse Presenting a compilation of nine exercises, Kai Udema’s ‘Bird shaped vinyl’ is based on a collection of shapes traced from the negative spaces of broken windows. Shifting between object, print, image, and page, the book attempts to visualise the metaphysical qualities of the hole through Udema’s own readings. Developed between 2021 and 2023 at the Werkplaats Typografie in Arnhem, the exercises were realised as studies for a series of sculptural works. Udema is an independent graphic designer based in Amsterdam who engages in bookmaking, exhibition design, visual research, and typography. 208 p, ills colour & bw, 19 x 28 cm, pb, English @__kai___________ @johanna_himmelsbach

We’re very excited our books can now find their ways to the bookshop! Bird Shaped Vinyl the first — now officially available for distribution in The Netherlands and Belgium. In good hands! @jessepresse For bookshops: Jessepresse.nl For private orders and more info: Soft-concern.com or [email protected] Bird shaped vinyl is an artist book by Kai Udema, compiling nine formal exercises based on a collection of shapes found in the negative spaces of broken windows. 208 pages offset, with a silkscreened plastic dustjacket. Edited in collaboration with Johanna Himmelsbach. @__kai___________ @johanna_himmelsbach