Art in corona times 52. A Finger In Every Pie, pre-graduation exhibition, students of the Royal Academy (KABK), The Hague

Venue at Binckhorstlaan. Left: the big sausage-like installation by Biko Wouterse and Maartje Balkestein

In these times of crisis and other turbulence one would almost forget that students at the art academies are actually working hard for their graduation due by the end of next spring.

Sienna Matijas – This seems to be a prelude to something interesting

Students of the Royal Academy of Art (Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten – KABK) in The Hague showed some work last weekend in a pre-graduation exhibition.

Sienna Matijas

The show was spread over three venues.

Zowie Smeets – Shows a modest exercise in wall sculpture.

Due to the fact that i had left my phone at home (i seem to be one of those rare persons who don’t feel the urgency of being constantly accessible or on-line) i wasn’t welcome at the third venue, but well, one adapts.

Zowie Smeets

Part of the curriculum for professionalism is that the students have to organise their own exhibition.

Laura van den Enden – Nice collection of smaller pictures, which is a good base for further study. But please skip the adolescent graffiti with its messy style and spelling. It’s terribly distracting.

Which is good, but one must bear in  mind that most students are still developing things.

Laura van den Enden

The two venues i visited are on one hand far from ideal for a proper exhibition, on the other hand the rawness of the two places may add to the fact that the ideas on show were still in the making.

Biko Wouterse, Maartje Balkestein – Part of their big black pudding.

As such one can also doubt if it is worth saying something critical about the exhibition.

Venue at Jupiterkade

At the same time, showing something in public also means that your work becomes part of the knowledge and taste of the viewer. Exhibiting means you don’t want the viewer to be indifferent.  

Ellen Yiu – Very intriguing installation with textiles and other materials. Promising, i’d say.

Indifferent i never am concerning art, but the actual show did make me ambivalent.

Ellen Yiu

Whether it is the influence of the present crisis or anything else, i felt a general atmosphere of bleakness in the parts of the exhibition i saw, maybe even a bit of a lack of commitment to the handicraft of the trade.

Joseph Thabang Palframan – Intriguing installation with painting and objects. This guy can do probably a lot more than this. Again, promising, i’d say.

More than ever this felt like an interlude.

Joseph Thabang Palframan

In the mean time i wish all students and KABK the very best in these troubled times, and that we will all be able to see your graduation show by mid 2021!

Yota Karas – Intriguing collection of photography and painting.

Now that you’ve come here, you might as well subscribe to Villa Next Door (top right of the page)!

(All links open in new tabs)

© Villa Next Door 2020

Contents of all photographs courtesy to the students and KABK, Den Haag

Bertus Pieters

VILLA NEXT DOOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ADVERTISING ON THIS PAGE!!