
As i initiated this show of works by Matthias Grothus (1982) and Yaïr Callender (1987) at Kadmium, Delft, this report is a bit different.




The idea was to make a show with objects and/or installations that would cause a sense of wonder, a bit like in a Kunst und Wunderkammer, something both Grothus and Callender would be good at.



We decided to leave a lot of room for improvisation.



Callender has his studio in The Hague and Grothus in Zaandam, so it wouldn’t be easy for the artists to visit each other and exchange ideas.



That meant the actual making of the exhibition would be a kind of jam session on the day of installation at the gallery.



Happily the artists got on quite well together and they had a good feel for each other’s works.



Although the works were challenging, real problems didn’t happen.



As a result I think some of the tension and the joy of making the exhibition can still be seen.



Centre piece is of course Grothus’ flying creature, which is both strong and transparent.



It flies like a phoenix supported by Callender’s works and accompanied by the deep, earthly humming of a sound work by Grothus.



Callender’s works try to let the surrounding world speak for itself.



Although the show was originally planned for last spring (but had to be postponed because of Covid-19), it obviously works very well in this autumn of anxiety, where it might bring a moment of reflection to the viewer.




It has become a show of both deep seriousness and freaky humour.

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Contents of all photographs courtesy to Matthias Grothus, Yaïr Callender and Kadmium, Delft
Bertus Pieters
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