Art in corona times 58b. Mila Lanfermeijer, Ana Navas, Evelyn Taocheng Wang, III; Nest, The Hague

CONTINUATION OF THE PREVIOUS ARTICLE!

(Works by Mila Lanfermeijer, Ana Navas and Evelyn Taocheng Wang at Nest with architecture by Donna van Milligen Bielke )

Although the works are clearly made by three individual artists, they are presented as parts of a bigger philosophy.

There are no name tags in the exhibition and no titles, even in the accompanying booklet there are no references to individual works.

The visitor is welcomed in a vestibule via a stylish, formal entrance.

In the vestibule you can get acquainted with the styles of the three artists.

From the vestibule there are doorways with clear sightlines to some of the other rooms.

The architecture works very well. Made with a modest but elegant wooden framework the “villa” looks very open, with communicating rooms.

The dialogue of the works differs per room, just as rooms have different functions in a house.

As a whole the “villa” works as a body, or a spacious set of brains.

Although there are paintings, drawings, some ceramics and even a video, textiles have a prominent place.

There are different aspects like reflections on art history, the accumulation of ideas and drawings, the corporeality of language, the sensitivity of shapes etc.

Altogether it is a wonderful presentation of three very able artists in an environment that clearly invites the mind to wandering and gives a sense of safety to do so.

It’s all the more a shame that institutions like Nest are still not allowed to open, while commercial galleries are open to the public, albeit under strict conditions.

Platforms like Nest are just as able to take care of the safety restrictions as commercial galleries.

In the mean time i was happy to be invited by Nest to have a look and i hope that, as soon as the lockdown restrictions are lifted, you will be able to see this show, which has been constructed with so much care and enthusiasm and which – i must say – is very inspiring and sympathetic.

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Contents of all photographs courtesy to the artists and Nest, Den Haag

Bertus Pieters

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Art in corona times 58a. Mila Lanfermeijer, Ana Navas, Evelyn Taocheng Wang, III; Nest, The Hague

Co-operating artists have become a real feature in present day art.

One might think this is a result of the corona pandemic, but in fact the tendency is going on already for quite some time.

The ways of co-operation are quite different, as are the motives.

However, there may be overall motives for co-operation.

First of all there is the basic reason that there is strength in unity.

Strength is needed in times when the art market has become a circus corrupting the real value of art, when artists, as a result, are taken even less seriously than before, and when their works are seen as commercial, disposable products.

As such there seems to be a sense of safety in numbers, even if the numbers are just 2 or 3.

There may be stylistic reasons too.

In the Post-postmodern era stylistic differences have become less of an issue than before in modern art history, and artists seem to be more willing to see each other’s qualities and learn from them, in spite of differences in background or even age.

In an era of crises (world crises in health, ecology, climate and human intelligence) some artists just don’t see the point in being an autonomous genius, and obviously there is an audience who finds this interesting in one way or another, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many communal artistic initiatives on offer

Architect Donna van Milligen Bielke has designed a home, even a villa, for three artists to show their work at Nest.

The three artists, Mila Lanfermeijer, Ana Navas and Evelyn Taocheng Wang are close friends and let their works communicate with each other and with the public, in the belief that their works and ideas will strengthen each other.

The idea is not that their individual works are not convincing, but rather that combining their works will advance their own creativity and thinking, and indeed that of the viewer.

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT ARTICLE!

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© Villa Next Door 2021

Contents of all photographs courtesy to the artists and Nest, Den Haag

Bertus Pieters

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Art in corona times 43. A Fair Share of Utopia; Nest, The Hague

For the second time this year i report about an exhibition at Nest which is unfortunately temporarily closed because of a corona lockdown.

However after the two weeks lockdown (if not extended) it will be open to the public again.

The show is shared with CBK Zuidoost in Amsterdam.

I haven’t seen the exhibition at CBK Zuidoost and i don’t intend to.

As for the one at Nest i must say it’s a bit austere, as if something is missing.

As for the contents of the show: if you would be reincarnated, or rather reborn, somewhere in the near future, how would you think the world would look like?

And do you suppose that you will recognise in a positive way and with some pride the things you are fighting for in this life?

You may say you are not the fighting type.

That’s all right, don’t worry, but then you should realise that all your thoughts and actions now have consequences for the future, whether you intend it or not.

Will that future be paradise or hell, or will it be something in between?

Will you be reborn as yourself or as somebody else in another continent?

Statistically there is a big chance you will be reborn poor and that you have to grab what you can from day one onwards not just to earn a living, but just to be alive, to live.

Even if you are reborn as your own trusted self in the place where you are now, how will it look like?

Recently people in this country applauded health workers for their epic role during the first wave of the present pandemic, but a structural and substantial recognition of their importance failed to materialise.

In fact many workers in our world are indispensable for our daily consumer requirements: the miners who dig for basic materials, the farm workers who pick our fruits, the truck drivers who bring products from one end of the continent to another, the deliverers who bring us the products to our front doors, like pizza couriers.

Maybe artist Raul Balai would love to liberate them from present-day slavery and serfdom.

In his work he succeeded to an extent: pizza couriers are honoured with shrines and candles in a chapel of cardboard boxes.

But does honouring somebody in that way really improve his/her life?

The show may give you some stuff for thought.

However, not all works are as eloquent as one might hope for.

Where for instance Müge Yilmaz’s work doesn’t really match its good intentions – in spite of its nice details –, the enormous blown up spirit by Brook Andrew and the lucid installation by Simphiwe Ndzube both have the power to immerse you in their worlds in only one blink of an eye.

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© Villa Next Door 2020

Contents of all photographs courtesy to the artists and Nest, Den Haag.

Bertus Pieters

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Art in corona times #16. Fred Sandback, The measurement of space; Nest, The Hague

I made a reservation for a time slot at Nest to write a review about the present show of work by Fred Sandback (1943-2003) for Villa La Repubblica. Click here to read the review in VLR (in Dutch).

As i have written already some reflections about the exhibition in VLR, i leave you here with some pictures, which, i hope, will inspire you to go and take a look yourself.

Click here to read the review in VLR (in Dutch).

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© Villa Next Door 2020

Contents of all photographs courtesy to the estate of Fred Sandback, Nest and Kunstmuseum, Den Haag.

Bertus Pieters

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Fluid Desires; Nest, The Hague

Are our desires fluid?

Or are our ideas in general fluid?

Or is the character of the world more fluid than we would like or than we were once used to?

The exhibition Fluid Desires at Nest has been closed down early because of the Corona virus Covid-19.

When i visited the gallery last week the government was just giving a press conference about new measures and recommendations to contain the spread of the virus.

The next day Nest, the museums and many other exhibition platforms closed their doors.

In a way there is a link between the spread of the virus and its consequences, and the works shown in Fluid Desires.

As Nest says on its website: “…concepts that had been carved in stone for decades, have now started to flow. Notions like time, space, reality, nature, the object, human and the object-man relation.”

That quotation seems to suit the present more than ever.

Nest is always trying to give reflections on the present in its shows, but it couldn’t have imagined when planning this particular exhibition – and neither could curator Nanda Janssen – that the present would be as fluid as it is now at this very moment.

There is nothing predictive in the show – artists can’t predict the future any better than you or me – , it is just that the world itself has taken these works into the very fluid present and has given them a new value.

On one hand it is regrettable that the show was closed down early, but on the other hand that seems to have become an action that is part of the show.

In the mean time the show is very interesting and it is staged aesthetically as usual.

That “as usual” has however been taken over by a radical and extremely fluid move of nature itself.

The aesthetics of beauty is no match for the radical aesthetics of life and death.

In the mean time some pictures of the show may give you some reason for reflection.

Reflection is our best tool for the present and for the future, especially during this kind of imposed Ramadan period.

So i decided to present some extra pictures of this, by now, invisible show.

If you are puzzled about the pictures i refer you to Nest’s website which gives you some extra information about the different artists.

Contents of all photographs courtesy to all artists and Nest, Den Haag.

Bertus Pieters

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

Mybody.com; Nest, The Hague

I visited Nest to write a review about its present group exhibition Mybody.com for Villa La Repubblica. Click here to read the review (in Dutch).

As I have written quite extensively about the show in VLR i leave you here with some impressions and with a warm recommendation to visit the exhibition.

left to right, Suzie van Staaveren, Christian Jankowski and Bas de Wit

Click here to read the review about this show in Villa La Repubblica (in Dutch)

Contents of all photographs courtesy to the artists and Nest, Den Haag

Bertus Pieters

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

Even if it’s Jazz or the Quiet Storm; Nest, The Hague

I went to Nest to write a review about the present exhibition Even if it’s Jazz or the Quiet Storm for Villa La Repubblica. Click here to read the review (in Dutch).

As i have written quite extensively about the show in the VLR review, i leave you here with some more pictures without further comments.

Front, Evita Vasiljeva, back, Nicholas Riis

Bottom to top, Josse Pyl, Pieter van der Schaaf

Front, Aline Bouvy, back,Machteld Rullens

Front, Urara Tsuchiya, back, Saskia Noor van Imhoff

Front, Magali Reus, back, Charlott Weise

Floor, Yvonne Dröge Wendel, light fittings ceiling,Rubén Grilo

Content of all photographs courtesy to the artists, the owners of the artworks and to Nest, Den Haag

Bertus Pieters

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