Art in corona times 102. The end of ‘Art in corona times’. What next?

Art in corona times 1. 2 May 2020, SinArts Gallery

From May 2^nd 2020 onwards i started categorising photo reports about exhibitions in Villa Next Door under the header Art in corona times.

Art in corona times 4, 15 May 2020, Topp & Dubio

Art in corona times 7a, 4 June 2020, A.R. Penck, Kunstmuseum, The Hague

Art in corona times 11, 23 June 2020, Mazen Ashkar, 1646

Art in corona times 18, 29 July 2020, Janice McNab, Stroom

Art in corona times 23, 19 August 2020, Caravaggio, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

By that time the corona restrictions were already intensely experienced by the arts sector. These days Covid-19 is still there but the heaviest lockdown measures have been lifted, so Art in corona times will be history for the time being. Art in corona times started with a visit to SinArts Gallery . I hadn’t seen Alex Lebbink, SinArts’ gallerist, for quite some time and he had organised time slots for individual visitors. The idea was that the corona measures would be very temporary and that i would use the label Art in corona times for a few postings, just to see how galleries and other art platforms were doing during the crisis and after that it would be more or less business as usual. However, that proved to be quite naive. Corona became a way of life in which the arts were not seen as an essential need in life. At first artists and other professionals were more or less empathetic to that idea, but as the crisis went on and on, the government’s sheer lack of interest for the arts became a thorn in the flesh of many an art professional, especially after the health minister’s remark that if you cannot go to the theatre you might as well stay at home and see a dvd, as if there was no difference between the two. Last week i posted Art in corona times 101 with some extra footage of the interesting exhibition about Aad de Haas at the Chabot Museum in Rotterdam and that was the last one under the corona banner.

Art in corona times 29, 17 September 2020, Steamboat, Trixie

Art in corona times 34, 28 September 2020, Jessica de Wolf, Artist Support Fair, Quartair

Art in corona times 37, 13 October 2020, Robbin Heyker’s Birding Club, featuring Arjan Dwarshuis

Art in corona times 43, 7 November 2020, Simphiwe Ndzube, Nest, The Hague

Art in corona times 48, 30 November 2020, Sjimmie Veenhuis, …ism

For those who want to have an idea of what was on show during the pandemic Art in corona times is easily locatable in Villa Next Door.

Art in corona times 52, 14 December 2020, Ellen Yiu, A Finger in Every Pie, Royal Academy students’ pre-graduation show

Lockdowns etc are over now but that doesn’t mean the worries about this or any other virus are gone.

Art in corona times 56, 20 February 2021, Ingrid Rollema, PIP Den Haag

Art in corona times 59, 14 March 2021, Paul van der Eerden, Romy Muijrers, Galerie Maurits van de Laar

Art in corona times 64, 9 April 2021, André Kruysen, Galerie Ramakers

Art in corona times 68, 30 April 2021, Zhang Shujian, PARTS Project

Art in corona times 75, 11 June 2021, Marion van Rooi, Jan Wattjes, Luuk Kuipers, Quartair

Covid-19 may return with a more dangerous version, and an altogether new and equally or more dangerous virus may come. The question is not if it will come, but when it will come. The bird flu virus being one of the most obvious contenders in the real viral world. Another worry in the aftermath of corona is the questionable urge of authorities to control everything and everybody, if possible with modern technology. This urge is understandable as authorities of any political colour try to influence social processes for the benefit of society as a whole. However, even before the Corona crisis it has already been proven that this urge to control has turned against citizens, as a holy faith in the objectivity of modern technology, market forces and a reduction of the state to a kind of control device has replaced a democracy in which different opinions in society play a role. Villa Next Door is not the place to make a deep analysis about society, politics, the free market, modern technology, the influence of debilitating conspiracy theories, and a considerable chunk of society that rather believes in so-called alternative facts than in real facts, that prefers evil tales to science. However this is the framework – as i see it – in which art is made, seen and presented today in this country, and i want to be clear about the context in which i give you my reports about exhibitions and art in this blog. After all, you don’t have to agree, but you should know. Another worry is the new situation with the war in Ukraine. One might suggest i should replace Art in corona times with Art in war times. However, the Netherlands are at the moment not at war with any other country. Also, it should be said that another devastating war is going on in Yemen for seven years now. Although this is principally a civil war, it has become internationalised, with other countries in the Middle East intervening. The conflict in Ukraine may have a global significance, or rather, it will have, even if the war itself remains physically limited to Ukraine. That, together with the devils unleashed during the Corona crisis, will bring us interesting but also ominous times. So, in the mean time, i repost some pictures here of some highlights of Art in corona times.

Art in corona times 81a, 12 July 2021, Joseph Palframan. Royal Academy, The Hague

Art in corona times 82b, 26 August 2021, Farkhondeh Shahroudi. Sonsbeek 20-24, Arnhem

Art in corona times 88, 27 September 2021, Yaïr Callender, Kadmium, Delft

Art in corona times 95, 17 December 2021, Casper Verborg, Galerie Helder

Art in corona times 97, 21 January 2022, Yesim Akdeniz, Dürst Britt & Mayhew

Hope to see you soon in real life or in this blog, stay healthy and sane, and keep your eyes open!

Art in corona times 101, 16 February 2022, Aad de Haas, Chabot Museum, Rotterdam

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© Villa Next Door 2022

Contents of all photographs courtesy to all artists, galleries, art platforms, museums and owners of the works.

Bertus Pieters

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

Art in corona times 91. Martin Gabriel, Beng Yuenyong & Jesus Canuto Iglesias, How To Make A Coconut Shell Into Everything; Trixie, The Hague

Trixie presently shows three interesting installations by Jesus Canuto Iglesias (1992), Martin Gabriel (1991) and Beng Yuenyong (1987).

All three artists use modern technology to make their works.

In daily life contemporary technology is embedded in modern consumer society, which makes it addictive and, to some, even suspect.

On the other hand, using it artistically circumvents the consumerist addictive aspect, and, in a way, subverts modern day technology’s cause and reason of existence.

The three artists succeeded in finding a kind of harmony in the exhibition, although their installations are very different in idea and concept.

You might reason that Gabriel’s installation is a bit too heavy in its details and ideas, compared to the two other works.

Nevertheless, Yuenyong’s installation, which is more spacious and minimalistic than Gabriel’s in its concept, may have just as much impact on the viewer, while Canuto’s installation partly reflects both other works.

Gabriel’s surely is the most theatrical of the three works on show.

The work itself is a stage, flanked by pools as parts of a present-day Garden of Earthly Delights.

The stage itself is inhabited by 3D-printed figures, seemingly run from a computer game, with its blurring of classical and quasi-classical mythology, mythologized history, and its plagiarism of the human subconscious.

The player of the game can identify with its protagonists in a world which is full of excitement, violence, wonder, hollow meanings and senseless heroism, next to the completely misshapen presentation of ‘real life’ in modern media.

Yuenyong, in his installation, literally gives space to reflection.

Southeast Asian decoration and temple-like structures are rethought digitally and by the artist.

They are 3D-printed and they are minimised to mere shapes of thoughts, presented at eye-level.

Yuenyong even created a pond with a lotus-like structure in it, while under one of the mini-temples are offerings of flowers and cans of soft drinks.

In between the idea of death and resurrection floats.

The work by Canuto reflects both other installations and comments them with philosophical quotations, blurred by the acoustics of the recordings and the exhibition space itself.

It may contain all the wisdom one might hope for, but it refrains from giving any answer or true comment.

The visitor, with al his/her questions, only sees a reflection of him/herself and the worlds of the two other artists in an opaque and changing mirror.

Martin Gabriel, Beng Yuenyong, Jesus Canuto Iglesias

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

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© Villa Next Door 2021

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

Bertus Pieters

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

Art in corona times 29. Nele Brökelmann, Katarina Petrović & June Yu, Steamboat; Trixie, The Hague

How can you turn the tide of mindless consumerism?

By showing tailor made works of art for sale?

The Steamboat collective Nele Brökelmann, Katarina Petrović and June Yu clearly don’t think so.

They believe more in co-operation and sharing experiences by making and discussing.

That may sound heavily like the 1960s and 70s, but then, that period established freedoms we now take for granted, and, with the upsurge of consumerism as an antidote against soviet-communism, that period also developed critical thinking about consumerism.

With the present seemingly global stampede of mindlessness, natural disasters that can hardly be controlled, and much more that makes life precarious, there seems to be a momentum again for rethinking our position.

At Trixie, where the steam collective has presently taken its residence, there is remarkably little on show.

So it’s all the more interesting to start a conversation with the club.

It even found your reviewer participating in a poetry project.

When i left Trixie i saw our activities hadn’t really changed the world, but then: what is the world?

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© Villa Next Door 2020

Contents of all photographs courtesy to Nele Brökelmann, Katarina Petrović, June Yu, other participants and Trixie, Den Haag.

Bertus Pieters

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Art in corona times 13. focus loslaten | ontspannen (let loose focus | relax); Trixie, The Hague

I don’t know. Maybe it’s the generational divide. I brought my camera to Trixie, in case there would be something to make pictures of. But there wasn’t anything worth photographing without becoming cynical. And i don’t want to become cynical about something i still believe was made with some kind of attention and care. I was offered some camomile tea and i walked around with it, looking at the kitsch hanging on the walls. Then some music started which didn’t make me feel “encouraged to self reflect while visiting the space,” as the invitation stated. Indeed, self reflecting i was thinking, what the heck am i doing here? I had come to a place with things that didn’t interest me, with a bunch of people that were busy amongst themselves, which reminded me of the 1970s. To be short: i felt obsolete and so i left the place.

Maybe you’ll have another and more precious experience than i had if you pay focus loslaten | ontspannen a visit which is still possible Friday and over the weekend. (opened 16.00 – 22.00 hrs; because of Covid-19 measures you have to send them an e-mail to tell when you would like to come; tea and waffles are present)

© Villa Next Door 2020

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

Bertus Pieters

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

Art in corona times 6. Hoogtij #61 (High Tide Festival #61), The Hague

Usually Villa Next Door doesn’t pay much attention to events like Hoogtij (Dutch for ‘High Tide’). Hoogtij is a seasonal Hague event – always on a Friday night – in which most commercial and non-commercial galleries in the city are open to the public. Gallerists and artists are present and there are always many special events. Due to the circumstances this couldn’t take place yesterday night, so the organisation decided to go online. 22 venues took part in this edition.

So i sat down in front of my computer to see everything. Most of the material can still be seen on the internet. A special event was an interview by Marie Jeanne de Rooij with Jane Huldman, sister, mother and grandmother to many an artist in The Hague.

It is a warm blooded interview, recommended for those who are interested in modern and contemporary art history of The Hague and the nitty-gritty of, amongst others, the Dutch art subsidy system. The interview is in Dutch and it is not subtitled.

I hopped alphabetically through The Hague in order not to miss anything, so i started at …ism which showed Museum Guards, in which the inhabitants of …ism perform as guards of their own house and collection, staring at you blankly in their own paradise.

1646 has a delightful presentation by Afra Eisma of her exhibition Feline Whispers which had to close down because of the corona crisis, but which can now be experienced digitally.

Undoubtedly hers is one of the most moving Hoogtij presentations.

Victoria Kieffer’s presentation at Aether Haga is interesting for its content, but why didn’t she present it in French with English subtitles and with more creativity in the visual materials?

Baracca gives a trailer, or rather an announcement of its 2015 project Inside Job, which can be seen on Yvo van der Vat’s YouTube channel. It will take you more than an hour to see the whole movie.

At De Helena Hanna de Haan and Rik Buter have been working on a charcoal wall drawing, improvising on and reacting to each other’s work.

At Dürst Britt & Mayhew gallerist Jaring Dürst Britt shows you around in its first lustrum exhibition Vèf Jaaaah, with works by all the gallery’s artists. If you switch to the gallery’s Facebook and Instagram pages you can see Alexander Mayhew talking about the different works of art (in English). I reported about the exhibition here.

Galerie Maurits van de Laar presents a tour by artist and curator of its present exhibition Christie van der Haak.

As Christie has been a much valued teacher at the Royal Academy in The Hague she will be to many – like Jane Huldman – a kind of sister, mother and grandmother of the arts. It is a wonderful presentation in Dutch. I reported about the exhibition here.

At the Grafische Werkplaats (Graphic Studio) Nina van Dijk and Cedric ter Bals show you around (in English) in the exhibition Slechte verhalen fikken niet (Bad Stories Don’t Burn) while Christiaan Schoonenberg presents his own story.

All done in a wonderfully spontaneous way (at least, that is how it looks like).

At Heden artist Thijs Jaeger presents his work Four Horse Men, a small but intriguing work based on the Apocalypse. The presentation is in Dutch.

At HOK gallery, one of the very smallest in The Hague, Harold de Bree opens his own exhibition Borderlines.

His presentation is in English and there is even champagne!

At Maldoror Gallery Roeland Langendoen and Elsbeth Verheul show paintings.

Maldoror is one of the easiest accessible of the lot as it is just a shop window.

Malieveldwerk is at the Malieveld where on Saturdays you may find one or more artists experimenting. The short video is from 2013 (when snow was still a common winter feature in this country) in which the experiments are announced by Topp & Dubio. The announcement is in Dutch.

Projektruimte West end (West End Project Space) shows you around in an exhibition of paintings, drawings, photographs and objects featuring cats.

A must see for any cat lover or even not-cat lover.

Quartair presents the interactive exhibition stay-go.nl. It takes some extra clicks to get there, but it is fun.

Refunc is one of the very few venues which are digitally much better than in real, as far as i am concerned.

Those who need a reflective moment about space are well served by Henk Hubenet at Ruimtevaart with the short but fine video Circumstanced.

See Lab, itself located in far off Scheveningen, which makes it difficult to physically take part in Hoogtij, can be accessed now online with a presentation of the digital project Walking with Unimals by the artists of Pointer Studio. The project is presently on show ‘in real’ at See Lab.

In a very short presentation gallerist Alex Lebbink shows you the way to his SinArts Gallery.

It takes some extra clicking to SinArts’ own website to see the very interesting and worthwhile presentations of four artists and their works. Alex interviewed them all in English and it is a good way to get acquainted with their work. There are some short but beautiful video works and a recording of an impressive performance readily accessible as well.

Peter van Beveren’s The Archives has no short video. Why not? Surely all those books look interesting and intriguing enough, don’t they?

With a very short teaser Trixie announces its upcoming exhibition focus loslaten | ontspannen (let loose focus | relax) which takes place in June and for which you can apply in advance for a visit.

West Den Haag in “Onze Ambassade” (“Our Embassy” – the former American Embassy) shows some slides of the four exhibitions it has at the moment.

Z Extra: Raamproject (Window Project), shows a short preview of a project by artist Yvette Teeuwen. Together with painter Casper Verborg – Yvette outside and Casper inside – they make a drawing on a window (at Heden). After some time a passer-by is also allowed to take part.

To end the evening i watched the short movie Dusk of the Harmonious Garden by Shen Wei, one of SinArts’ artists. A perfect and peaceful work to finish with!

Although these video presentations can never match the atmosphere and uniqueness of the usual Hoogtij events they are a good sign of life of the artists community in The Hague, and, as such, more venues could have taken part. Just to give a sign of life. Another good message is that most of the exhibitions are still on show “in real” and can be visited under conditions, so inquire at the websites of the galleries how you can visit them.

Click here to see all the Hoogtij presentations on its YouTube channel.

© Villa Next Door 2020

All photographs are stills / screen shots from the different presentations; courtesy to the artists, venues and the makers of the videos.

Bertus Pieters

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

Petra Strahovnik and Ensemble Modelo62: disOrders 1, Through the Looking Glass; Trixie, The Grey Space, Haagse Kunstkring, PARTS Project, Galerie Helder, The Hague

Through the Looking Glass is the first part of the two-year disOrders project by composer Petra Strahovnik and performed by members of the Ensemble Modelo62.

Last weekend three-hour sessions were held by different instrumentalists each in one of five different locations, dealing each with one of five so-called mental disorders: ADHD, anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar disorder and autism.

Having seen them all at Trixie, the Grey Space in the Middle, Haagse Kunstkring, PARTS Project and Galerie Helder, I must admit it leaves me with the idea that all performances were more or less autistic.

Whether it was percussionist Klára van de Ketterij (ADHD) running around a collection of drums and other percussive instruments, cellist Jan Willem Troost (anxiety disorder) grappling with his instrument and his environment, or electric guitarist Santiago Lascurain (depression) in his bathtub with dirt, they all showed an extremely meticulous dedication to what they were doing within the sheer unbreakable walls of their supposed conditions, for three whole hours.

The performance by clarinettists Enric Sans Morera and Jorge López García (bipolar disorder) and the one by trumpeter Justin Christensen (autism) were even quite similar in ideas of expression: experiments with water and plastic in combination with the unexpected properties of their instruments.

In the case of the depression performance, the expression was almost too literal, with the performer covering himself in black mud, and even while the guitar was only playing a slowly transforming sound by itself, one could call it a melodramatic performance.

In the anxiety act the public was invited to use a triangle now and then, but what influence that had on the performance was hard to see.

Was it an invitation to ease the tensions with the sound of the triangle or an invitation to be cruel to the performer with an unexpected sound?

A confronting perspective is, of course, the fact that sufferers of these so-called disorders have to cope with it every day and night in all circumstances and not just for three hours.

In the mean time one must be completely un-self-reflective or even narcissistic (!!) not to realise that we all have bits of these disorders in ourselves, in spite of the fact that most of us are thought to be ‘normal’.

They do not just confuse our brains, but may also make us cope with confusing or disturbing situations or stimulate dedication and creativity.

The fact that autism can be most associated with all five acts, is maybe because art itself needs complete dedication both to the whole and to the detail and complete surrender to the performance, whether one is making music or a painting or whatever.

Enric Sans Morera & Jorge López García at PARTS Project

As for the five acts, as said they each lasted three hours which is quite a superhuman effort by the performers.

They performed for three hours for four days, and must have practiced and prepared for many hours.

That in itself and the co-operation between the composer, the performers, the five art platforms and everybody technically and psychologically involved is a great job.

In spite of that it should be said that none of the performances were artistically interesting enough to follow for three hours (or maybe that depends on one’s own disorder?).

Also the question asked by the composer “Can we find compassion in order to expand our concept as a society of what is ‘in order’?” may be a relevant question generally, but do these acts stimulate any answers or reflections on the subject?

And if they do, are they doing so implicitly or too explicitly?

Either the question may be too wide-ranging, or the performances need more (yes even more!) aesthetic reflection.

Contents of all photographs courtesy to all performers and art spaces.

Bertus Pieters

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

An Indefinite Terrain; Trixie, The Hague

The invitation read: “A confrontation of a man with speeding uprise of technology and existing in the sarcastic post-postmodern world has led to the condition when one no longer finds it bearable to exist in the society overpowered by the hyper real. With the explosion of digital media one finds it hard to relate back to their own body, land, nature. A longing for not the past, but the times when mind, body and nature weren’t in mutually abusive relationships has crystalized in the very essence of this exhibition. By relating on natural materials and strong storytelling the selected artists attempt to claim back what’s theirs – the physicality of their body; the authenticity of their touch, breath, brushstroke; the utter connection to planet Earth and earthly beings.”

Come on, folks! Not again this stumbling, quasi-international language! Either write it in poetry or just say what you want.

An Indefinite Terrain was a very short running exhibition last weekend at Trixie.

The general mood was one of defiance, challenging present day society which keeps you constantly busy with its obtrusive and indeed unnecessary requirements.

Iliada Charalambous; background, left to right: Debbie Young, Emma van Noort, Brigitte Louter

Here were six artists, Katerina Sidorova, Iliada Charalambous, Gijsje Heemskerk, Debbie Young, Emma van Noort and Brigitte Louter, who tried to recapture their independent minds against the odds.

Former show room Trixie seems to be just the right place for it.

The show itself, as well as many of the works, were characteristically makeshift, as if exhibiting, and indeed making art, has become a matter of hit and run in these post-postmodern times.

In itself that is fine as it shows developments and basic ideas.

The danger is that works become too transient to be really meaningful.

Top to bottom (sic): Iliada Charalambous, Katerina Sidorova

And if it is hit and run, i’d suggest to hit harder as i’m sure you can!

Content of all photographs courtesy to the artists and Trixie, Den Haag

Bertus Pieters

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