Judith Hofland and Dawn-Marie Mak; Galerie Sophie, The Hague

During Hoogtij (the quarterly art exhibition evening in The Hague) and the following weekend Galerie Sophie had a small but nice and very short running exhibition with two artists.

Judith Hofland showed an interesting interactive installation about cheese making and eco-friendly farming,

in which the viewer could him/herself change the noise and the video projected in the cheese making barrel

from quite harmonious to disturbed.

Dawn-Marie Mak showed some paintings based on remembrances.

Some forgotten parts of the memory are not painted

while other details are stressed.

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

Content of the pictures courtesy the artists and Galerie Sophie.

 

Bertus Pieters

Thomas Kuijpers, Paradigma II; Lief Hertje en de Grote Witte Reus (LhGWR), The Hague

Thomas Kuijpers (1985) shows works of the last two years at LhGWR gallery.

The exhibition is in its last week, so hurry up to see it!

Kuijpers shows images that seem to tell us something according to the times we live in.

But do they? As images also make us preconditioned.

Kuijpers was in Brussels last year when the city was more or less in a state of siege after the Paris terror attacks.

He collected some things from the streets that seemed to have a special significance at that time in that place (as they could still have).

He also collected a cardboard box with Arab texts, on another side it said in English it contained shampoo.

Go and visit the show to see what these Arabic slogans mean (if they are slogans…) or

to see if Jihadi is just another brand.

In a way the show is highly evocative, even

if the image is in itself not evocative like in De eerste maandag van de maand (First Monday of the month) where you can hear the alarm sirens testing while normal life just goes on.

Personally I think the Gesture series, with handshakes of world leaders greeting each other for press photographers, is a bit less evocative or meaningful because of its repetition.

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

Content of all pictures courtesy Thomas Kuijpers and LhGWR

Bertus Pieters

Façades of The Hague #15

Decorative advertising on a wall, Jacob Catsstraat, in art deco style, 1920s.  Text: J. Hoekzema, house & decor(ation) painter, Jac(ob) Catsstr(aat) 2.

Reconstruction of the original and a municipal monument (the building itself isn’t a registered monument).

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

All pictures were taken in March 2016.

 

Bertus Pieters

Miranda Meijer and Astrid Nobel; A Gallery Named Sue, The Hague

At A Gallery Named Sue is a good presentation of works by Astrid Nobel and Miranda Meijer.

Nobel reflects on a combination of aspects like hiding or mythologizing reality, in this case the wood in this construction, is real, but only under its cover of gesso and ink.

Also, it doesn’t lead you anywhere.

Nobel’s other piece is called Lacus somniorum (Lake of Dreams), which is one of the so-called seas on the Moon. It more or less has the shape of the Lacus and consists of ink drawn waves.

But it is not just a set of connotations that make this work: the open parts of the flaking frame combined with the irregular mass of waves that can’t flow away have a charm of their own.

Nobel’s work combines surprisingly well with Meijer’s (colour) pencil drawings.

Meijer leaves any connotations to the spectator, but, like Nobel, she shows that she is the artist who is in power to speak to the spectator’s mind.

On Villa La Repubblica i wrote a short article about this specific work.

Click here to read the article (in Dutch).

This well presented exhibition is in its last week, so hurry up to see it!

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

Content of the pictures courtesy the artists and A Gallery Named Sue.

Bertus Pieters

Raquel Maulwurf, Dark days – Bright nights; Livingstone Gallery, The Hague

Raquel Maulwurf has become more or less a household name at Livingstone Gallery.

Her darkish landscapes, apparently devoid of human life, are the perfect decor for a Greek tragedy where the light is the blistering breath of the gods themselves.

A nice surprise are her mini Maulwurfs. Monumentality on a small surface.

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

Content of the pictures courtesy Raquel Maulwurf and Livingstone Gallery

 

Bertus Pieters

Zhivago Duncan, The constant interloper; Livingstone Gallery, The Hague

Livingstone Gallery introduces works by Zhivago Duncan (not a pseudonym; 1980), a multidisciplinary artist who is interested in many things, amongst them post-apocalyptic landscape and model making.

His works on canvas look quite expressive, but they are silkscreened and partly covered with ink.

There is even a work made by a painting machine, operated by Duncan, properly called Muscle Memory Painting.

It is a small but interesting introduction.

It would be interesting to see more works and with more space around them.

But before that, take a look now!

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

Content of the pictures courtesy Zhivago Duncan and Livingstone Gallery

 

Bertus Pieters

Façades of The Hague #14

Corner building Wagenstraat – Stille Veerkade.

Judging from its fine art deco-like decorations it was probably built or rebuilt around the First World War or in the 1920s.

It once housed a bakery where i used to buy my daily bread. Now it has a Moroccan restaurant.

On Wagenstraat side there is a Chinese gate in front of it as you enter Chinatown.

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

All pictures taken in March 2016.

 

Bertus Pieters

Simon Senn, Trespassages; Nest, The Hague

I visited Simon Senn’s show Trespassages at Nest to write a review for Villa La Repubblica. Click here to read the review in combination with the present shows in Pulchri and Maurits van de Laar gallery (in Dutch).

Senn works with a mixture of performances, photography and video.

The actors in the video’s may or may not have a more or less directed role. More or less, as being in front of a camera always changes a person. That is an inclusive aspect of Senn’s actions and videos.

Senn is trying hard not to give a moral judgement on his subjects, but on the other hand he forces the viewer to review his/her own moral (or other) judgement.

This works quite well in the photo project Salon Kennedy I-VI in which Senn asked a psychologist to write a psychological report based on photo’s of different individuals, or

in Meadowlands Zone 1 where South Africans are asked to take part in a contest of who can give the most furious speech.

On the other hand i don’t see much of a point in offhandedly asking questions as an outsider to people of an inward looking community like in Purlieus Tales. You get what you expect and the cliché becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Nevertheless, take your time and have a look yourself as it’s an interesting show and very well presented.

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

Content of pictures courtesy Simon Senn and Nest

 

Bertus Pieters