Gert Scheerlinck, Objects of disguise; Twelve twelve gallery, The Hague

At the moment Belgian artist Gert Scheerlinck has an exhibition at Twelve twelve gallery.

I stress the fact that Scheerlinck is a Belgian artist as Belgian artists seem to have a special feeling for the absurd.

The Dutch usually tend to perceive absurdity as an abrupt kind of humour, but for Belgians absurdity has to do with the human condition itself.

They use absurdism both as an escape from and a confrontation with the human condition.

Scheerlinck certainly does so with his objects and materials taken from everyday life.

Most objects are based on ideas, but Scheerlinck takes the other way round: his objects become ideas again.

His objects and installations, sometimes tiny and usually hardly photographable, are on the verge to become ideas while leaving the viewer puzzled.

And that is where absurdity takes its chance.

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

©Villa Next Door 2017

Content of all photographs courtesy to Gert Scheerlinck and Twelve twelve Gallery, Den Haag.

 

Bertus Pieters

Art The Hague 2017, Fokker Terminal, The Hague

Although still one of the smaller art fairs, Art The Hague has expanded a bit this year.

Jan Henderikse, Schoots & Van Duyse, Antwerp

Jan Henderikse, Schoots & Van Duyse, Antwerp

Joel Mpah Dooh, Sanaa, Utrecht

The restaurant has been removed from the main hangar to one of the side rooms which has created more space to present more galleries and to create more leeway for visitors.

Joel Mpah Dooh, Sanaa, Utrecht

Joel Mpah Dooh, Sanaa, Utrecht

Anton Vrede, Hommes, Rotterdam

Art The Hague describes itself as ‘quirky’, but that probably still needs some time, as still some more kitsch could be removed, although progress has been made in that field (and i seem to be a hardliner on the subject).

Wycliffe Mundopa, Twelve twelve, The Hague

Gert Scheerlinck, Twelve twelve, The Hague

Emanuel Tegene, WTC The Hague Art Gallery

And wouldn’t it be a good idea to ask galleries not to show more than three artists each?

Emanuel Tegene, WTC The Hague Art Gallery

Ron Amir, WTC The Hague Art Gallery

Karolina Orzelek, Dukan, Paris, Leipzig

Of course galleries would like to present themselves as one big and divers family but does that really add to the characters of these galleries?

Geert Baas, Ramakers, The Hague

Pat Andrea, Ramakers, The Hague

Andrea Freckmann, Maurits van de Laar, The Hague

With only three artists a gallery can really make a statement about itself without being excessive and new artists may get more attention.

Andrea Freckmann, Maurits van de Laar, The Hague

Hamid El Kanbouhi, Nouvelles Images, The Hague

Marc Mulders, Dom’Arte, Rucphen

Especially in a smaller fair the focus on individual artists could be an asset.

Elke Lutgerink, Wilms, Venlo

Elke Lutgerink, Wilms, Venlo

Elke Lutgerink, Wilms, Venlo

Art The Hague promised some focus on African artists, but that doesn’t really stand out.

David Pedraza, Heden, The Hague

Jef Gysen, Shoobil, Antwerp

Erik Buijs, Huub Hannen, Maastricht

To really focus on something like the African art market you need to be very well prepared and you need to invest in research, otherwise the quality – as it is now – will be mixed.

Coen Vernooij, O-68, Velp

Gregor Gaida, Hoorn en Reniers, The Hague

Lucius Pax, WTC The Hague

The ‘quirkiness’ of the fair is probably best presented in its side rooms.

Robbie Cornelissen, Maurits van de Laar, The Hague

Kevin Rausch, Hoorn en Reniers, The Hague

Paul Nassenstein, Luycks, Tilburg

This year the second floor isn’t used but the ground floor has been refurbished and tries to present an alternative to Drawing Amsterdam, which will be missed this year.

Erika Cotteleer, Shoobil, Antwerp

Hamid El Kanbouhi, Nouvelles Images, The Hague

Jimi Kleinbruinink, Allard Wildenberg, Naarden

Of course only four rooms can’t be an alternative to a whole fair but the presentations are very good and they make for one the best aspects of the fair.

Jimi Kleinbruinink, Allard Wildenberg, Naarden

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

©Villa Next Door 2017

Content of all picture courtey to the artists, the galleries and Art The Hague 2017.

 

Bertus Pieters

Tell Me What Do You Think; Twelve Twelve gallery, The Hague

Silvia Bakker has opened a new gallery in The Hague’s town centre. Its name is Twelve Twelve indicating there will be a new exhibition every month. She prefers art with a politically or socially engaged twist. This month she shows works by three artists: Karl Ketamo, Wouter Willebrands and Gert Scheerlinck.

In the gallery’s basement Ketamo, who graduated from the Royal Academy The Hague this year,  shows his project Crossing Boundaries/Shifting Landscapes which is about migration, with a double-visioned video, a book and some prints.

The book and the prints show fragments from pages of passports of different nationalities.

Scheerlinck shows works that seem to contain criticism in one way or another but which are also open to more interpretations.

Willebrands combines his abstract works with titles that become part of the works and make them less abstract.

The gallery is a small place but it invites the viewers to think about what they see, hence the title of the show. Artistically this is a good and promising start.

[Click on the pictures to enlarge]

Content of all pictures courtesy to the artists and Twelve Twelve gallery.

 

Bertus Pieters