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Sjoerd Kloosterhuis
Sjoerd Kloosterhuis: Vulnerability as an art form
Anyone who is somewhat at home in the Amsterdam art world has probably seen him. In action or standing in front of a work of art: Sjoerd Kloosterhuis. This passionate, independent curator is best known for his presentations in which performances, video and installation art play a major role. In 2018, for example, he invited Jimmy Robert for a performance among the paintings that were part of the large Pieter-Paul Rubens exhibition in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. Sjoerd is one of the founders of ROZENSTRAAT - a rose is a rose is a rose, a project space in the Amsterdam Jordaan district that focuses specifically on creating solo exhibitions with mid-career artists. He previously worked as a curator at Garage Rotterdam and as programme coordinator at the Sandberg Institute. In February 2020, Sjoerd was a jury member of the Volkskrant Visual Art Prize. When I asked him to create a collection for GalleryViewer he replied:
I think it would be fun to select works that in some way have a link with the exhibitions I curate. These usually have a social and/or historical theme and deal with uncertainties, traumas and effects of social circumstances that people may encounter during the different phases of life. In addition, the presence of movement and performance forms a second starting point.
I think it would be fun to select works that in some way have a link with the exhibitions I curate. These usually have a social and/or historical theme and deal with uncertainties, traumas and effects of social circumstances that people may encounter during the different phases of life. In addition, the presence of movement and performance forms a second starting point.
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I know Jimmy Robert's work from the time I worked at Stigter Van Doesburg. It grabbed me from the first moment I saw it. Robert's practice consists of performances, photography and sculptures as well as videos and installations and often deals with topics such as identity, feminism and postcolonialism. The concepts of movement and physicality form a common thread; from the perspective of gravity, they together create the lightness that characterizes Robert's work.
Robert's Metallica, one of my favourite works, consists of a sculpture and a performance that was staged in the large Rubens exhibition in Boijmans van Beuningen and recorded on video. Like the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens, the performance seems to want to elevate the human body. In contrast to the voluptuous figures of Rubens, in this case the elevation takes place from the perspective of the vulnerable body. Due to the sharp shapes of the sculpture, the performer is forced to perform his movements subtly and with great attention. With subtle actions and manoeuvres he finally succeeds in this assignment.
Metallica's sculpture and performance is linked to the 2006 print Untitled (Michael) in which Robert seems to criticize the classic distinction between masculinity and femininity. What makes something typically feminine or masculine? Is there a distinction at all between the typically male or the typically female? And if so, shouldn't we finally shed this distinction? The print also goes against the cliché of the hyper masculinity of the man of colour. Why should a man of colour be (should) be "more masculine"? Can't and shouldn't he have more 'feminine' features just as men with a different skin colour?
(Stigter Van Doesburg)
Robert's Metallica, one of my favourite works, consists of a sculpture and a performance that was staged in the large Rubens exhibition in Boijmans van Beuningen and recorded on video. Like the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens, the performance seems to want to elevate the human body. In contrast to the voluptuous figures of Rubens, in this case the elevation takes place from the perspective of the vulnerable body. Due to the sharp shapes of the sculpture, the performer is forced to perform his movements subtly and with great attention. With subtle actions and manoeuvres he finally succeeds in this assignment.
Metallica's sculpture and performance is linked to the 2006 print Untitled (Michael) in which Robert seems to criticize the classic distinction between masculinity and femininity. What makes something typically feminine or masculine? Is there a distinction at all between the typically male or the typically female? And if so, shouldn't we finally shed this distinction? The print also goes against the cliché of the hyper masculinity of the man of colour. Why should a man of colour be (should) be "more masculine"? Can't and shouldn't he have more 'feminine' features just as men with a different skin colour?
(Stigter Van Doesburg)
Grace Schwindt
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I saw Grace Schwindt's performances for the first time during the annual performance festival Playground in MuseumM in Leuven. The work of the German artist who has been living in Amsterdam for several years and with whom I made a solo exhibition at ROZENSTRAAT - a rose is a rose is a rose, differs enormously in form from the work of Jimmy Robert. Yet, she also tries to show the beauty and strength of the vulnerable body.
In her work, Grace questions the way in which the individual is forced to find his way both physically and mentally in our increasingly harsh society. She believes that the structure in which we live affects not only our own behaviour but also our relationships with others. This structure also influences our consciousness and thus forms the basis of our feeling of vulnerability and insecurity with regard to our body. Grace subtly tries to pass on the prevailing norms surrounding the healthy body.
The combination of the materials creates a distinct tension in a series of sculptures Grace created in 2019 in response to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous English poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It feels as if the brittle ceramic parts could collapse under the bronze at any moment. A feeling that is reinforced by the transition between the abstract and figurative parts of the works, which - each on his own - could represent life and death. At the same time, it is not a nasty, cutting tension. The whole looks rather serene; as if both parts are at peace with what is about to happen.
(Zeno X Gallery)
In her work, Grace questions the way in which the individual is forced to find his way both physically and mentally in our increasingly harsh society. She believes that the structure in which we live affects not only our own behaviour but also our relationships with others. This structure also influences our consciousness and thus forms the basis of our feeling of vulnerability and insecurity with regard to our body. Grace subtly tries to pass on the prevailing norms surrounding the healthy body.
The combination of the materials creates a distinct tension in a series of sculptures Grace created in 2019 in response to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous English poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It feels as if the brittle ceramic parts could collapse under the bronze at any moment. A feeling that is reinforced by the transition between the abstract and figurative parts of the works, which - each on his own - could represent life and death. At the same time, it is not a nasty, cutting tension. The whole looks rather serene; as if both parts are at peace with what is about to happen.
(Zeno X Gallery)
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Daniele Formica's work consists of installations, performances and works on paper that he describes as 'an evolving repertoire of poetic claims and fragmented theories about the universe and humanity'. This sounds heavy, but despite the serious undertone of his work - which you might describe as a series of reflections - the result looks light and provocative and invites the viewer to closer inspection.
His drawing List of actions that deal with states of matter was shown earlier this year during his solo exhibition at Ellen de Bruijne Projects. The artist made most of the works in this presentation during the lockdown in his apartment in The Hague, far away from his Italian family living in Perugia. It was a period when he was home alone a lot and it sometimes felt as if the walls were closing in on him. Yet, it was also a time when he brought together various ideas related to domestic affairs, daily routines and personal feelings. List of actions that deal with states of matter may also be read this way. It primarily refers to the physical understanding of matter and the different forms in which matter exists, but then applied to the idea of settling down. The words are placed on the paper in such a way that a rhythm is created that could mark the fleeting transitions between different phases.
(Ellen de Bruijne Projects)
His drawing List of actions that deal with states of matter was shown earlier this year during his solo exhibition at Ellen de Bruijne Projects. The artist made most of the works in this presentation during the lockdown in his apartment in The Hague, far away from his Italian family living in Perugia. It was a period when he was home alone a lot and it sometimes felt as if the walls were closing in on him. Yet, it was also a time when he brought together various ideas related to domestic affairs, daily routines and personal feelings. List of actions that deal with states of matter may also be read this way. It primarily refers to the physical understanding of matter and the different forms in which matter exists, but then applied to the idea of settling down. The words are placed on the paper in such a way that a rhythm is created that could mark the fleeting transitions between different phases.
(Ellen de Bruijne Projects)
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In a recent interview with Ansuya Blom for his column Kunst is Lang on Mister Motley's site, Luuk Heeze very aptly describes that 'Ansuya Blom draws, paints, films and writes about what normally does not come to the fore, because it is not logical nor rational, or has no definite, pronounced form'. It is precisely this elusiveness that appeals to me so much in her work. It offers room for reflection and doubt and usually raises questions in me. The physically and mentally vulnerable human being (and the role of psychiatry in this) is a recurring theme in Blom's work that almost standard offers a platform for voices from the margins of society.
When I first saw the work Just, I didn't immediately realize what the work was referring to. Why the dots that, in contrast to the other parts of the composition, seem to have been placed so precisely on the paper? What do they indicate? Does the colour contrast have a function or is it more of a practical nature? What makes me feel that there is movement in this work? And why do I find the work intimate yet horrifying at the same time? When I read the premise of the drawing (she drew it with her eyes closed, so from the connection between her hand and the thinking space in her head) a lot fell into place, but even without this knowledge the work clearly appeals to my imagination.
(Galerie van Gelder)
When I first saw the work Just, I didn't immediately realize what the work was referring to. Why the dots that, in contrast to the other parts of the composition, seem to have been placed so precisely on the paper? What do they indicate? Does the colour contrast have a function or is it more of a practical nature? What makes me feel that there is movement in this work? And why do I find the work intimate yet horrifying at the same time? When I read the premise of the drawing (she drew it with her eyes closed, so from the connection between her hand and the thinking space in her head) a lot fell into place, but even without this knowledge the work clearly appeals to my imagination.
(Galerie van Gelder)
8 Media items ᛫ 28 Available artworks
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The work of the four nominees for the Prix de Rome is currently on display in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. When I walked through the exhibition, I was reminded of the video The Undercurrent with which Rory Pilgrim won the Prix de Rome in 2019. This film initially seems to be about a group of young climate activists, but it soon becomes clear that it is also about the individual lives of the young people. This creates a complex picture and it becomes evident that most of them are dealing with exclusion and various other forms of insecurity. The film gives a good picture of the artist's working method. Pilgrim believes it is important to provide an (activist) platform for different voices and communities. He does this in a very poetic way and under the feminist motto: 'the personal is political'. In addition, the undervalued role and the different facets of care are a recurring theme in Pilgrim's videos and performances. This is also the case in the drawing A Body Can Only Take So Much, 2018, in which the artist seems to argue for a greater form of 'self-care'.
(andriesse eyck)
(andriesse eyck)
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The stage: a large white square, a table and three chairs. During each performance, three new people take their places at the table. Like the audience, they remain in the dark about what is going to happen. Step by step, Zhana Ivanova guides the occasional actor through the performance with precise instructions. Last February, during the art fair ARCO Madrid, I took part in the Borrowed Splendour performance myself. Totally uncomfortable, I sat at the table. I was neatly following the instructions while the audience was watching. The rules of the game felt suffocating. I was constantly wondering how I was doing: did I sound credible, did I speak loud enough, were there any stains on my jumper, did I look confident? It only became fun when the performance progressed. Afterwards, behind my big smile, there was also a great sense of relief. Fortunately, I was able to rejoin the anonymous audience of art lovers.
Zhana Ivanova's work revolves around the patterns and systems by which we shape our daily lives. However, by means of her performances, which are usually formal in nature and in which the performers are almost always confronted with rules, she insistently emphasises the ambiguity of these rules.
(Ellen de Bruijne Projects)
Zhana Ivanova's work revolves around the patterns and systems by which we shape our daily lives. However, by means of her performances, which are usually formal in nature and in which the performers are almost always confronted with rules, she insistently emphasises the ambiguity of these rules.
(Ellen de Bruijne Projects)