27 july 2021, Wouter van den Eijkel
Best of Graduates 2021
Best of Graduates, the annual summer exhibition at Galerie Ron Mandos with work by recently graduated artists, provides as always a good overview of what is made at the Dutch art academies. The exhibition, which opens on 28 July, shows work by 26 alumni from 7 art academies. The Ron Mandos Young Blood Award was awarded to Milah van Zuilen, a graduate of the Willem de Kooning Academy. A series of her works will be included in the collection of Museum Voorlinden.
The annual Best of Graduates exhibition has grown into an institution over the past 14 years. Last year, a residency programme was added to the Young Blood Award, public award and a prize for the best photography talent. Curator Radek Vana has been involved from the start. Vana also curated this edition together with the gallery team. “This is the second year with alumni who had to deal with the pandemic. Their work is more affected by the lockdown, quieter, more personal and more intimate, but also more concerned with nature and identity issues.”
Till Schönwetter, nowhere poster, oil on canvas, 150x170cm, 2020.
Nowhere
The pandemic and its impact on everyday life is indeed not far away. German artist Till Schönwetter (Academie Minerva) designed a computer game entitled Nowhere, in which he offers players the opportunity to do all the things you can't do during a lockdown: shop, go to a cinema, and curate or visit an exhibition. Tian Teng (HKU) made paintings of the closed shops and closed windows she encountered during one of her daily walks during lockdown.
Antonia Mayer, Catch My Breath, Fine Art Print, 135 cm x 95 cm, 2021.
Identity is a hot topic
It is also striking that the number of artists who take themselves as their point of departure was quite large; Maybe this has to do with the lockdown. Antonia Mayer (KABK) uses poetic photography interspersed with short text fragments (I shouldn't want this) to portray her doubts about her pregnancy.
In his work, the Frenchman Damien Tradec (Rietveld Academy), examines his relationship with his brother, who chose a career in the army, something Tradec cannot understand. This translates into a ceramic floor installation that initially looks very macabre, but at the same time is very fragile and appears to be full of heart shapes. Maikel Deekman, also Rietveld Academy, explores his position in the world by connecting the fabrics and patterns of his ancestors, the Maroons, with Internet cables with Mondrian's Modernism and the present.
Maikel Deekman, Digital Patchwork Framed Mamjo Installation, Fabric patterns, foam, wood, calabash, network cables,540 x 225 cm, 2021.
In Who's on my cheek? Morgan Ton (Academie Minerva) reflects on the sense and nonsense of identity issues. The video work is set up as a documentary and is based on the fact that in some cultures it is assumed that someone else lives in a large pigmentation spot. A curious subject, but if you brace yourself for a good laugh, you'll be disappointed. As a viewer you’re made to doubt the position of the maker. Although Ton allows a number of wonderful figures to speak, she seems to take them seriously.
Young Blood Award
This year's Ron Mandos Young Blood Award went to Milah van Zuilen (Willem de Kooning Academy). She received the prize for work that differs thematically from all the other work on display. Van Zuilen's works consist of grids filled with dried tree leaves cut to size.
Milah van Zuilen,Terrafuturism, Mom's Walk, dried leaves on cardboard, 50 x 70 cm, 2021.
This creates a surface that is made up of numerous colour gradations. Below the grids is a list of the plant species used. Van Zuilen uses this pseudoscientific fieldwork to bring the fields of art and ecology closer together. For her, the scientific way of observing, analysing and recording shows great similarities with the artistic ways of looking.
Barbara Bos, Head of Exhibitions at Museum Voorlinden, praises the poetic execution and timeless quality of Van Zuilen's research into one of her daily activities. “The work whispers to us, invites us to take a closer look. It is conceptual and at the same time appealing to our imagination. A beautiful gem that is both topical and timeless.”
Milah van Zuilen,Terrafuturism, Taraxacum officinale foliag-flower, dried leaves on cardboard, 50 x 70 cm, 2021.
