Expectations were high: this would be the summer that would make everything right, we had a lot of catching up to do. A summer that would go down in history as a summer of love. Soon, those expectations were confronted with reality. A rapidly rising number of cases ensured that newly reopened nightclubs closed their doors after a mere two weeks and after the cancellation of Lowlands, the festival summer seems to be over as well. In Galerie Fleur & Wouter, you can see how five artists deal with that. With the unrealised expectations, the cold reality, and the escapism towards both the past and the future.
The work of photographer Cleo Goossens lends itself exceptionally well to this, because her work generally invites us to use our own imagination and to offer our own interpretations. In this exhibition, you can see her seemingly carefree registrations of holiday locations. We see crispy white houses on a Canary Island, clotheslines that rustle in the wind and rustic seascapes, that remind us of carefree times without face masks and testing facilities.
Dagmar Stap goes for hardcore nostalgia when she meticulously embroiders a Hitkrant cover [a publication that was wildly popular amongst Dutch teens in the 90s and early 2000s]. Stap eternalised the Christmas issue from 2000, that contained a whopping fifteen extra posters of relevant pop stars. Stap ingeniously plays with the contrasts between precious and worthless, mass production and craftsmanship, importance and irrelevance. For example, she previously embroidered the famous Yumyum noodles packages, one of which is included in the museum collection of the LAM in Lisse. In addition, you will also spot a retro cover of the Privé and the Playboy publications in the exhibition.
Johan Kleinjan went as far as to build a special space for the presentation for his new series of surrealistic 'crisis plants’: the so-called Yellow Magenta Greenhouse. In this inverted greenhouse with UV light, the fluorescent plants thrive in the dark — it wouldn’t be a stretch to link it to the nightlife. For the series, Kleinjan was inspired by the hippies of the 60s and 70s — who cultivated tropical plants en masse — and by party holiday destinations such as Lloret de Mar.
In the exhibition, you will also see a series of new drawings by Floor van het Nederend, who captures turbulent nighttime seascapes in his signature style, which was inspired by the greats of the comic book world. These drawings are wild and mysterious and, just like the photos by Cleo Goossens, invite you to offer your own interpretations.
You will also see the latest work by photographer Lonneke van der Palen, who previously traveled through Morocco, South Korea, South Africa and the United States, but stayed close to home for this series, in the Dutch Polder. Due to her unique visual style, everyday and inconspicuous details suddenly become poetic and special.
Together, these artists offer an interesting cocktail of the sentiments that are currently alive in Dutch society.
The exhibition 'Summer of '21' can be seen in Galerie Fleur en Wouter in Amsterdam until August 22.