Collections
Manuela Klerkx
(Almost) naked in art
It's summer and many of us were or are still baking in the sun. In a summer outfit on a regular beach or perhaps in Adam or Eve costume on a nudists’ beach. In any case, when we think of the word 'naked', we primarily think of a naked body, which in most cultures is related to lust, sex, eroticism, youth, feelings of shame and/or guilt. For an artist, however, it is often slightly more complicated. Because feeling nude not always equals nudity, this is w where it gets interesting. Some feel naked when not donning a tie, while others feel naked when they go out without make-up. In this Collection I discuss the work of artists who use thistheme, or almost, in a non-literal sense, but as a metaphor for something else. For example, to indicate body language (Aneta Bartos), the relationship between man and nature (Manjot Kaur), as part of a still life (Heddy-John Apeldoorn) or as a result of a game between subject and object (Oona Bovri). In any case, the nude is and remains one of the most artistic and stimulating motifs there is. From preshistoric times to the present day. However, just as changeable as the naked body is the meaning we attach to it. And where monokinis were admired, we are back to the bikini on most beaches. The innocence and freedom of yesteryear have given way to the fear of transgression and conservatism. Hopefully, art will remain a haven for the (almost) naked and everything that comes with it.
0 Media items ᛫ 11 Available artworks
3 Shows ᛫ 0 Highlights ᛫ 0 Recommendations
Aneta Bartos' 2020 photo series Family Portrait attracted a lot of attention because it captured the father-daughter relationship in a natural but at the same time a bit 'uncanny', controversial way. We see him, an accomplished bodybuilder in Speedo-esque swimsuit and her, in swimwear or lingerie, together in her native Poland. Although she grew up in a strict Catholic environment, nudity was not taboo in her family. This can be seen in the casual way in which father and daughter dwell in each other's physical presence. Nothing wrong with that, you might think, yet their behaviour towards each other raises questions: they, an older man and a young woman, licking ice cream cones, holding each other’s hands, lounging in the sun. By capturing the controversial aspects of their relationship, Bartos crosses the fine line between reality and fiction, the ordinary and the awkward. In her most recent work, Bartos also explores the boundaries between the physical and the psychological. In this way she investigates the instinctive and animal actions of a body that becomes aware of itself, that is close to nature, unaware of any taboos. Bartos often depicts her subjects in uninhibited poses in a dream-like atmosphere, as part of nature and detached from the conventions and (sexual) assumptions with which we are accustomed to looking naked.
Represented by Tommy Simoens
Represented by Tommy Simoens
Heddy-John Appeldoorn
0 Media items ᛫ 22 Available artworks
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Heddy-John Appeldoorn (1975) – nominated for the Royal Award for Modern Painting in 2004 and 2005 - always starts his work with countless, intuitive sketches in India ink. The colourful, expressive paintings in which the figurative elements tend towards abstraction develop from drawings of dream worlds, fairy tales, (mythical) animals, still lifes and gloomy creatures. Myths, because of their hidden message, are an endless source of inspiration for him. The message is often universal and can be interpreted differently in each time. On June 24, 2012, Niek Hendrix writes in his blog 'lost Painters': “The work [of Heddy-John Appeldoorn, MK] is interspersed with painter's ease, cheerful colours, playful brushstrokes and above all enjoyable. Dragons and cauldrons, knights and little monsters, as if straight out of fairy tales. And for a change, that's quite a relief to see. If only to see how serious and melancholy others are.” We are now in 2023 and we see how Apeldoorn's paintings have become not only more virtuosic but also richer in meaning. In 'Still life with nude, faun and devil' he seems to embrace temptation (the nude) in a colorful scene in which the devil, faun and nude do not exist above or below, but next to each other.
Represented by #HEEJSTECK
Represented by #HEEJSTECK
9 Media items ᛫ 9 Available artworks
2 Shows ᛫ 4 Highlights ᛫ 1 Recommendations
Manjot Kaur (1989) is an interdisciplinary artist who researches the way in which man develops in relation to nature and traditional beliefs, cultures and traditions. In doing so, she asks herself the question to what extent these stories of old maintain existing values and norms and thus cloud our view of contemporary problems with regard to the climate and human development. She opposes the idea of man as lord and master of the universe and believes that through a process of consciousness or transformation - which she wants to expose - this hierarchical way of thinking will eventually disappear. Kaur's paintings offer possibilities for a post-queer and post-human world in which beings - both human and non-human - move towards a new form of life. In this way she tries to investigate ecological systems and relationships of biological organisms with their non-biological environment and to create and visualize new stories in which the relationship between living and non-living organisms is more equal. Kaur's highly detailed and intimate paintings invite the viewer to reflect on the influence of the social environment and the associated system of values and norms on human development. Themes such as female sexuality, eroticism, fertility and the meaning of motherhood in the present time play a common thread throughout.
Vertegenwoordigd door Galerie Caroline O'Breen
Vertegenwoordigd door Galerie Caroline O'Breen
0 Media items ᛫ 2 Available artworks
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Oona Bovri's art levitates somewhere between photography and film, fiction and non-fiction, past and present. Playing with memories of her childhood - both hidden and cherished, dark and light - Bovri gives us a glimpse into her own life; somewhere between her childhood memories and the interpretation of them as an adult. What actually took place and what is perception? We will never know because Bovri focuses precisely on that question in her work, which is therefore both revealing and concealing. Does she photograph her naked body with her own eyes? Like something of her own? Or is she photographing it through the eyes of a fictional other? And if so, how: like a foreign object, something that may or may not be present? The element of mystery is enhanced by the vague, impressionistic character of the photos printed on soft Hahnemühle Rag Fine Art photo paper.
Represented by DEUSS Gallery / guest artist at DMW Gallery
Represented by DEUSS Gallery / guest artist at DMW Gallery