Friendship - or, to use the modern term, 'BFF' - Best Friends Forever - is the title of the group exhibition at Frank Taal Galerie, opening on Saturday 24 October 2026 in Rotterdam.
Friendship: a relationship characterised by lasting affection, appreciation, intimacy and trust between two people. Across all cultures and throughout history, friendships have been important relationships in people's personal lives.
The exhibition seeks to reveal how friendships between artists, as well as between curators, gallery owners and artists, influence, inspire, challenge and critique their work.
BFF'S POSITIONS
If we attempt to situate BFF's, we do so by answering the following questions:
One. Is friendship good in itself? In other words, is friendship intrinsically good?
Two. Or is friendship good because of its consequences: is it instrumentally good?
Three. Or is friendship a combination of being good in itself and being instrumental?
These questions yield three answers or 'positions'. The first position holds that friendship is good in itself and is regarded as a virtue and as absolute. The second position views friendship as instrumental and focuses primarily on the consequences and outcomes. The third position is a combination of friendship as both intrinsically and instrumentally good. The first and second positions form the boundaries of a friendship line running through a central point.
BFF & DEMOCRACY
In our view, there is a strong link between friendship, community and democracy. Some people believe that democracy is not possible without community, and community is not possible without friendship. These concepts build on one another and are interdependent. One of the pillars of democracy is freedom of expression. And isn't freedom of expression also important in friendship? Even if you don't see eye to eye, you can still respect each other's opinions without jeopardising the friendship.
BFF QUOTES
"I do not know how I could conceive of the good if I were to dispense with the pleasures of taste, and those of love, sight and hearing."
"Enjoyment is the beginning and the end of a blessed life."
"Friendship is one of the greatest pleasures."
"Friendship is inseparably linked to pleasure and must therefore be cherished, for without friendship we cannot live safely or without fear, let alone pleasantly."
"Every friendship is desirable in its own right."
"Democracy rests on community, and community rests on friendship."