24 july 2026, Wouter van den Eijkel
Summer Exhibitions: Summer in the City 2026
During the summer months, many galleries close their doors for a well-earned holiday or simply extend their current exhibitions. Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen takes a different approach: every summer, Van Leeuwen presents Summer in the City, a group exhibition centered around a specific theme or country. This year, the focus is on newly represented gallery artists and new work by established names such as Mark van den Brink and Thomas Manneke. As such, Summer in the City serves both as an overview and a preview of what is to come.
This edition of Summer in the City features work by sixteen photographers, including several artists who have only recently joined the gallery. Rogier Houwen, Jem Southam, Vasantha Yogananthan, and Ruth Lauer Manenti have either just had their first solo exhibition with the gallery or will have one in the near future. Jeroen Hofman, Mark van den Brink, and Thomas Manneke present new work.
On view are works from Rogier Houwen's latest series, Kleurklank (Colour Resonance). The starting point for these large, almost monochromatic works is Johannes Itten's colour theory, which is based on the idea that every colour possesses its own sound. Using a technical camera, Houwen photographed subjects such as red peppers, apricots, and lemons. The process causes the forms to dissolve, leaving behind the dominant hue—the "colour resonance" of the object.
Rogier Houwen, Lemon, Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen The gallery's collaboration with the acclaimed British landscape photographer Jem Southam is still relatively new. Southam works primarily in southwest England and is known for his highly detailed photographs that capture subtle transformations in the landscape, such as the gradual transition from winter to spring. Yet his work is far from purely documentary. His photographs possess a poetic and lyrical quality that inevitably evokes the seascapes of Turner.
Jem Southams, Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen From Ladakh, India, to the Swiss Alps
Vasantha Yogananthan's work also moves beyond the boundaries of documentary photography. The French-Sri Lankan photographer divides his time between France and Ladakh, the mountainous region in northern India. There he realized that mountains carry a different meaning in Eastern traditions than they do in France, where he grew up. In the West, mountains are often regarded as part of the landscape; in Eastern traditions, they serve as a bridge between the divine and everyday life. To convey this perspective, as well as the rhythm of life in Ladakh, Yogananthan hand-colours his photographs with markers.
Vasantha Yogananthans, Climate Change, 2024, Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen The exhibition also includes new work by Jeroen Hofman. Over the past decade, Hofman has established a reputation through his landscape photography of the Dutch coastline. His work is instantly recognizable because every photograph was taken from a cherry picker at a height of ten meters. This spring, Hofman exchanged the Dutch coast for the Swiss Alps, where he created, among other works, a diptych of the famous Oeschinen Lake. Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen now presents the first works from this new series.
Paper Negatives and shop windows
The exhibition also showcases the latest developments in the work of Thomas Manneke and Mark van den Brink. Manneke continues his exploration of studio-based compositions. For the first time, he is working with paper negatives. He places an object or arrangement directly onto the negative and then exposes it to light, creating a unique print. Because the negative itself is made of paper, reproduction is impossible, making every work one of a kind.
Thomas Manneke, Galerie Wouter van LeeuwenMark van den Brink is best known for his small Minox photographs—fragmentary images that are often slightly out of focus, inviting the viewer's imagination to fill in the gaps. This time, a number of larger prints are on display, featuring views through windows and shopfronts. The exhibition also includes previously unseen works in his signature format.
Mark van de Brink, Galerie Wouter van LeeuwenLike the work of Jem Southam, that of American photographer Ruth Lauer Manenti was introduced by Van Leeuwen at Art Rotterdam in April. There he presented works from the series I Imagined It Empty. The photographs depict seemingly ordinary subjects: a piece of cutlery beside the edge of a table, or a number of empty bottles. Yet the images are deeply captivating. A white veil appears to hover over the photographs, giving them the fragile quality of century-old images. This effect makes Manenti's work just as elusive as that of Van den Brink and Manneke.
Ruth Lauer Manenti, Galerie Wouter van LeeuwenIn addition, the exhibition includes works by Hans van der Meer from his Goalkeepers series, as well as photographs by Bryan Schutmaat, Mark Steinmetz, Mimi Plumb, Asako Narahashi, Henry O. Head, Jessica Backhaus, Rob Hornstra, and Andrew Bush.
Summer in the City 2026 is on display through 29 August. Please note: Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen is closed from July 23 to August 8.
