Unexpected Transformation: (Formerly known as) Portrait of the Nail Behind the Canvas
In 2014, Bas van Wieringen created the minimalist artwork Portrait of the Nail Behind the Canvas, a 10-by-10-centimeter canvas featuring a painted concrete nail—one that would normally remain hidden behind the canvas—as an homage to the nail that always stays out of sight.
During the 2017 exhibition Humor. 101 Years of Laughing at Art at the Frans Hals Museum, the piece was accidentally painted over by a museum staff member who mistook it for a stain on the wall.
Rather than viewing the incident as a loss, Van Wieringen saw it as an opportunity for artistic reinterpretation. The conceptual work was not destroyed; instead, it had gained an additional layer. He chose to restore the piece using the Japanese Kintsugi technique, an ancient method in which broken ceramics are repaired with gold. Rather than concealing damage, Kintsugi highlights the cracks, making them a visible and valuable part of the object. It symbolizes resilience, acceptance, and the beauty of imperfection. By applying this technique to his painting, Van Wieringen transformed the accident into a new artwork that embraces the power of failure and restoration.
The documentary Celebrating What Is Broken explores this incident, offering an in-depth look at Van Wieringen’s playful and conceptual body of work. His art is characterized by humor and a unique perspective on reality, reinterpreting everyday objects and situations in unexpected ways. The film examines how unforeseen events can add new layers of meaning to artworks and how artists respond to such challenges. In 2020, the documentary was nominated for a Gouden Kalf in the Best Short Documentary category, highlighting its profound exploration of the relationship between art, damage, and restoration.
The renewed work, now titled (Formerly known as) Portrait of the Nail Behind the Canvas, is being exhibited for the first time in its new form.