23 july 2024, Wouter van den Eijkel
TORCH turns 40!
TORCH is turning 40 years old this year, which is reason enough to celebrate and at TORCH, they know how to party. For their 40th birthday, they asked 40 artists they’ve worked with over the years to contribute a work of art that is 40 cm high. The result is a colourful collection of works of art that together tell something about TORCH and its artists: innovative, honest, playful and not afraid of a bit of controversy.
The press release/invitation for 40 x 40 x 40 was clear. At the bottom of the text was the line: ‘Come for the booze, stay for the art!’ And so it happened, because the opening of the anniversary show was well attended and some artists even came over from the U.S. for the occasion. When we talked to gallery manager Jorre Both a week later, the streamers were still hanging. They are printed with photos taken by artists over the years of founder Adriaan van der Have (who passed away in 2009), his son Mo and their assistants. Tinkebell collected them and knew what to do with them.
Immediately to the right of the entrance is a postcard rack—a playful reference to Van der Have senior's other company, Art Unlimited—containing cards with cheerfully edited photos by artists. Like the postcard itself, the casual and quirky humour expressed in the cards is something that is no longer taken for granted, except at Torch. The best example is the card showing Mo as a teenager with a bare chest, with the text ‘I hate art’. Not exactly what you might expect from someone who has been running a gallery for 15 years… The photo by Margi Geerlings hangs in large format immediately on entry to the left, setting the tone for the exhibition.
Philip Akkerman, 2024 no. 36, 2024, TORCH Gallery
Next, there is work by Popel Coumou and Philip Akkerman, the latter naturally contributed a self-portrait with the gallery's name painted in the mouth. "This is a boundless image that says a lot about us. We thought it was cool, which is why we also put it on the poster." Further on in the front room is a work by German artist Loretta Lux, whose work was in high demand 20 years ago. Lux was one of the pioneers of digitally edited photography, but with the rise of Photoshop, was overtaken by time.
Popel Coumou, 201. untitled, 2024, TORCH Gallery
"Half of the work on display is by artists we currently work with. The other 20 are a personal selection by Mo from past collaborations," says Both. "Having worked with hundreds of artists, the selection criteria are quite strict. Often, artists with whom there is a personal connection are chosen. For example, Jan Worst, who is no longer very active in the gallery, but Mo has known all his life."
This personal connection with the artists is also reflected in some of the work. For example, Luis Xertu painted the gallery owner's two cats and gifted him the work. Some artists have also worked with the word torch/torch, such as the inferno by Mees van Rijckevorsel's (Torch is getting too hot) and Line Gulset (Torch - light procession).
The work by Akkerman, Xertu, Gulset and Van Rijckevorsel was all specially made for this exhibition. This was not possible for all the artists because they did not have the time or opportunity to create a work, or had passed away. From Teun Hocks, for instance, who died two years ago, Both and Van der Have selected a drawing of someone using a tent as a parachute. The drawing breaks the strict rhythm of work hanging at the same height, as the Hocks is hanging slightly higher, a playful reference to the subject of the drawing and probably to Teun Hocks' great significance for TORCH.
Teun Hocks, untitled, 2020, TORCH Gallery
The most quirky and playful works are displayed at the back of the gallery. These include a photo by Susan Anderson, an artist with whom Torch worked a lot in the beginning, showing Cynthia Plastercaster. Plastercaster was an artist whose work consisted of making plaster casts of famous penises. In Anderson's photo, a laughing Plastercaster squirts ketchup on a sandwich with a cast of Jimi Hendrix's private parts between it. All this against the background of a bright blue sky and a large neon sign with the text: ‘Al's fun in the bun’.
Susan Anderson, CYNTHIA PLASTER CASTER (With JIMI HENDRIX), 1999, 2024, TORCH Gallery
There is also a corner with art historical references. For example, Sander Dekker refers to Courbet's L'Origine du Monde and his work is also hidden behind a shutter. Like Dekker, you immediately recognise the originality in Sandro Miller's work: the twins in smock dresses by Diane Arbus. Only the dresses are not small, but large and worn by adult men, or rather by one adult man. Slowly, it dawns that you are looking at an edited photo because the man in the photo probably looks familiar. Sandro Miller enlisted actor John Malkovich for a series in which he stars in several iconic photos.
40 x 40 x 40 can be seen at TORCH gallery in Amsterdam until 3 August.
40 x 40 x 40, TORCH Gallery
