05 march 2025, Indra Devriendt
Encounters: Marc Nagtzaam and Bart Lodewijks in FRED&FERRY
'IF IT IS, WHERE IS IT?' is the title of the two-part group exhibition at the Fred&Ferry Gallery. The first part is a selection by Marc Nagtzaam and the second by Bart Lodewijks. What these artists have in common is that they both draw and collaborate with ROMA Publications. We spoke with Nagtzaam and Lodewijks about the concept behind the exhibition and how they selected the artists.
ROMA Publications is an Amsterdam-based publishing house and design studio founded in 1998 and headed by graphic designer Roger Willems and artists Mark Manders and Marc Nagtzaam. For this exhibition, Nagtzaam and Lodewijks each selected artists for whom ROMA has published one or more works. The title of the diptych, IF IT IS, WHERE IS IT?, immediately sparks the imagination. “To me, it is important that a title or a work remain open to interpretation,” says Nagtzaam. “The ‘IT’ in the title can be a place or a work you are searching for. I mainly work in my studio. The title can refer to a library or collection location. In my studio, lots of different objects, books and ideas come together, forming a network of relationships with other artists. I chose themes of place, space, time and object as the basis for selecting work by other artists.”
If it is, where is it, FRED&FERRY
The photographs by Uta Eisenreich depict compositions of everyday objects that have lost their function. “I can well imagine that she collects and rearranges objects to create these still lifes. I also collect images and objects as a source of inspiration. I combine them in my studio. This is an important part of my work process. I love the familiarity in Eisenreich’s work. I particularly enjoy the surreal combinations and her exploration of scale. Due to positioning and distance, some objects appear to be the same size, for instance.”
A notable aspect of Nagtzaam’s selection is that much of the work has something uncanny about it. “I find it fascinating when you cannot immediately pinpoint what it is,” he explains. “The artist presents undefined images, encouraging the viewer to engage with them.” The photographs by Geert Goiris are a clear example of this. “He photographs eerie places. They are often things that emerge suddenly or take shape over time. The scale of the place is often difficult to determine.”
“I find the work of gerlach en koop fascinating because it is so minimal and hard to categorise. Their approach to collaboration as a duo and creation of work also intrigues me.” gerlach en koop are presenting an undershirt, dress shirt and pair of trousers. “They chose clothing items because the piece featuring the trousers appears in three ROMA publications,” explains Nagtzaam. The way they present the shirt and trousers makes it clear that they consider the garments as spaces. For the undershirt, they only show the hanging system of plastic bags, whose contours resemble an undershirt. The sculptures by Karin Herwegh are standing on a sheet supported by trestles, allowing us to view them at eye level. They have an elusive feel to them. “Yes, they play a strong role, but who or what are they?” Some have the shape of a figure. One appears to be carrying others on its back, while another is sawed in half. “You see a preference for geometric shapes and volumes.” This is also evident in the work of other artists, such as De Meulenaere, Eisenreich and Nagtzaam. Herwegh is Nagtzaam’s partner and the only one who has not published a booklet with ROMA Publications. “For all the books I have made, she has helped with the selection. I have selected booklets about her work. A series of magazines always combines one of her works with one of my drawings.”
If it is, where is it, FRED&FERRY
The publications of the selected artists play a prominent role in the first part of the exhibition. “I asked Hans De Meulenaere to create furniture,” says Nagtzaam. “We use them to present the publications and the public can sit on them. You can browse the books while enjoying a different perspective on the exhibited works. For the furniture, De Meulenaere found inspiration in Donald Judd’s chairs. He often references other artists in his work. I love that connection and network, which is expanding even further now, as every artist has references.”
Nagtzaam also seeks connections between the exhibited works. “Nick Geboers photographed wooden prison walls preserved in a museum in Denmark,” he says. “The prisoners carved text and images into them. Their drawings bring thoughts of the outside world into the prison. This fascinates me because it involves a confined place. One of Henri Jacobs' drawings also reminds me of a prison. He draws imaginary spaces. You can view my work architecturally, as floor plans or volumes. If you look closely, you can see lots of imaginary lines connecting the selected works. I consider it a luxury to exhibit my work alongside that of other artists. Their work allows me to highlight aspects of my own.”
Nagtzaam draws grids, lines and dots with graphite on paper. Repetition and patterns create a sense of rhythm, ranging from gaps and subtle lines to darkly shaded surfaces. The layering invites us to discover subtle nuances and details.
From a distance, they appear as solid, rigid blocks, but up close, reveal an accumulation of fine lines. “I used to work methodically. I first made a sketch, sometimes a detail of another drawing, which I then expanded on. I didn’t want to make decisions during the actual work. This way, I could easily reproduce a work. Now, the process itself is more important. I start drawing and decide how to develop it along the way. I hope my drawings can connect with everything and engage in dialogue with anything. Drawing is a medium used across many disciplines. I consider my drawings projection spaces where every discipline can find a use.”
If it is, where is it, FRED&FERRY
Lodewijks wants his second part to be a continuation of Nagtzaam’s presentation. How that will take shape remains to be seen. What he does reveal is that he will primarily showcase photography. He will be presenting three types of his own work: wall drawings, editions and photographs resulting from collaborations with other artists. There is already a chalk drawing in the hallway that he plans to extend into the gallery space. “The editions can be seen as refined pages from my publications. Each features a large-format photograph of one of my chalk drawings in context, with an accompanying English and Dutch text explaining the setting." Lodewijks collaborated with Henri Jacobs and Jan Kempenaers. He made drawings on buildings that Kempenaers then photographed. Geert Goiris photographed drawings that Lodewijks created at art collectors’ homes. “To Kempenaers, architecture and context are key,” says Lodewijks. “Goiris photographs from an artistic perspective and offers his own interpretation.”
Lodewijks has made thousands of chalk drawings in working-class neighbourhoods, moving from street to street and house to house. “There were lots of gaps because not everyone was interested. Some residents invited me in for coffee and I continued drawing inside.” Beyond drawing, the social aspect is important to him. “How do people relate to each other? What kind of relationships can I build with them? I seek stories and write them down.”
Bart Lodewijks
He initially worked with only white chalk and straight lines, but is now expanding the possibilities, using coloured chalk and choosing more challenging locations, such as prisons. He has also reconsidered the idea of value in his work. “For a long time, my approach was social and democratic,” says Lodewijks. “My drawings were free because chalk can be erased. I was drawn to the resilience of places and people marked by life. But I made a mistake by deliberately avoiding wealthy people, who clearly have their own struggles.” In a recent project, he made drawings in the homes of Antwerp art collectors, which Goiris then photographed. The collectors paid large sums to keep the work. “When I said I drew for free, they found it hard to understand,” he says. “I only charge if you want to keep it. Fixing the drawing changes its value.”
