Until 8 January 2022, Josilda da Conceição Gallery in Amsterdam has programmed a group exhibition in a new gallery space, with work by no fewer than five artists: Kaspar Dejong, Koen Dudink, O. Lala, Gijs van Lith and Ruben Raven.
Kaspar Dejong
In his work, Kaspar Dejong is concerned with natural processes and with semiotics, the study of signs and underlying meanings. Dejong reuses images from everyday life, which he deconstructs until their signals lose their meaning. The precise moment when their original function is disrupted fascinates him. Sometimes he scratches the canvas, which he layers with a variety of materials, including spray paint. It results in paintings that are both minimalistic and expressionistic in character. After graduating from the Willem De Kooning Academy in 2017, Dejong completed two residencies in Barcelona and Vienna. Earlier this year, he obtained a master's degree at the Sandberg Institute. His work has been included in the collections of DSM, NN and Maastricht UMC+, among others.
Koen Dudink
Koen Dudink makes ceramic works that contain elements of minimalism as well as magical realism. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam, followed by training at the Art Academi Belles Artes in Costa Rica. This year he completed a twelve-week residency at Sundaymorning@ekwc (the European Ceramic Work Centre), an internationally oriented post-academic residency program for makers working with ceramics. Earlier this year, his work was shown at BIG ART.
O. Lala
The work of artist O. Lala reflects the ways in which the Islamic faith influences her daily life. In her paintings, collages, drawings, sculptures, fashion, performances and texts, she zooms in on contemporary representations of femininity, love and sexuality, including pornography. At the same time, she uses her work to express herself critically about things that are currently happening on the world stage.
Gijs van Lith
Coincidence, action and the material play an important role in the work of Gijs van Lith. The artist continuously adds layers and will sand parts of the canvas in the process — sometimes until holes and craters form. Last year, Van Lith's work was shown in a duo exhibition in the Noordbrabants Museum and in 2018 he showed a monumental installation in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. His work has also been exhibited in Paris, London and New York and is included in the collections of, among others, Dela, APG, Achmea, Luciano Benetton and the Dutch Royal Family. In 2018 he completed a residency in Mallorca.
Ruben Raven
In 2020, the multidisciplinary artist Ruben Raven graduated from the DesignLab of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. The artist is fascinated by the ways in which our future selves will look back on our contemporary consumer society. For his graduation project, he created an 'archaeological site’ that consisted of reproduced consumer goods, such as keyboards, lighters and cans. In 2020, Raven won the audience award during the Best of Graduates exhibition at Galerie Ron Mandos. In Josilda da Conceição Gallery, the artist will also show a different side of his practice, including an oil painting.