Please join us to celebrate the last moments of the last exhibition of our current series Turning to Dust and Bones – also the last project in our beloved space. Daphne Huisden has written a commissioned text work for the occasion and Lisa Plaut will present a sculpture in response to the exhibition;

(…) Rodrigo’s backstory of two lovers unable to achieve a fusion and the tray where objects can slide, made me think of the flow of fluids, and the motion of fluid containers (…) The chain mail is a knit that can follow curves, together with Anouck Grenet, a maille specialist in Paris, we designed a pattern with different ring sizes that would highlight the curvy aspect of the pack, and  tightened it with a ribbon. Chain mail was used to make undergarments used by the military, the revival of the craft as a hobby today is maybe because of its slowness.

Lisa Plaut’s practice of sculpture and drawings explores how standardisation impacts the production of the self. She was a participant at the Jan van Eyck Academie, 2021 and currently works in Amsterdam and Paris.

Daphne Huisden made her debut at the end of 2010 at Prometheus Publishers with the novel Everything is always fiction, which was nominated for the Academica Literature Prize and included by Wim Brands in the anthology Dutch literature of the 21st century. In 2013, her second book This Remains Between Us was published, and nominated for the Halewijn Prize in the same year. Her third novel, Charlatans, was published in 2021. She has also published various articles and short stories, in literary magazines such as Das Magazin, Tirade, and the Rotterdam-katern of NRC Handelsblad. 

Read more here

Rodrigo Hernández – Carrés
Turning to Dust and Bones, part 6

Rodrigo Hernández (Mexico, 1983) lives in Mexico City. He studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Karlsruhe, and at Jan Van Eyck Academie in Maastricht in 2013-2014. He has been a fellow of the Laurenz-Haus Stiftung in Basel (2015), Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart and the Cité International des Arts in Paris (2016), Istanbul Modern (2019). 
Recent solo exhibitions include: Wattis Institute, San Francisco US (upcoming); Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover, D; Museo Jumex, Mexico City, MX; Swiss Institute, New York, US; Museo de Arte Moderno, Medellin, CO; Kunsthalle Kohta, Helsinki, FI; CIAJG, Guimaraes, PT; Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, NL; SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, USA; Sala de Arte Público Siqueiros, Mexico City; Pîvo, São Paulo; Kunsthalle Winterthur, CH; Midway Contemporary, Minneapolis; SALTS, Basel; Kim?, Riga ; Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg; Kurimanzutto, Mexico City; Museo Universitario del Chopo, Mexico City; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht; Parallel Oaxaca, Oaxaca, MX

Carrés is a brand new project, marking the 6th and final episode of the exhibition series Turning to Dust and Bones

Special thanks to Emiel Zeno
Photograph by Charlott Markus

Read more here

Laurel presents Lorena Solís Bravo – The guest, the host & the ghost

“We are not just human, we are many things”, says Lorena Solís Bravo (1991). In their work, the artist investigates what it means to be human and how we are inextricably linked to the world around us. They start from the symbiotic idea that evolution is driven by cooperation rather than by struggle. Instead of microorganisms eating each other millions of years ago, they started forming new living structures that made new forms of life possible.
Solís Bravo’s work builds on this harmonious idea by asking questions about what makes us human and what defines our identity. A recurring theme is the idea of ‘the other’: who you are is determined by how you relate to the people around you, but also by everything non-human around us, such as bacteria, living and non-living matter, and anything that deviates from the ‘norm’.
In the process of creating and filming the video work The guest, the host & the ghost, Solís Bravo left for Brazil and developed workshops and choreography for 7 performers, in collaboration with choreographer Fernanda Libman and music producer upsammy.

Read the full text by Milo Vermeire here.

About Laurel:
At the core of Laurel, there are three central yearnings: the ability to navigate care, to learn, and the possibility to connect with others. We see Laurel as both a physical and online community that offers real involvement through open collaborative projects – one that explores conversations on the meaning, reasoning and processes behind our collective core beliefs. Since Laurel finds itself in a transitory stage; a state of nomadism, we are currently occupied with appearing in other cultural spaces that are willing to host questions of (non)belonging, and to explore the capability of communities to exist in a broader spectrum. 

Installation view, The guest, the host & the ghost, 25min, 2 channel film, 2023, photograph by Lorena Solís Bravo

Join our Facebook event here.

Our events are featured on Public Data for Public Events
 

P/////AKT would like to thank:

Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and 

Stadsdeel Amsterdam Oost.

Project 33
 Contemplation: Markus Döbeli >< Indian Ritual Celebration

A Walk, 
by Rainer Maria Rilke

My eyes already touch the sunny hill.
going far beyond the road I have begun,
So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp;
it has an inner light, even from a distance-

and changes us, even if we do not reach it,
into something else, which, hardly sensing it,
we already are; a gesture waves us on
answering our own wave…
but what we feel is the wind in our faces.

The first chapter of Vishnudharmottara, an ancient Indian treatise on art and aesthetics, emphasizes  the abstract elements of art—its underlying formal structures and rhythms—rather than subject matter and iconography, reveals an important Indian belief about the highest purpose of art.  Art’s purpose is not to depict stories portraying gods and their symbols, but to produce a state of mind ultimately leading to spiritual liberation. The purpose of the art object is to induce a particular state of consciousness. It does not represent or symbolize that state, but by various means, leads the viewer to it. 

Contemplation, or dhyana in Sanskrit, has a long history and deep cultural significance in Indian culture, bringing about connections with the inner self, thereby achieving spiritual growth, mental and emotional balance, as well as inner peace. 

Ritual sculptures serve as a focal point for contemplation and meditation in religious and spiritual practices. They aid in visualization and generate a feeling of connection to the deity or spirit they represent. A statue of Buddha, as an object of meditation, helps to cultivate feelings of peace, calm and enlightenment. Ritual sculptures are an important part of spiritual practice, facilitating connections with the divine, towards the achievement of a state of inner peace. 

Abstract paintings can evoke a contemplative response of the beholder by encouraging them to engage with the work emotionally and intuitively . Facilitating a more open-ended interpretation and inspires the viewer to reflect in a more personal way.  Abstraction opens itself to the viewer, who may project their own thoughts and feelings into the painting, a pathway to a deeper commitment through contemplative understanding. Within the compositional field, the eye finds itself drawn into the colors, textures and forms of the work, experiencing dhyana—absorption as the final step toward meditation.

Markus Döbeli’s paintings are hung up on the wall separately, one at a time. In his essay, written on the occasion of his exhibition at Döbeli Kunstmuseum Winterthur (2010), Dieter Schwarz writes that ‘’each painting seems to be painted for itself’’, and  ‘’each painting is a stand-alone piece, which makes his work all the more remarkable. There is no consistent formal vocabulary, no particularly memorable stylistic gestus. What his paintings all share is the natural way in which they materialize. When you look at them on the wall, they are not immediately apparent. The longer you look, the more they begin to take shape; slowly the painting begins to emerge.’’

Placing Döbeli in the romantic history of painting, Schwarz is joined by Brice Curiger. In her text ‘’Eyes, my nostrils’’’, she cites Hegel’s notion of ‘’feeling soul’’. The deepest spiritual freedom, the sensuous expression (in color or words) of this inner sense of reconciliation constitutes what Hegel refers to as the ‘’beauty of inwardness’’, or ‘’spiritual beauty’’.

New Opening Hours

Thursday from 2 to 6pm
Friday from 2 to 6pm
Saturday from 2 to 6pm
and by appointment.
 

Vittorio Santoro
AMBIGUITIES/AFFIRMATIONS
Vernissage Saturday April 15 2023, 5-8 pm

de Appel
Schipluidenlaan 12
1062 HE Amsterdam

+31 (0)206255651
www.deappel.nl

STEUN de Appel

Facebook  Instagram  Twitter

Change personal data or unsubscribe

De Appel wordt structureel ondersteund door

Essentiële steun aan het Curatorial Programme wordt verleend door Stichting Hartwig en Ammodo

De Appel ondersteunt de kunstsector via De Zaak Nu en MOKER

In less than a week Art Brussels opens its 39th edition from Thursday 20 April to Sunday 23 April 2023 at Brussels Expo, Halls 5 & 6! 

As one of Europe’s oldest and most established fairs, Art Brussels has a reputation for discovery, and this year 152 galleries from 32 countries will present a mix of established and emerging talent as well as artists to rediscover. The fair will present the best of the contemporary gallery scene, showcasing more than 800 artists as part of a vibrant programme. Alongside the new initiatives and projects commissioned for the fair, Art Brussels will feature works that engage with technology and Artificial Intelligence, spirituality and mysticism, and themes of race, identity and gender politics.
The participating galleries are divided into four different sections according to the artists exhibited: PRIME (for mid-career and established artists), DISCOVERY (emerging artists), REDISCOVERY (unduly underrepresented or overlooked artists from the 20th century) and SOLO (solo artist presentations).
The fair continues to show its dedication to curated displays by hosting a high number of SOLO presentations, with 29 galleries highlighting the work of individual artists.

You can still book your tickets for the fair via:

FR / EN / NL

Sonntag, 16.04.2023, 15:00
Direktorenführung am letzten Tag der Ausstellungen

Ausstellungsansicht, Henrike Naumann, WESTALGIE, © IKOB – Museum für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Foto: Lola Pertsowsky

15 Uhr: Führung auf Deutsch
16 Uhr: Führung auf Französisch
17 Uhr: Führung auf Englisch
 
Mehr Informationen hier.

Demnächst im IKOB
ALL OUR YESTERDAYS: Lili Dujourie, Sophie Nys, Angyvir Padilla
Vernissage: Sonntag 30.04.2023, 15:00

ALL OUR YESTERDAYS zeichnet eine Verbindung zwischen drei in Belgien lebenden Künstlerinnen unterschiedlicher Generationen nach: LILI DUJOURIE (*1941), SOPHIE NYS (*1974) und ANGYVIR PADILLA (*1987). Indem sie die Bedeutungsträger des Häuslichen untergräbt und etablierten künstlerischen Kategorien trotzt, entfaltet die Ausstellung eine fragmentierte Erzählung von Zeitlichkeit, Erinnerung und Verlust. 

Mehr Informationen hier.

Das IKOB baut um…

Newsletter
 April 2023 News

New collaborator at OV Project & OV Office: Elaine Hitchcock Levy joins OV

Hitchcock Levy opened her first contemporary art gallery in Brussels in 2006, titled Elaine Levy Project (later Levy.Delval). The gallery maintained a strong international presence through participation in major art fairs, museum exhibitions and numerous off-site projects and programs throughout Europe and the United States. Working with both emerging and established artists, her focus remains on experimental collaborations and exhibition making.

In 2008, she co-founded Brussels Art Days (now Brussels Gallery Weekend), remaining at the helm of the organization until 2015.

She is a co-founder of the Charlemagne Palestine Foundation (inaugurated in 2018), and established Elaine Levy Projects SRL in 2020—specializing in curatorial and advisory services, and arts administration.

Upcoming Show

OV33: Contemplation: Markus Döbeli >< Indian Ritual Celebration

Opening Wednesday April 19th, 2023
from 4 to 9pm

The show will be running until Saturday July 1st, 2023.

New Opening Hours

Thursday from 2 to 6pm
Friday from 2 to 6pm
Saturday from 2 to 6pm
and by appointment.