Carel Blotkamp

‘After Daan van Golden’
The origin of this exhibition lies in an encounter between the artists Robbin Heyker (1976) and Niek Hendrix (1985), who met by chance in 2015. It soon became apparent that Daan van Golden is an important reference point for both of them in their conception of art and their work. The concepts of “thoughtfulness” and “room for slowness”, in particular, played a central role in the discussions between Heyker and Hendrix.

Van Golden’s work is included in many museum collections, but he only produced a few works each year. He was therefore never very visible; his production was simply too low. Brushstroke by brushstroke, he built up an oeuvre that seemed to revolve around meditation, repetition, the personal, but also the mundane, the banal. Seemingly simple paintings unfold a stratification of complexities of the working of the image and its art historical context. In short, the fundamental question of what makes a painting, a painting and what does that mean? And what does that then mean for artistry? Both of them recognise themselves in these questions, but deal with them in a very different way. These are questions that, in the current art discourse, receive little attention in an institutional context.

Over the years, there have been many more artists for whom the work of the enigmatic Van Golden has been a source of inspiration, and each of these artists has approached it in a different way. Some even refer explicitly to Van Golden’s work.

The group exhibition that we are putting together based on the link with Van Golden is therefore not only a tribute to an important Dutch artist, but also a celebration of the far-reaching influence of his oeuvre on many generations of artists, worldwide moreover. An exhibition in recognition of the diversity and ambiguity of art and its makers. For us, the most important thing is to put on the agenda what Van Golden stands for, namely the previously mentioned ‘thoughtfulness’ and ‘slowness’.… (more)

Stedelijk Museum, a museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam

This art book published by the Stedelijk Museum is a comprehensive overview of the artists and works on display. I had the good fortune to visit the museum on my recent trip to Amsterdam. Below are a number of works from the collection along with museum commentary followed by my own modest comments:


Richard Serra, Sight Point (for Leo Castelli)

Bart Rutten, visual arts curator at the Stedelijk Museum, vividly recalls the sculpture’s impact: “The massive rust-brown towering above the treetops was a remarkably elegant exercise in sight lines and gravity: the monumentality, the materiality that expressed its weight, and the effortless dexterity with which the work maintains its balance." ------------------- Serra's sculpture is an imposing presence - the steel and rust color are in stark contrast to the Stedelijk Museum's shinny white. Serra's work still provokes controversy - case in point, I watched museum personnel in the process of scrubbing off graffiti on one of its steel plates.


Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Painting (Eight Red Rectangles)

"The Suprematists' interest in abstraction was fired by a search for the 'zero degree' of painting, the point beyond which the medium could not go without ceasing to be art. This encouraged the use of very simple motifs, since they best articulated the shape and flat surface of the canvases on which they were painted." ----------- After viewing a number of abstract works that adhere to strict parallel geometry, it was refreshing to see how Malevich disregarded parallels when placing his red rectangles on the canvas. Perhaps this was, in his view, one way of approaching "zero degree" in painting.


Piet Mondrian. Composition with Two Lines

"A theorist and writer, Mondrian believed that art reflected the underlying spirituality of nature. He simplified the subjects of his paintings down to the most basic elements, in order to reveal the essence of the mystical energy in the balance of forces that governed nature." ---------- By my eye, one of the most austere paintings I've ever seen. I have the sense the artist is yearning for a purer, unseen, abstract reality as if attempting to portray an elegant solution to a problem in upper mathematics.


Ellsworth Kelly, Blue Red Rocker

"On the relationship between his two- and three-dimensional work, the artist affirmed, “sculpture for me is something I’ve brought off the wall.” The two vibrant primary colours play off each other to the point of pulsation. Blue Red Rocker plays with flat and round: the surface’s extreme flatness contrasts with the ellipse’s bend." ------------ This sculpture is about 4 feet tall and remains stationary. Visitors are reminded not to touch. Good advice as I had the urge to see how the Blue Red Rocker would rock. The two colors are a bold as bold can be.


Jean Dubuffet, hilarious figure

The artist experimented with materials not usually used in painting, such as asphalt. Dubuffet’s compositions were also deliberately confusing: he worked with two overlapping perspectives – the scene seen from a frontal elevation, and the panoramic perspective. ---------- I loved the whimsy of this piece, particularly the round eyes and broad smile. The paint on asphalt on cardboard really works -there's something of a kid's creating a mud pie here. One of the least pretentious paintings in the history of Western art, for sure.


Karel Appel, Appelbar

The blue door remains part of the whole. One unusual element is the colored-glass oval window made using the new appliqué technique, which allowed daylight to shine directly through it. Appel not only sought new forms of expression, but also employed and combined new techniques. ----------- Hey, as per below, I could really relate to this painting!


Here I am at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in front of Karel Appel's painting… (more)