What catches our attention in our immediate surroundings, and what escapes our notice? From February 23rd to March 22nd, VHDG presents a group exhibition at Artspace H47, focusing on structures that manifest within the urban environment. The selected works of artists Ricardo van Eyk, Bart Lunenburg, Emma van der Put, and Beth Wong interrupt these hardened structures, which hesitate to reveal themselves easily on the surface. The exhibition is curated by Roísín Douglas.
From poetic fragments in paint to a large photographic installation, and from a cinematic photo collage and film to an abstract translation of found materials from the city – all these works represent the public space through the eyes of the artists: how they envision it and what movements capture their gaze.
The exhibition encourages reflective thinking about the urban environment and the public sphere prevailing within it. What form does the public sphere take today? How do we navigate within it? And is it possible to separate ourselves from it?
By interrupting these urban structures that typically conceal the public in the city, what unfolds day in and day out becomes visible. Each of these four artists shares their own approach to this lived, daily environment.
Posysjes This group exhibition is the final part of the artistic program Posysjes, focusing on various positions and perspectives existing in the public space. Within this theme, artists have researched different communities in the region, their socio-cultural positions and the views and perspectives prevalent there. The program is based on questions such as: Which communities live and work here? What are their views and positions? What challenges do they face daily? What public amenities are they dependent on? Do they express themselves in the public space, or not?
Ricardo van Eyk (Utrecht, 1993) considers himself a painter. His work arises from an amazement with regard to the urban environment and the way in which the city functions as a ‘support’ bearing the traces of human presence, the lapsing of time and signs of decay. Images from his surroundings that he finds meaningful are isolated and used within his own work in order to discover the logic of those images. Found objects, as well as the use of everyday household materials, underscore his playful way of working.
Bart Lunenburg (Utrecht, 1995) works with architecture, the memory of buildings, architectural history and heritage. In his multidisciplinary practice, he attempts to ‘unearth’ the memory of buildings by exploring archival material. Additionally, he combines architectural history and heritage to create new stories about our fundamental but complex relationship with our built environment.
Emma van der Put (Den Bosch, 1988). The films by Emma van der Put originate from looking closely at urban public space. In her position as an observer, she tries to maintain a balance between empathy and detachment. Even though she is physically part of the crowd, the telescopic lens of her camera is creating a distance, a private space within the public space. In her films, Van der Put is scanning over the details of photographs she takes within the specific location she is researching and consequently editing her archive into cinematographic photo collages. With an interest in how the future is visualized in the public space of the city, through digital renderings and building plans, the films of Van der Put question what these envisioned forecasts can tell us about our current wishes for the future and for whom exactly the imagined future is intended.
Beth Wong (Hong Kong, 1998) her oeuvre is a collection of poetic fragments from her immediate surroundings. Wong is particularly interested in the overlooked stories and materials from the urban fringe. By combining painting with various media, she translates what she observes to provide an alternative interpretation of reality.
Festive opening
You are very welcome to join us at the festive opening on Thursday February 22 from 7:00 – 9:30 PM
Where: Artspace H47
Address: Haniasteeg 47, 8911 BX Leeuwarden
Programme
7:00 PM Doors open
7:30 PM Word of welcome by Curator Roísín Douglas
8:00 PM Programme tba
9:30 PM End
After the opening, the exhibition ‘City Structures’ will be open every week from Wednesday to Sunday until March 22nd, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Art Space H47.
This exhibition is made possible by Mondriaan Fonds, Gemeente Leeuwarden and Provincie Fryslân.