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For the eighth year in a row, the NN Art Award will be awarded to a promising artist who completed their studies at an art academy in the Netherlands and is exhibiting at Art Rotterdam. This year, for the first time, the nominees will exhibit their work in the prestigious Kunsthal Rotterdam, from 1 February to 14 April 2024. The nominated artists for the NN Art Award 2024 are Maaike Kramer (Art Gallery O-68), Mónica Mays (Prospects section of the Mondriaan Fund), Jan van der Pol (CREMAN & DE ROOIJ) and Peim van der Sloot (Brinkman & Bergsma).
Mays’ sculptural practice combines autobiography, material process and historical archive. Her pieces are composed of assemblages taking the shape of animated domestic objects that are spilling over, distorted or in a process of transmutation. Drawing from catholic body horror and baroque iconography she has been working with excess, ornamentation and exuberance. From the depiction of maladie and magical thinking in female figurines, to colonial representations of nature, dominance, desire and control, the baroque is deployed by Mays to create works that exist in a tension of fragility and violence.
After having studied Cultural Anthropology at the University of New Orleans, she graduated from the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg in 2015 and received an MA from the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam in 2017. She has developed projects in artistic residencies such as Rupert (Vilnius, Lithuania), Fundación Bilbao Arte (Bilbao, Spain), Matadero (Madrid, Spain) and Cemeti Institut for Art and Society (Yogyakarta, Indonesia). Mays’ works have been exhibited in spaces including the Frascati Theater (Amsterdam), Tallinn Art Hall (Tallinn), Punt WG (Amsterdam), Blue Velvet Projects (Zurich), Centro Centro (Madrid), KUBUS (Hannover), La Casa Encendida (Madrid), Industra (Brno) and Atelier Chiffonier (Dijon). She has been awarded the 3PD prize bestowed by the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts 2022, the Mondriaan Fund Young Artist Stipendium 2023 and the Generation 2022 prize from the Montemadrid Foundation.
Could you tell us a bit more about the work you are presenting at Art Rotterdam and in the Kunsthal?
“I present a series of sculptures and boxes that I’ve been working on over the past two years. With these pieces, I aimed to cultivate and explore forms of reproduction that might sit outside of patriarchal structures, industrial means of production, efficiency and futurity, and the violence that these logics impose on different bodies. I’ve been exploring these ideas through a close engagement with the life cycle of the bombyx mori silk moth — an organic reproductive process that has been irrevocably altered by human intervention, domestication and industrialisation. In order to fully extract a silk thread for use in textiles, silk moth cocoons must be steamed to kill the grub inside before it can hatch and break through the single line of silk it used to create its cocoon. Those moths that are allowed to hatch do so only to breed and die shortly after; thousands of years of production-oriented domestication have rendered the moth blind, albino and flightless, with a vestigial mouth that cannot feed. The silk moth cocoon, for me, contains a multitude of semiotic and biological meanings — both those of extractive violence, biopower and heteropessimism, but also the potential for the breaking of linear logics, the refusal of reproduction, and the embracing of mutation.
Last year I cultivated the bombyx mori, accompanying them through them their reproductive cycle, allowing them to all hatch, and working with them and their products towards a series of assemblages, collages and sculptures. These assemblages are composed of a combination of found anachronistic domestic objects that are interrupted by the excess of other bodies: wool, feathers, vellum, cocoons come together to make a body out of bodies. In addition I present “Shadow Boxes”, wooden gridded objects that are employed for scientific categorization, division and taxonomical separation in the drawers of archives and museums. Discarded ones are often used by individuals for collecting small memorabilia, appropriating the grid as a subjective and personal mechanism. In a similar way, I have been collaborating with the bombix mori and their products to parasite the boxes, preserving their cocoons intact by covering the boxes with silk and botanical imprints that interfere with the grid’s structure.”
What are your plans for 2024?
“In March, I will be going on a three month residency at the Cemeti Institute for Art and Society in Yogyakarta with the support of the Mondriaan Fund, where I will be continuing a project I recently started at the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Throughout my projects I lean on certain examples as containers of both violence and fragility. In this case, I have been looking at the iconography and symbolism of the palm plant through its paradisiac, biblical and industrial imaginaries. The project began by looking at the ornamental function of the plant to gentrify coastlines in Southern Europe in contrast with its exploitation in other regions, Indonesia being one of the largest producers of this plant for the fabrication of palm oil. I am considering palm oil as an ubiquitous material, present in almost all of our bodies through our consumables, and drawing a parallelism with the religious concept of omnipresence often used in biblical depictions of palm plants. So far this has materialized through a series of clay pieces fired with the combustion of palm leaves and creating assemblages with found factory objects. I don’t really know how this will continue to materialize as I feel quite in the middle of the process, but throughout the year I will be presenting some of the pieces in Art Basel, in Arco Madrid and in several galleries in New York, Basque Country and Bucharest for example.”
Could you describe how you felt when you heard that you were nominated for the NN Art Award?
“I was very happy of course. It is a really nice feeling when the work comes across and is recognized amongst so many of the beautiful projects that a lot of my colleagues and peers are presenting at Prospects. I have been living in Amsterdam for eight years, making work in all sorts of studios throughout the city, but it has always been quite hard to present the work locally, partially because of the lack of spaces, but also because of a lack of visibility. I have mostly had invitations to present work abroad so for me, this is a really nice opportunity to share my work with the context that has helped me incubate most of my works.”
What project would you immediately tackle if you were to win the award?
“There are always more projects to work on. If I was to receive the award I would like to make a work that is no longer at the scale of my own body, that is not so conditioned by practicality. When I talk about my pieces, I often say that they are animated domestic objects because I imagine them moving, opening, closing, extending their arms, but in the end their forms are static. I think I would use the opportunity to engage with the necessary engineering requirements to make them performative. Maybe, but it feels very uncertain, I would finally make the film about a specific crying statue that I have been talking about for five years now.”
How would you explain your work to someone who might not be as well-versed in the art world? What should their most important take-away be?
“It is my hope that the pieces I make don’t need a very eloquent verbal explanation and that they can narratively or affectively communicate themselves. Most of the work is process, materials and forms coming together in the studio, which is actually the hardest part to talk about. I can always tell stories, give analogies, introduce some of my chaotic referential framework, but ultimately, I would like them to not need a well-versed explanation and to speak autonomously through eroticism, tactility and tension.”
What is the most rewarding compliment you have ever received about your work?
“That it moves somebody.”
The winner of the NN Art Award will be announced in the Kunsthal Rotterdam on Thursday 1 February at 20:00 CET. The work of the nominees will be on display there until 14 April 2024. During Art Rotterdam, Mónica Mays’ work will also be exhibited at the Prospects section of the Mondriaan Fund.
Written by Flor Linckens
In their long-term project “Fault Line”, Ana Zibelnik and Jakob Ganslmeier focus on the social consequences of the climate crisis. Launched in 2023, the project explores the profound impact of climate change on individual lives in Europe, ranging from climate anxiety and activism to populist denial of the issue. By capturing portraits of individuals, the photographers give a human face to a problem that often feels quite abstract. In the first part of the project, the artists specifically address the psychological phenomenon of climate anxiety, which is particularly prevalent among young people as they are confronted with an uncertain future. “Fault Line” is currently on display at the Fotomuseum Den Haag (until 31 March 2024).
Ana Zibelnik and Jakob Ganslmeier will also present the project at Prospects: an initiative of the Mondriaan Fund that showcases work by 86 artists who received financial support in 2022 to launch their careers. The work on display ranges from photography to textile works, video to paintings and performances to sculptures. The exhibition is curated by Johan Gustavsson in collaboration with curator Louise Bjeldbak Henriksen.
When we think about climate change, we often fall into one of two extremes: either being too optimistic, assuming that technology will save us in the end, or too pessimistic, pained by the idea that every piece of plastic we’ve ever used is still out there somewhere. In the latter case, we become paralysed and distance ourselves from the problem, thinking that we’re unable to bring about change. Many of us are dissatisfied with the minimal effect of our individual actions (such as recycling or not using a car) on the bigger picture, as well as the reluctance of powerful politicians to implement meaningful changes and a political shift to the right in many countries. The problem feels too big, too abstract. But artists have the ability to shape and influence our imagination and offer us something concrete.
The artists Ana Zibelnik and Jakob Ganslmeier state that, “Images affect the way people think about societal issues. They have an emotional impact and can prompt us to form opinions and take action. Images of environmental devastation, in particular, are often captured from a distance — by drones or focused on the overall scope of natural and infrastructural damage. What interests us is a closer examination of such situations — how do extreme climate events impact individuals? How does the fear arising from such situations contribute to the emergence of hateful ideologies?”
In “Fault Line”, the artists highlight how climate anxiety can be paralysing, but also a stimulus to take action. Their work includes collaborations with young climate activists in Italy and confrontations with Italian policymakers who deny climate change. During their travels through Italy, they documented the consequences of heavy rainfall and flooding, as well as the severe wildfires at the Greek border with Turkey, the largest wildfire Europe has ever known so far. They also spoke with climate refugees and with David Yambio, a human rights activist and founder of Refugees in Libya.
“Fault Line” offers an in-depth exploration of the climate crisis and its social impact. It’s an artistic project, but also a statement. It emphasises the need for action and awareness in a time when the consequences of the climate crisis are becoming increasingly tangible. Zibelnik and Ganslmeier ask critical questions about how the climate crisis — and the accelerating series of disasters — affects individual lives and how this contributes to the exacerbation of social and political polarization.
Ana Zibelnik, born in 1995 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, focuses in her work on themes such as global warming, climate anxiety, and its social implications. And what role does white supremacy play in the climate crisis? German artist Jakob Ganslmeier (1990) is interested in the visualisation of radical ideologies and the ways in which visual arts can be a means to counteract radical ideas and start conversations about societal issues with conflicting perspectives.
“Fault Line” by Ana Zibelnik and Jakob Ganslmeier will be on display in the Prospects section during Art Rotterdam.
Written by Flor Linckens
Galerie Ron Mandos is celebrating its 25th anniversary at Art Rotterdam 2024 and sparing no expenses with Best of Graduates Legacy – 25 Years of Galerie Ron Mandos, showcasing 25 young artists who have participated in the Best of Graduates programme at the gallery over the past five years. In addition to serving as a springboard for emerging talent, Galerie Ron Mandos represents over 30 renowned artists, including Isaac Julien, Hans Op de Beeck, Esiri Erheriene-Essi, Mohau Modisakeng and Atelier van Lieshout. Together with the founder and driving force behind the gallery, Ron Mandos, Art Rotterdam is highlighting this milestone achievement. We also look forward to the large-scale booth that will be on display during Art Rotterdam, featuring a special design by Tom Postma Design. Mandos comments, “The art world has no future without young talent. This is why I think that fostering the career development of young artists is so important.”
It’s been 25 years since you started Galerie Ron Mandos. Congratulations on this impressive milestone. The gallery is now internationally recognised. What, in your opinion, is the formula for success?
The key to success lies in my complete dedication to art, something I personally believe in wholeheartedly. I don’t let trends or famous names influence me. My approach involves showcasing an engaging mix of established artists and emerging talent. Even the renowned artists I represent, such as Hans Op de Beeck and Isaac Julien, appreciate that I actively invest in emerging artists. Perhaps because they also teach at academies.
From the moment someone enters my gallery to when the artwork is delivered to the buyer’s home, excellent service is paramount. Presentation and content also take centre stage because buyers need the space to emotionally connect with an artwork.
Perhaps most importantly, my artists always come first. I work day and night for them. Throughout the year, we participate in seven to eight international fairs, providing them with a global platform and constantly challenging them to create their best work. At the same time, I give them the freedom to develop special presentations. My gallery began in Rotterdam as a project space, inspired by the Chambre d’Amis of the renowned Belgian curator and museum director Jan Hoet, who invited artists to present art in a domestic setting. This inspiration continues to guide me in giving artists the freedom to fully transform my gallery into their artistic world.
What was your goal in establishing the Best of Graduates in 2008?
The primary goal is to provide a platform for young artistic talent to develop further. The art world has no future without young talent. This is why I think that fostering the career development of young artists is so important. Since 2008, my gallery team and curator Radek Vana have travelled to all art academies in the Netherlands to view graduation projects. We bring the most innovative presentations from Groningen to Maastricht to Amsterdam to showcase to a wide audience. That’s why I founded the Young Blood Foundation in 2018, so we can continue the development of young artists. Every year, Joop van Caldenborgh, founder of Museum Voorlinden, presents the Young Blood Award to an artist whose work becomes part of the permanent collection.
During Art Rotterdam 2024, you are putting 25 artists from the Best of Graduates of the past five years in the spotlight. Can you elaborate on all or a few of these artists and their work?
Our Best of Graduates Legacy at Art Rotterdam includes a diverse mix of artists, as is customary in a Best of Graduates presentation. We are showcasing, among other things, new paintings by Matias Salgado (Young Blood Award winner in 2023), sculptures by Bart Pols (Best of Graduates 2021), video artwork by Thom van Rijckevorsel (Best of Graduates 2019), textile work by Marcos Kueh (Young Blood Award winner in 2022) and ceramic work by Anni Mertens (Best of Graduates 2019). I would like to emphasise the versatility of these artists. It inspires me every day how these artists can be so innovative with different techniques.
Can you give us a sneak peek of the booth presentation during Art Rotterdam?
It promises to be a surprising presentation. Together with the director, Fons Hof, we have decided on a special booth that is larger than usual. We plan to create a booth measuring 100 square metres, a real gift for the young artists we are spotlighting. The design is by Tom Postma and his fantastic team, who always create stunning designs for leading fairs such as Art Basel and Tefaf. The booth clearly reflects Postma’s high-quality design and the varied art of the young creators.
What sets Art Rotterdam apart from other fairs that Galerie Ron Mandos participates in? What developments have you noticed in the Rotterdam art scene?
Rotterdam is my hometown, so to me, Art Rotterdam feels like coming home. My gallery opened 25 years ago in Rotterdam and from the very beginning, we have been closely affiliated to this fair. It is sometimes said that Rotterdam works hard while Amsterdam spends money, but fortunately, we are seeing a change here. Over the years, beautiful new initiatives have emerged, such as BRUTUS, where art creators get carte blanche to experiment. For a few years now, there has been a collaboration with the Ron Mandos Young Blood Foundation, which selects an artist every year who can then work in this fascinating art setting. Also, the various initiatives at Art Rotterdam, such as Prospects, which annually showcases over 80 artists who have received financial support from the Mondriaan Fund, are a beautiful example of a platform for emerging talent during the fair. And new galleries will be participating in the New Art Section, which spotlights young artists. Through such initiatives, Rotterdam continues to position itself as a vibrant creative city that is continuously evolving. Art Rotterdam makes an essential contribution to this.
Best of Graduates Legacy – 25 Years of Galerie Ron Mandos will be on display during Art Rotterdam at the Van Nelle Factory from 1-4 February 2024, with a private preview on 31 January.
Best of Graduates Legacy is generously supported by Art Rotterdam, Vormmakers, Tom Postma and the VandenEnde Foundation.
Written by Pienk de Gaay Fortman
Pipeline from London will present a series of new works by Callum Harvey in the New Art Section at Art Rotterdam.
This British artist has a keen interest in transitional environments. His practice straddles the line between the natural and the constructed, drawing inspiration from architectural details and repeated ornamental patterns, both the extraordinary and the mundane. In his work, he delves into spatial environments, raising questions about how we construct, perceive, and utilize spaces. What role do botanical motifs and symbols of nature play in this context?
Harvey’s paintings are characterized by flowing, organic forms and repeated patterns, often magnified in scale and flattened in character. He employs a soft colour palette of natural and pastel hues, applying paint in transparent, thin layers. This technique gives his paintings a ‘backlit glow’, a background radiance that appears both artificial and natural. This juxtaposition of the artificial and organic is a recurring theme in his work.
Nature serves as a significant source of inspiration for the artist, including decorative motifs from Art Nouveau and the British Arts and Crafts movements — a series of artistic and social movements from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that advocated for a revaluation of handcrafts and traditional crafts as a form of resistance against industrial mass production. Harvey reflects on the social history and ideas behind these decorative elements and their relevance to our contemporary life, as well as the status and class they often represent. Moreover, Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movements present idealized depictions of nature, forming an intriguing subject of study for Harvey: how are these elements designed, and how do they enable us to experience nature and spaces in new ways?
For Art Rotterdam, Harvey engages with a unique artificial space: a fair booth. He’ll present two large paintings with flattened portrayals that were stripped of spatial depth, alongside four smaller works in carved wooden frames, effectively integrating domestic and design elements. The paintings contain interior motifs that are common in wallpaper, contrasting with the space in which they are displayed.
Callum Harvey was born in 1998 and lives and works in London. He studied Fine Arts at Falmouth University, followed by a master’s degree at The Royal College of Art, where he graduated in 2023. He has received multiple scholarships and awards, including the Radcliffe Trust Craft Scholarship in 2022, and completed a residency program at Porthmeor Studios in St Ives in 2019. Last fall, his work was featured in a solo exhibition at Pipeline and his work was also showcased in Kingsgate Project Space and Safehouse in London, Centre Space Gallery in Bristol, and Huxley-Parlour in New York.
During Art Rotterdam, Callum Harvey’s work will be on display in the New Art Section, presented by Pipeline.
Written by Flor Linckens
Art is often displayed and experienced in a similar context: the distinctive white walls of a gallery or museum. The iconic Van Nelle Factory, part of the UNESCO World Heritage List, already stands out from this traditional white cube concept due to its unique architectural character. Moreover, the fair offers an additional way to experience art: outdoors. Around this historic building, more than 20 (often large-scale) artworks are exhibited during Art Rotterdam. Free from the confines of walls, these works become part of their environment and gain new meanings in the process.
Atelier Van Lieshout (presented by Galerie Ron Mandos)
Atelier Van Lieshout is known for its multidisciplinary practice that straddles the boundaries of art, design, and architecture. Joep van Lieshout often uses industrial materials to explore socio-critical and provocative themes. At Art Rotterdam, he presents the work “Vulture” (2022). Vultures are as imposing as they are repulsive. Death is near when this scavenger arrives. However, vultures are also resourceful, persistent and an indispensable link in many ecosystems. According to Van Lieshout, artists are comparable to vultures. They devour everything that might serve as inspiration, old and new, and are viewed with suspicion. Van Lieshout would have preferred to see collectors viewed as vultures: as they hungrily circle vulnerable art. Van Lieshout’s works have been featured at the biennials of Gwangju, Venice, and São Paulo and are part of the collections of Fondation Prada, FNAC, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Stedelijk Museum.
Baoyang Zhao (presented by Josilda da Conceição Gallery)In Baoyang Zhao’s work, intangible phenomena often take on a tangible charge. A scent, or a memory. The artist graduated from the HKU last summer and will present the work “The Trace of a Ghost Walking along the River” (2023-2024). How can you not wet your shoes when you walk along the river? This project talks about the bodily pleasure with the absence of the body. The artist explore the topic under the context of their experience as non-binary person. The liminality of their body aligns with the key experience with pleasure which dwells only on the border of land and water, indulgence and restriction. We hear the whisper of the pleasure under the water meanwhile we know the land is where we can stand on. We wet our shoes. We linger and we walk along the river. But what will be wet when a ghost floating along the river? What will be left in he bodily pleasure when the body is missing?
Jonas Dehnen (presented by Pizza Gallery)
With the work “Pterion shelter, oder die dünnste Stelle des Schädels” (2023), Jonas Dehnen plays with the genre of the sculptural garden folly. A folly, in architecture, is a primarily decorative garden building, which through its appearance suggests a fictional history (for example a fake ruined castle or grotto). Dehnen’s work can be read as a sculptural proposal for a dilettante park folly in the shape of a tin-foil hat, a homemade protective device, and a symbol of paranoia and conspiratorial thinking. It expands on the visual language of the artist’s paintings and drawings, which for several years have integrated themes such as the painterly landscape, maps of historical garden designs, automata, and hermitages. These undergo a subjective examination led by the (im-)possibilities and the ‘cultural memory’ of the material. The sculpture is partly made of the plates used to print the book.
Joeri Woudstra (presented by Nest)
As the February sun traces its short arch over Rotterdam, sounds of Joeri Woudstra’s work will echo over the terrain of the Van Nelle Factory. Woudstra, a multidisciplinary visual artist and composer, presents work from his series “Radiate” during Art Rotterdam. For this giant cross made of speakers, Woudstra mixed echoes, samples, and loops from pop music with iPhone recordings and live performances recorded during sunsets.
Karin Kytökangas (part of the Prospects exhibition organised by the Mondriaan Fund)
“I wish the world were softer,” Karin Kytökangas (1991) confesses. With paintings and sculptures executed in a dreamlike visual language, the artist challenges painful power structures. She is especially interested in the tension between power on the one hand and vulnerability on the other. In order to depict this tension she uses the contrasts between soft and hard. The vulnerable, soft medium of painting, for instance, can simultaneously be hard when using a powerful visual language or making a strong substantive statement. The sculpture “The Long Haul” (2023), standing outside the Van Nelle Factory, is literally a soft object that is now hard: a fixated white flag eternally billowing in the wind. For the artist, this work is about a desire for peace. By creating contrasts between shape and content, Kytökangas encourages us to surrender to reality and argues in favour of innovation.
Dré Wapenaar (presented by NL=US Gallery)
The oeuvre of the Dutch sculptor Dré Wapenaar is closely linked to architecture. Monumental tent constructions are a recurring form in his practice, often as a reaction to the urban space. His ecological works often have a very specific purpose and offer space for the human dimension. For example, he designed a tent for sellers of street newspapers and tents that involve death and birth. How do people use the public space and does that space reflect those same people? Wapenaar hopes to start a dialogue between citizens and their city. During Art Rotterdam, he presents “TENTVILLAGE REVISITED” (2007), a microcosm of society. Wapenaar says: “You can see this work as my proposal for urbanization.”
Oscar Peters (presented by C.o.C.A.)
Oscar Peters predominantly creates large-scale kinetic sculptures. In his latest works, he explores encompassing themes such as loss, grief and fury. At Art Rotterdam, he exhibits “The Gift of Fury” (2024), in which he investigates collective grief, joy and the need for hope in the face of contemporary alienation. This is achieved by integrating elements from other cultures and rituals, as well as cinematic traditions of world building. Like walking into an alternate universe, the installation evokes strong feelings, like those inspired by the romantic, almost sentimental depictions in pre-raphaelite paintings of death, loss, grief, and mourning. Fury, born from these emotions, is not necessarily blind anger but rather a directed or guided rage, with a potent goal, either to destroy or create. Upon entering the work, you are no longer just an observer, but a participant in the creation of the ritual; stepping into a shared place of mourning, a contributor to collective healing. The Collectors of Contemporary Art (C.o.C.A.) foundation consists of a group of eight collectors of contemporary art, united with the goal of supporting the work of young, promising artists in the Netherlands by providing an annual grant.
Marcel Mrejen (part of the Prospects exhibition organised by the Mondriaan Fund)
Greenhouse cultivation enables new landscapes to exist within established ones, as a greenhouse set up in the polder, for instance, can accommodate a different climate for growing crops. Marcel Mrejen (1994) collected greenhouse sounds, such as the buzzing and droning of ventilators, pumps, and neon lights. He then fed hours of these audio recordings to an artificial intelligence that transformed them into a soundscape. Placed outside the Van Nelle Factory, the installation “Cottagecore (Paradise Haunts Growth)” (2022) is playing this soundscape with the help of nine speakers. The artist is no longer in control of what the installation allows the public to hear, while its duration is undetermined as well. Apart from being a spatial entity, the sculpture thus also extends over a period of time. Occasionally, the installation produces the sound of a voice. According to Mrejen this is the algorithm’s consciousness contemplating the costs of growth: How can we use technology to restore non-exploitative relationships with the planet?
Geraldo Dos Santos (presented by Josilda da Conceição Gallery)
Geraldo Dos Santos, known for his affinity for narrative complexities, introduces “La Santeria de Mama” (2023-2024) as a profound endeavor in cultural decolonization. By centering on the symbolic significance of candles, meticulously deconstructs hierarchical systems associated with the persuasion of these ritual objects. This prompts thought-provoking inquiries about the multi-emigrated identity. “La Santeria de Mama” manifests as an installation of stories, with each candle representing a chapter in the ongoing narrative of cultural resilience. Specifically chosen for their tenacious spirit, the candles transform into a powerful metaphor symbolizing the enduring strength of cultural identities from Latin America. This hegemonic phenomenon transcends conventional art boundaries, acting as a catalyst for a parafiction. The vibrant colours of the sculptures disrupt monochromatic narratives, creating space for nuanced perspectives. Uncomfortable truths embedded in migration narratives are exposed as preconceived notions are dismantled, prompting a collective reexamination of societal structures that perpetuate hierarchies based on origin and heritage.
Adriaan Rees (presented by Livingstone Gallery)
High in the air, at over 4 meters, stands a striking lilac sculpture on a metal pole. The polyester figure is a woman bent over with a bucket in her hands. Her head, covered with long hair, is largely hidden in the bucket. The title of the work, “Screaming in a Bucket” (2023/2024), is evocative and originates from a dream. At their booth on the fair floor, Livingstone Gallery will present a special edition of this work in porcelain with silver. Rees, known for his versatility in materials, splits his time between Amsterdam and his own studio in Jingdezhen, China. He creates sculptures and installations and works on large-scale projects, performances, and sculptures for public spaces.
John M. Robinson (presented by A Modest Show)
British artist John M. Robinson is known for his performance paintings. During tarot readings and other occult or spiritual events, the artist embodies new personas, which become the documented paintings. At Art Rotterdam, Robinson will perform in a modest garden shed outside the Van Nelle Factory, adorned with images and equipped with spy holes. At scheduled times, he will perform a number of durational works there.
Marieke Bolhuis (presented by NQ Gallery)
Marieke Bolhuis exhibits an installation of three sculptures: “Starting point, YOU ARE HERE” (2023). The artist works intuitively, in continuation of her interest in emotions, psychic states, awareness. In a constant dialogue with shape and material, she thinks through doing. These three sculptures can be seen as individual sculptures, but together form a powerful installation. Bolhuis: ”A life with and in nature, sprouting from the dark earth. The miracle that the most beautiful shapes and colors come to life from that nutrient-rich organic earth’s crust. Life forms, organisms, plants and animals, working together to create an incredibly diverse and rich landscape.” The work is a continuation of “If we would all be plant”, which was on display at the fair last year.
Cecilia Bjartmar Hylta (part of the Prospects exhibition organised by the Mondriaan Fund, courtesy diez gallery)
Cecilia Bjartmar Hylta (1992) often takes themes like infrastructure and urban planning as points of departure for new work. She is interested in how we move though the outside space, in the demands placed on us by structures, and in the reactions these evoke. In her work she tries to mimic public situations in order to visualize their underlying, often invisible, forms and ideas. For the sculpture “Van Nellefabriek” (2023), the artist collected dust from the Distribution Centre which she compressed to form a miniature version of the building. With this sculpture Bjartmar Hylta is thus inverting content and form.
Art van Triest (presented by MPV Gallery)
Control is a recurring theme in the work of Art van Triest: “Central to my work is the human tendency to fight our fundamental fear with a system, to get a grip on the world around us and satisfy our need for control. My work is a visual investigation, in which I question how this system relates to the physical reality of the world around us. With my work I want to offer a visual counterbalance to the simplification and standardization of our environment. I would like to strive for a more realistic positioning of man, in which we can relate to reality in a more complete way”. “Lines” (2023) is a sculptural installation, it explores a balance between systems. It attempts to portray contrasts between possible ways of relating to our environment. Focusing on strength and calculating reliability or arising from a development process it portrays various ways of working and thinking.
André Kruysen (presented by NL=US gallery)
André Kruysen presents ‘Dependent perspective (whale’s eye)’ (2023). Kruysen’s work relates to daylight and the structure of the architecture around him. He makes interventions in spaces that influence these aspects. These interventions can result in both freestanding and space-merging sculptures. His more complex and chaotic language of form in recent years stems from the increasingly complex (visual) culture in which we live. The search for a personal balance in it finds its form in his work. In the midst of his disruptive spatial interventions, Kruysen seek silence: the stillness that occurs due to the sacred effect of daylight. This contradiction is the basis of his sculptures.
Olaf Mooij
Rotterdam-based artist Olaf Mooij has gained particular renown for his car sculptures in public spaces. At Art Rotterdam, he presents “The Church of our Unbelieving Faith” in a mysterious, chapel-like structure. In this beautiful chapel you fall from one surprise to the next. Having entered you have to let your eyes do the work. “What should I believe?” And “What do I want to believe?” Are questions that stay with you after seeing all those special objects. Do you believe in the sacredness of the technology? Or do you believe that the holy cow is alive and created from an auto-spermatozoid? Is our car such a great invention? Isn’t it better to continue electrically? And to whom do we prefer to leave our fate: the human driver or the self-thinking machine? These kinds of aspects are highlighted in this ‘church’.
Thordur Hans (presented by Rademakers Gallery)
It is often the familiar and mundane that takes centre stage in the work of Icelandic artist Thordur Hans. His practice revolves around being perceptive of interesting gestures that one might come across in their everyday life. These gestures then develop into artworks in the form of recognisable, slightly modified objects or activities that brings a new perspective to their existence. “Window I” (2021) is a monument to everyday forgetfulness and casual apathy.
Ruud Kuijer (presented by Slewe Gallery)
Ruud Kuijer is a Dutch sculptor known for his series of large abstract concrete constructions along the quay of the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal near Utrecht, the so-called “Waterworks”. Over the years, Ruud Kuijer has made several large sculptures with flat plates of concrete or iron that hang, lean, lie or stand upright. In “Large Standing Plate” from 2022, a box section and a pipe protrude through a monumental iron plate and keep it visually balanced. The flat surface of a plate is made part of a three-dimensional whole. The front and back of the plate get their own identity. You can walk around it to experience its sculptural character.
Willem Besselink (presented by OMI Rotterdam and NL=US gallery)
The built environment of the city, and the Van Nelle building in particular, consists of an almost infinite number of structures and systems. Willem Besselink is fascinated by the interference patterns that arise in the process, which he visualises in his work. Interference patterns occur when two or more waves, such as light, sound, or water waves, meet and combine. The sculpture “See Through” (2023) is one of the many possible visualisations of the many structures and at the same time contributes to the further accumulation, and its interference patterns.
Martinus Papilaja (part of the Prospects exhibition organised by the Mondriaan Fund)
For graffiti artists it is crucial to use a recognizable tag that cannot be traced back to them. This is important because the application of graffiti is forbidden in most places. Martinus Papilaja (1988) considers it a sign of recognition for the specific craft of graffiti that his work is now presented to the public explicitly under his own name. Papilaja studied what the graffiti artist’s need or urge to write is, and how this affects their personal handwriting. He thinks of graffiti as a craft that can be perfected through practice and studying the work of others. For his work at Prospects, Papilaja consciously chose to experiment with form. Rather than spray painting a flat surface, he presents three sculptures outside the Van Nelle Factory that establish his tag spatially.
Sanne van Balen (part of the Prospects exhibition organised by the Mondriaan Fund)
Can language present itself in a different guise? This question is a common thread in the work of Sanne van Balen (1994). After graduating in Dutch language and literature, she went on to study Image & Language at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Her artworks focus on the visual experience of language, while her writings give images a voice. For her work at Prospects, Van Balen is zooming in on the tongue. On the one hand, the tongue is a muscle that shapes and literally creates language. On the other, ‘tongue’ also refers to the language we speak, the language of a people. This duality is a recurring feature in her work. Lying in the grass outside of the Van Nelle Factory is the work “Stem” (2024), a red, meandering sculpture somewhat resembling a physical tongue. To Van Balen, the landscape is a linguistic site that both contains and conveys the environment’s meanings.
Erik Buijs (presented by Rutger Brandt Gallery)
Erik Buijs sculpts animated figures from clay or wax, deliberately leaving traces of the sculpting process. His artworks serve as a thought-provoking commentary, stirring curiosity and inviting contemplation. Through the intriguing blend of his figures whimsical and childlike appearance combined with somber undertones, Buijs sculptures embody a peculiar yet powerful presence. These figures, seemingly playful yet oddly peculiar, offer a unique perspective on the human condition. Within their seemingly simple forms lie layers of depth, revealing both sensitivity and idiosyncrasy. Buijs intertwines the weighty aspects of human emotion with the innocent essence of childhood, creating sculptures that emotionally resonate with viewers.
Compiled by Flor Linckens
At Art Rotterdam, acb Gallery from Budapest will presents the work of Hungarian artist Róbert Batykó in the New Art Section. There, the artist will exhibit his latest series of oil paintings and collages, some of which he created during a residency program in gastatelier Doc4 in Haarlem.
In his practice, Róbert Batykó blends traditional techniques with digital influences. His style is characterised by the mechanical scraping of paint over the canvas in the final stage of the process, resulting in an ultra-thin layer of paint. For this, the artist uses a self-built machine, a combination of a press and a blade. He’ll find himself surprised by the final outcome, over which he has only partial control.
Batykó’s practice lies at the intersection of abstraction and realism, between the digital and the physical. He transforms digital images into often large-scale paintings, that are occasionally reminiscent of software interfaces. The artist utilises found objects such as packaging materials, old VHS tapes and magazines, as well as step-by-step illustrations from vector drawing manuals. He is particularly interested in shapes and transforms these materials by removing them from their original context. For this part of the process, he uses stencils and cutting plotters.
The resulting compositions sometimes appear strange and somewhat surreal, yet they are generally also quite recognisable. The figures in his latest works are not human, but seem to possess anthropomorphic qualities nonetheless. They have a certain degree of abstraction but are, at the same time, clearly figurative. This gives viewers the freedom to offer their own interpretations.
The artist’s practice is informed by themes such as our consumer culture — and its visual appeal —, the production and manipulation of digital images and the so-called ‘technological subconscious’.
Batykó obtained a Master’s degree in Painting at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest, followed by a DLA (Doctor of Liberal Arts) program at the University of Pécs. His work has been included in the collections of the Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria) and the contemporary Ludwig Museum in Budapest. In 2022, his work was featured in a group exhibition at MODEM (Centre for Modern and Contemporary Arts) in the Hungarian city of Debrecen. He received several awards, including a Strabag Art Award (2007), a Leopold Bloom Art Award (2011) and a Hungary Emerging Prize (2018). The artist has lived and worked in the Netherlands for several years.
The work of Róbert Batykó will be on display in the New Art Section during Art Rotterdam, presented by acb Gallery from Budapest.
Written by Flor Linckens
Interview with Louise Delanghe
“If painting is the sea, I want to be the ultimate surfer.” Every decision and consideration must be visible to Belgian artist Louise Delanghe (BE, 1994), as she believes that therein lies the poetry of a work of art.
Delanghe is considered a great painting talent, and in her work, she leaps from genre to genre: from full-length portraits to work on cardboard and from classical nudes to textual work. Pizza Gallery is presenting an overview at Art Rotterdam of the work Delanghe has created so far, in addition to work from her newest series, Weeping Wham, which she describes as “the elusive beauty of the cherry on an overly sweet whipped cream cake.”
Congratulations on your presentation at Art Rotterdam! What can we expect?
Thank you! Color is the workhorse in my art, an obsession, joy and tribulation all at the same time. It is the binding agent that connects the layers of stories and characters in my paintings. At Art Rotterdam, I want to emphasise this with an eclectic mix from different periods in my journey. For many visitors, it will be their first encounter with my work and my intention is to create an exciting ‘totality’ at the fair.
Is it a logical continuation of Boulevard Angel, your exhibition earlier this year at Pizza Gallery, or have you started a new project?
I am mostly showing recent work. The series embodies a succession of standing figures and busts with a penetrating yet tender gaze. Some time ago, a painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau that I found online, entitled The Little Shepherdess, really caught my eye. In addition to his less interesting biblical scenes, he also devoted a lifetime to painting female figures, all with a certain aura about them, with an extraordinarily vulnerable, romantic, contemplative, melancholic and sometimes spellbinding expression. A kind of rom-com avant la lettre, a feeling that sometimes overcomes me in everyday life. It moved me. The Little Shepherdesswas the torch that brought a whole range of other examples to light, resulting in a new series of paintings entitled Weeping Wham. The elusive beauty of the cherry on an overly too sweet whipped cream cake may best describe what the viewer can expect to see. I hope my work evokes a certain witty fragility people can identify with.
For Boulevard Angel, you created smaller paintings on reclaimed wood. Why did you want to use reclaimed wood and is experimenting with different mediums something you enjoy?
The paintings in the Boulevard Angel show were created in three different places in Southern France. Painting in the open air was a revelation for me. As a child, I lived near Nuenen, the village where Vincent van Gogh painted his famous Potato Eaters. Vincent was my first encounter with painting, so it was particularly special to work in the region around Arles and follow in his southern footsteps. Nature makes you think and act differently. It didn’t feel right to buy prefab canvases. The medium had to be something with a past. I found a dealer in Saint-Andiol, a rather rough type. He bought lots in India, the contents of which were always a gamble. Some of them were handmade furniture, objects and curiosities with a colonial past, and the rest were wood from demolished dilapidated buildings, some with beautifully hand-painted motifs. The pieces of wood were selected based on the size of my easel and their weight, as everything had to be carried with me outdoors. After a bit of negotiation, cash in hand and being a bit taken advantage of, I was on my way.
My thoughts often went to all the impressionists who painted outdoors. You are at the mercy of the weather, especially the mistral wind that sweeps through the landscape in this region, which determined the direction of my work several times in an amusing way. I had to paint faster and differently than in a studio, in a single motion like a snapshot. Coincidence brought me to the medium – or vice versa, as is usually the case.
Looking at your Instagram account, your work seems to go in all directions, from full-length portraits to work on cardboard and from classical nudes to textual work. Do you think there is a common thread in your work?
I suspect that such switching is rooted in my character, a ‘hopper‘ as they say. I become restless if I follow the same path visually and verbally for too long, a healthy dose of chaos then takes over me when I’m working. If painting is the sea, I want to be the ultimate surfer, always looking for the right wave in time and space. I want every gesture and moment of decision to be palpable in my paintings.
Why is that important to you?
It is a feeling I am also looking for when I stand in front of a work of art, an inextricable finishing touch that makes an image unique and where I believe the poetry lies.
You are now 29 and still at the beginning of your career. What do you hope to achieve in the next five years?
I am convinced that if you do something with passion, things will always cross your path at the right time. Over the next five years, I want to mainly continue to follow my own course, wherever the wind may blow it.
Written by Wouter van den Eijkel
For the eighth year in a row, the NN Art Award will be awarded to a promising artist who completed their studies at an art academy in the Netherlands and is exhibiting at Art Rotterdam. This year, for the first time, the nominees will exhibit their work in the prestigious Kunsthal Rotterdam, from 1 February to 14 April 2024. The nominated artists for the NN Art Award 2024 are Maaike Kramer (Art Gallery O-68), Mónica Mays (Prospects section of the Mondriaan Fund), Jan van der Pol (CREMAN & DE ROOIJ) and Peim van der Sloot (Brinkman & Bergsma).
Dutch artist Jan van der Pol is intrigued by the dynamic interaction between our eyes and our brain when we perceive images. His work is inspired by urban and industrial landscapes, as well as literature and news images. This can result in figurative works or abstract pieces with figurative elements, but in his more recent work, the artist increasingly leans towards abstract and quasi-geometric pieces in a myriad of colours. Since the 1980s, Van der Pol has been compiling a kind of visual diary, consisting of his daily drawings and watercolours. Van der Pol says, “These books often have a central theme and can be seen as works that, due to their form, resemble Chinese scroll drawings, which cannot be comprehended in a single glance. By unrolling them on one end and rolling them up on the other, it gradually reveals small parts to the viewer, so that they can assemble the whole image in their minds.”
The 74-year-old artist was educated at the Rietveld Academy and the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam.
Could you tell us more about the work you will be presenting at Kunsthal Rotterdam?
The works that I will present in the Kunsthal consist of two parts: two large drawings and three small, recent oil paintings. The drawings were made in 2021 and are titled “A Walk of Life”. They all consist of a single line that can be interpreted as a metaphor: where the line begins, viewers can see birth, and at the end of that line, it leads them off the paper — greeted by the Grim Reaper. As for the oil paintings, I can’t say much; I can only recommend that viewers approach them with an open mind, take things in slowly, and perhaps contemplate what they have seen afterwards.
What are your plans for 2024? What are you currently working on?
My plans for 2024 are not very concrete, except for the desire to spend as much time as possible in my studio. Additionally, I have plans for new publications. I view publications as part of my output, and I try to add something to them at regular intervals. In the near future, there will be a publication featuring a coherent series of 26 drawings titled “The Comfort Zone of the Stoic”. It will be the fifth publication in the “A NEW DAY” series.
What is your primary source of inspiration?
If one can speak of sources of inspiration — I generally don’t like to use the word “inspiration” — it might be the incredible complexity of the world and our relationship to it as human beings.
What advice would you like to offer to the new generation of artists?
I taught at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague for 25 years. Conversations with students were occasionally fantastic, but ultimately, everyone has to figure it out for themselves. And that’s often very enjoyable. Sometimes, there’s a bonus, like being nominated for an award like this, which turns out to be a particularly pleasant surprise.
The winner of the NN Art Award will be announced in the Kunsthal Rotterdam on Thursday 1 February at 20:00 CET. The work of the nominees will be on display there until 14 April 2024. Jan van der Pol’s work will also be exhibited at the CREMAN & DE ROOIJ booth during Art Rotterdam.
Written by Flor Linckens
Sam Hersbach about the importance of meeting rooms and skirting-boards for his practice
“There is increasingly more reality in my paintings,” says Sam Hersbach, the painter who gained recognition for works of art featuring dragons and aliens. His presentation at Prospects is based on the meeting room of the Mondriaan Fund. The Distribution Hall where Prospects takes place also appears in one of his works. These two spaces are significant for his artistic practice. As can be expected from Hersbach, he manipulates these spaces and shadows and plants take over the canvases. Hersbach also adds a plinth beneath his work, which he believes adds an extra layer of information and imagination to the overall piece.
Congratulations on your presentation at Prospects. What can we expect?
Thank you very much! For Prospects, I am showcasing a series of paintings and an engraved plinth. I have copied the meeting room of the Mondriaan Fund and also done a painting of the Prospects exhibition space at the Van Nelle factory, which is depicted using a digital three-dimensional sketch from the architectural firm before the space was finished. I have also made a painting combining these spaces with imaginative creatures, realistic self-portraits, varying scales – sometimes on a scale of 1 cm, other times 10 kilometres – images I’ve photographed of a wild sea and drawings of drones, periscopes, mosquitoes and other animals. I used homemade pigments, such as dried flowers from my studio building’s garden, weeds from my street or plants that form a connection with the painted space. There is also a plinth engraved with drawings and texts beneath the work to integrate it more into the space itself, an extra layer for communication, representation and imagination as it were.
Why did you decide to paint a meeting room?
Normally, my work starts with a concept and develops through different layers of fantasy and reality: drones, submarines, deep-sea creatures, lost people amidst alien-like mega butterflies, and so on. With the series of meeting rooms, the starting point is an existing space, one that is important for my artistry and exhibitions. My studio space, exhibition spaces – each has its own story. These spaces transform: beings walk through them and shadows and plants take over the canvas. They reference influential environments, either for me or art in general. The meeting room has been essential in my process towards exhibiting at Prospects and is essential for my participation in the exhibition. This is also the last time Prospects will be held at the Van Nelle factory, so it’s a space that has served as a stage for many people.
You now also create work on plinths. Painters typically want to make larger canvases, but this is an unassuming surface. How did you come up with this idea?
The plinths originated from the murals I created a few times. I was asked to explore new supports to tell stories. A mural is already more connected to architecture than a conventional painting because it blends into the space. A plinth is a natural progression. On a plinth, you can write source references, show sketches or engrave titles. Compared to a conventional painting, a plinth is a much less dominant support. It’s also a way to add an extra layer of information and ‘fantasy’ to the whole.
A recurring theme in your work is power imbalances and human hubris in technological developments. Does that still play a role in your most recent work?
My work has evolved over the years and explored multiple themes. Technological developments, like the Dutch-acquired Reaper Q9 drones for submarines and genetically modified mosquitoes, appear in my works. The paint itself plays a crucial role. The emotion in the paint and brushstroke, the play of light with colour and the chosen pigments engage in a dialogue with the underlying narratives. Between the plinth and conventional painting, there is also a power dynamic of information delivery and tradition in art. The tradition of an isolated canvas in a space, the white cube idea of art, stands in contrast to an element that blends more into the space.
I’m also wondering whether the emphasis on power dynamics conceals a broader story you wish to tell?
The work has layers of fantasy and layers of reality, from conventional fantasy figures to figures inspired by reality. In each exhibition, the works vary, from mountain landscapes that don’t exist to work that relates to the exhibition space or award. To give an example, for the Ary Scheffer Prize (together with Afra Eisma and Niek Hendrix) at the Dordrechts Museum, I created work about Ary Scheffer’s mother, Cornelia Scheffer-Lamme. She was a fantastic artist, but unfortunately is much less famous than her son. I had the honour and good fortune to create work about her and her son in tribute to Cornelia Scheffer-Lamme’s work and motherhood/parenthood in general. I also had the opportunity to select work from the depot and hang it next to mine to curate an exhibition.
What also characterises your work is a certain relativising humour. Why is that? My work is like a comedy, serious yet humorous. It is chaos hidden behind cheerful scenes, pleasant colours with anxious figures. There must be balance in the works, which should be simultaneously accessible yet repulsive.
I think your visual language has become more concrete and ‘everyday’ in recent years. Previously, a dragon might appear in your work, but the canvases I saw this summer including such things as Andre Hazes and a FaceTime conversation. Do you agree with this observation and is there a reason that you now paint more everyday subjects?
There is increasingly more reality in my paintings, ranging from self-portraits and historical figures to photos of my studio and other real-life inspirational elements. Andre Hazes was originally created for an exhibition honouring a transporter who was a huge Hazes fan. I painted Hazes, who is half mountain and directs his microphone towards the universe, as if he wants to record space sounds – sounds from the vast universe, far away from our small planet.
Last year, you received a grant from the Mondriaan Fund. Is there a project you were able to carry out through the grant that you wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise?
As an artist, I always have the drive to create work with the means I have, but the Start grant from the Mondriaan Fund gave me the freedom to work on projects. It helped with purchasing materials, connecting with other artists through the events they organise and with visibility at the Prospects exhibition. Additionally, writing a grant application helps you focus on your work in a different way, attempting to establish its essence. This grant helped me tremendously and has been essential in my research and development.
You’re now 28 and already have the Royal Award for Free Painting, have completed the Ateliers and received a grant from the Mondriaan Fund. What are your plans for the next five years?
I am focusing on further improving the content of my work with even more homemade pigments and other materials. I am also aiming for internationalisation, applying for residencies and to participate in exhibitions in other countries. What I learned at the Ateliers is that you can learn so much from people from around the world. It was fantastic to meet not only different tutors, but also fellow participants. Every art world is different, just like every history and discourse. That’s why I want to showcase my work in different contexts and let it grow by learning from different people and locations.
Written by Wouter van den Eijkel
At the 2024 edition of Art Rotterdam, Migrant Bird Space, an art foundation and gallery based in Berlin and Beijing, is presenting the work of Luo Yang. She was born in the 1980s in the Liaoning Province in China and her work is a unique combination of carefully staged portraits with a raw, blurry, snapshot-like aesthetic. These photos reveal the strength, vulnerability, and inner life of her subjects, mostly young people growing up in a rapidly changing China. She portrays these young individuals in such a way that highlights that what makes them unique — their style, appearance, tattoos, quirky gaze, or personality. For the artist, this deep dive into the lives of others is also a way to better understand her own life. For that reason, her work has both an autobiographical and a societal aspect, reflecting a kind of local universality within the context of China. Some people, including her friends, she has followed for a long time, showing a certain evolution or growth — a growth that mirrors her own. Additionally, she immortalises friends of friends, strangers she encounters on the street, or people she meets on the internet.
In her ongoing central series “GIRLS” (2017-), Yang captures the nuances and complexity of being a woman in contemporary China, exploring themes such as youth, the naked body, and femininity. She photographs women from different generations and backgrounds. These women are vulnerable yet self-aware and innately cool. Together, they embody a culture that deviates from dominant conservative expectations and stereotypes. It’s important to note that her intention is not to incorporate Western expectations. In the West, for instance, Chinese art is often viewed through a Western gaze, based on certain ideas about what China and its people look like. In a 2018 interview with METAL Magazine, the artist noted that “people in China see my photos as an honest record of girls’ lives, simple as they are. Whereas in the West, my works are inevitably interpreted from a political or feminist perspective, neither of which is my intention.” At the same time, her photos also show a rawer and less polished image than, for example, the K-pop stars who are popular worldwide, including in China. In 2017, ten years after starting the series, Yang published the monograph GIRLS.
Characteristic of Yang’s work is her ability to build an intimate bond with her subjects. This connection and empathy are clearly visible in her sensitive photos, where models often look directly into the camera: a direct, candid, and almost reciprocal exchange between subject and photographer. Her characters are often nude, but this is not something the photographer asks or requires of her subjects. Rather, it’s the natural result of the trust that develops between the photographer and the person she captures. This is further reinforced by the fact that these people are often photographed at home or in another familiar place.
Yang uses photography as a means to capture shared emotions, worries and life experiences, imbuing her images with an ambiguous depth that is not immediately discernible. In a 2016 interview with IGNANT, Yang stated that “by shooting them, I understood their life better and it made my own world bigger and wider. We might have different values and world views, but what we have in common are a fragility and braveness inside of us. We face the world with our sincerity.”
In her more recent series “Youth” (2019-), Yang focuses on younger generations growing up in a globalizing (and even faster-changing) China. In this series, she explores gender, identity, and the personal growth of people born in the 1990s and early 2000s. Yang’s portraits offer a rare glimpse into the inner lives of these young people: not just young women, but also young men, and young gender-fluid and transgender people. In doing so, she questions prevailing gender norms and highlights a certain diversity among young Chinese people.
Yang studied graphic design at the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang. In 2022, she started the Cité internationale des Arts residency program in Paris. Yang divides her time between China and Europe and has exhibited her work all over the world. In 2012 she was praised by none other than Ai Weiwei as one of the “rising stars of Chinese photography” (in an interview with Statesmen). Shortly thereafter, Yang displayed her work in his group exhibition ‘FUCK OFF 2’ (2013) at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands. In 2018, she was included in the BBC’s ‘100 WOMEN’ list, and a year later she was nominated for a C/O Berlin Talent Award and won a Jimei x Arles Women Photographer’s Award. Currently, her work is on display in the ‘NUDE’ exhibition at Fotografiska in Berlin.
During Art Rotterdam, Luo Yang’s work is presented by Migrant Bird Space in the Solo/Duo section.
Written by Flor Linckens
