Reading Between Not-Straight Lines (Exhibition)(2015)
As a Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht alumnus I was asked to curate an exhibition in HKU’s Academiegalerie. This resulted in the exhibition Reading Between Not-Straight Lines for which I invited different (inter)national artists. The exhibition visualizes different methods in which artists use or research text and language in their practice. It brings together eight artists that not only pick their titles thoughtfully, but for whom the research into or transformation of text and language are a crucial part of their practice. Each of the artists does this in his or her own particular way and while the language is not always in the spotlight, it indisputably adds to the essence of the artwork. The result is an exhibition that can be read as a complex sentence, including punctuation, in which functions both on its own and in the larger perspective to its direct environment.
Participating artists:
Uta Eisenreich
Niels Goos
Lina Viste Grønli
Tim Hollander
Marijn van Kreij
Meriç Algün Ringborg
Helmut Smits
Wouter Venema
Instead of putting a exhibition text on the wall I decided to highlight the titles of the works featured in the show. The first thing one would see when entering the space was a book-like index that linked all the titles to certain numbers that represented the individual works. Instead of walking around the gallery looking for title plates or with a list of titles in hand, visitors would read some titles and later see a work that could match those particular titles – which called for a more active way of looking, like going back and forth through the notes at the end of a book.
The exhibition was made possible by Academiegalerie, Peter van Dijk, Galerie Rianne Groen, Galerie Nordenhake Berlin and Galerie Gaudel de Stampa Paris.
Exhibition index
Lina Viste Grønli – R for Rudeness
Tim Hollander – Volume I-IV (A brief history of contemporary art)
Lina Viste Grønli – Teak Helvetica Slash & H (As in: how dare you concern yourself with art when there’s obviously a million better, more important / sensible things to do?)
Top: Tim Hollander – Horizontal not-straight lines
Helmut Smits – The End of A Sentence as an Object (Helvetica Neue Regular (1788 pt. & Times New Roman Regular, 1831 pt.)
Uta Eisenreich – Index: Signs (left) & Index: Grammar (right)
Meriç Algün Ringborg – A Work of Fiction (Manuscript)
Uta Eisenreich – part of the series ‘Time after sometimes’ (left) & Tim Hollander – Horizontal not-straight lines (right)
Marijn van Kreij – The only rule is work (right)
Niels Goos – Art as Art, Art from Art, Art on Art, Art or Art, Art for Art
Niels Goos – Art as Art, Art from Art, Art on Art, Art or Art, Art for Art (video still)
Meriç Algün Ringborg – Metatext