Grow Ups 9 februari tot en met 2 maart 2008

Een fantastische tentoonstelling met een fantastische titel. Grow Ups; een eigen benaming voor opgroeien, bijna volwassen. En dat is waar het omdraait bij deze tentoonstelling met fantasiefiguren, grote knuffels, psychedelische landschappen en heel veel kleur. Een nieuwe generatie kunstenaars toont werk dat zweeft tussen de serieuze kunst en kinderlijke fantasie. Geïnspireerd door de wereld van nu met muziek, strip, film en allerlei subculturen als tattoeage-kunst en customculture tonen 9 jonge kunstenaars hun werk.

Maoma: eigen gemaakte knuffels in hun wereld
Iris: glas en keramiek met het thema love and hate
Ingrid de Lugt: grafische eigen wereld
Nanna Koekoek:rock-n-rol fantasiedieren in inkt
Merijn Hos/Bfree: fantasiewereld in 3D
Mark Verhaagen: fantasiedieren
Cirque de Pepin: olieverfschilderijen in de stijl van de zeventiende eeuw
Waynehorse: eenzwarte olifantjongen die opgroeit
Lennard Schuurmans: landschappen met fantasiewezens

Denk echter niet te snel dat de soms kinderlijke illustraties geen diepere betekenis hebben. De werken zijn meer dan alleen tekeningen van fantasiefiguren met een big hairdo en veel kleur. Inhoudelijk valt er veel meer te ontdekken!

Opening: zaterdag 9 februari om 15.00 uur door Marinus de Ruiter, kunsthistoricus en publicist gespecialiseerd in hedendaagse kunstvormen. Marinus hield tijdens de opening in prachtige speech, met daarin veel interessante informatie over de ontwikkelingen op deze kunstgebieden. Wilt u de tekst lezen klik dan hier.

Deze tentoonstelling is samengesteld door Renée Reijnders. Once upon a time, Rocco and Giulia were walking down the street in their small town in the center of Italy called Perugia, when they came a cross a nice old lady sitting outside. Giulia noticed that the lady was playing with something and stopped to ask her what she was doing. The lady smiled and told her that she was making happy dolls for the people in the town and that she was waiting for them because she had a story to tell. Rocco and Giulia were happy to sit down with her, because it was a hot day, and they wanted to rest, and any way she seemed like a very nice old lady. She asked Rocco and Giulia if they believed in magic: and Rocco said that of course they did, they love magic and stories and dreams and they would like to hear her story, if she didn’t mind. “Well” she said, "OK, here we go." “I am a magical Fairy from a place called the Land of Many Bridges, but I had to leave because my mean twin sister was an evil witch. My sister had a very big Secrete about a Magical Golden Needle that she would use to steal people happy dreams and make dolls with. Then, she would put the dolls into a closed room inside of a castle and lock them away forever.” “The people who lost their happy dreams would be very sad and very serious, and the Land of Many Bridges was turning into a sad and serious place and that is why she had to leave." The nice old Fairy also told Giulia and Rocco that almost every one in the Land of Many Bridges had lost they’re happy dreams and soon the place would be a sad and miserable land. Immediately Rocco and Giulia looked at each other and said, “We have to go and help them!" We will say good buy to our parents and friends and go on a journey that we feel we must go on, because people need happy dreams. They immediately got up and asked the old lady how they could get to the Land of Many Bridges as quickly as possible. “Well,” the lady said, “First I need to give you something that will help you on your way.” “To you Giulia I will give some magic fabric that will help you in many different ways, but you must believe in yourself and not be scared when you use it. To you Rocco, I give a magical pencil, this pencil will also help you in times of need and in times of joy, believe in it, and with it you can achieve anything.” She then told Rocco and Giulia that in The Land of Many Bridges they must use the name Maoma this will bring them even more strength. She then showed them a secrete door which she said will lead them to the Land Of Many Bridges. When Maoma arrived to The Land of Many Bridges, they notice that the sky was very grey, and every one seemed so sad and serious. Maoma was smiling at every one, but something was missing, nobody was smiling back. In the center of the town, they noticed a big castle on the side of a mountain, and they knew that they had to go there to rescue the people’s happy dreams, and also the dolls. Maoma walked up a dark and steep trail to the castle and they knocked on the doors to be let in inside, the door opened and they saw a big and scary Witch. A little bit scared Maoma told the Witch that they were sent there by her twin sister to release all the dolls and the people’s happy dreams she stole. The Witch looked at Maoma and laughed. With here screechy voice she told them “ If you can make a doll that makes me happy, and makes me laugh, I will release all the dolls and even give you my golden needle to make happy dolls with”. “ But if you don’t make me smile, I will take away your happy dreams forever and lock you away.” Maoma was very nervous at first, because they never had to make a doll before, but they felt something inside that made them relax, they remembered the gifts they had received from the sweet old lady and also that they loved each other very much, and together they can make a doll which will make even the Witch happy. With their magic tools Maoma made the biggest, happiest, funniest, softest, doll the Witch had ever seen, and she started to smile and laugh so hard that she fell on the floor crying with joy. The sky turned blue, the dolls ran out of the castle and the people hugged and rejoiced with their happy dreams. And that’s how Maoma got the Magic Golden Needle. Every day Maoma remembers the lesson that they learned from the evil Witch, and so they make every doll the happiest, softest, funniest, and the most full of love they can. They say every day, that dreams are important and so is love, and even more, it’s about sharing the Magic Golden Needle with everyone. Maoma workshop: maak je eigen 'fantasieknuffel' Maak de pop van je dromen van uit het niets in minder dan vijf uur. Maoma neemt alles mee wat nodig is. Dus kom en gebruik je fantasie! Zaterdag 16 en 23 februari van 11.30 tot 16.30 uur. Kosten €10,- Reserveren via: 036-5215648. De workshop is in het engels. Minimaal 10 personen, maximaal 15.
Een interview met Merijn Hos en met IdN magazine uit Hong Kong over zijn werk.

IdN: How could you describe your work/style to those coming across it for
the first time?
M: The main caracteristics at first sight are: long-legged characters with high-heel shoes and a big hairdo and feckles, a lot of bright colors and abstract psychedelic landscapes.
But when in comes to content you will find a lot of elements like ghosts, life and death, friendly and cute expressions, mysterious impressions,
hidden messages. A lot of the work reflects on
issues in soceity and everyday interaction between persons, on escapism,
on organised confusion and on friendship and loyalty.

IdN: Follow by the following question when did it become the main focus of
your work?
M: The last two years at the Utrecht School of Visual Arts I started to feel
comfortable with my style, about five years ago, since that moment I started developping it intensively towards the stage I am now. It was just hard work and it didn't happen overnight in an unconscious process kind of
way.

IdN: What kind of power and feeling would you like the audience to gain from your work?
M: Happyness with a tragic ironical undertow.

IdN: You first started as graffiti artist, and later moves to other mediums,
what make you to have such move?
M:It grew over the last seven or eight years, it began at The Utrecht
School of Visual Arts in the first year when I started getting tired of doing graffiti and traditional painting at the same time, it just didnt work for me anymore so I started combining the two wich resulted in the throw up of inspired line drawings that were somehow shaped into characters.

IdN: Is there any special reason why you title yourself as Bfree?
M: It's because I love doing one line drawings and my loose graffiti style i
had in the past but now its just the name I use. Recently I started using my real name Merijn Hos more frequently because I am feeling more comfortable with that at the moment.

IdN: What is the most common misunderstanding people have about childlike
illustration?
M: That its easy and has no deeper meaning than to pleasure teenage
girls.

IdN: Illustration has been created in various media. Which one has made the
best use of it?
M: I love all kinds of media for different reasons. Every medium gives the
illustration a specific feeling or touch. When Iam doing commercial work I often make use of the computer, vectorising my ink drawings, so I can give them bright colors and can blow them up as big as I want to, place them over photography or whatever. Its easy for the client and its easy for me and it has a good bright look for advertisement purposes.
I love this because it great to see my work all over the place it referse a bit
to graffiti bombing but then in a legal way. I love freework, painting drawing a instalation for the reason that its way more personal
and touches my inner soul, I can create what ever I want and dont have to worry about clients and I can expres my feelings and visions the way I see it. In my free work for exhibitions I feel way more comfortable using all types of media like pencils, paint, ink, colored paper , fel tip markers, etc. in my freework I very often don't know what the endresult will be so I expiriment a lot more. I also would not be confortable showing digital prints in galleries. For in my objects I use all sorts of materials, it can be a weel I found in the streets or wood and big stuffed cotton dolls. I use and like many different materials and so my world remains interesting and refreshing for me.

IdN: You mentioned you never do sketches, so do you already have a concept of the final image when you start a project?
M: I dont do sketches in the way that I sketch a drawing in pencil and than
trace it with ink, I don't do that. In that way a drawing or illustration is losing so much energie and spontaneity, that I rather like drawing a hundred times on hundred sheets of paper. I visualise the drawing in my head before the pen hits the paper.

IdN: What would be your interpretation towards semiotic design? How did it
apply to your design style / work?
M: I make use of specific style elements, colours and structures in my work and repeat them so it becomes reconnizable.
For example images like the shoes, the big haircut, the feckles, roundshaped characters. And also the tension between the words or sentences I use in combination with my drawings and illustration to create
a certain feeling connected with the complete image. Also the use of the warm colorsettings of the seventees give my audience the feeling
of love, peace and happines. Finally a psychedelic, magical feeling in
combination with my drawing lines and words.

IdN: What elements are most suited to childlike illustration?
M: Things that are out of proportion, happy is really happy, sad is really
sad. Exaggerating things. keeping it simple. Bright colors.

IdN: Is there any recent campaign and designer you are admire of?
M: I like the way Geoff McFetridge combines his words and images, expecialy the minimalistic stuff, Ive seen an good show from him at the MU in Eindhoven earlyer this year that was titled, The space between yeah and yes.

IdN: What are your future plans? Are you working on any particular projects right now?
M: Right now Iam working on a book that will be published by
Buzzworks, it will be a book with black and white drawings, 128 pages, its sort of a project book, a closer look in the confused (magical) world of my characters. Probably published around Januari 2008. In the future it would be great to fill an exhibitions space with objects (installations?) and paintings with sound to create a complete experience of my work.
I also would love to collaborate with product designers, its so great to see your work as an actual product, it brings it to life in a good way.


Ik maak graag van dit soort fantasie werelden, kleine verhaaltjes waarin ik kan experimenteren met vorm, kleur en sfeer. Het werk op mijn website geeft een aardig beeld van hoe ik op dit moment werk. Verder wil ik in de toekomst ook wat andere technieken gaan gebruiken naast de computer, zoals zeefdruk of gewoon ouderwets tekenen en schilderen. Dit zal qua thema's wel in het verlengde liggen van mijn huidige werk, maar dan een iets andere vorm hebben door het andere medium.
Opleiding

1995 – 2005
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam: MA, major Kunst- en Cultuurwetenschappen, specialisatie Media&Cultuur,
afstudeerscriptie Verbeelding van een vak – de visie van jonge illustratoren op hun vak

1999 - 2004 Willem de Kooning Academie Rotterdam: BA, major Illustratie
jan - juni 2003 Art Institute of Boston: Illustratie en autonome kunst

Een greep uit het werk, opdrachten en exposities

2007

illustraties en vormgeving
- Amsterdam Weekly (diverse illustraties, poster)
- Adformatie (wekelijkse illustratie)
- Rotterdam School of Management (logo conferentie + vormgeving)

exposities
juni – juli Groeps-expositie in Off_Corso, Rotterdam
maart – mei Groeps-expositie Art in Handicrafts in galerie de Meerse, Hoofddorp
maart - mei Groepsexpositie Heel Kapot in Het Gebouw, Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht met Dutch Dolls: installatie
maart - mei Groepsexpositie Art In Handicrafts in Galerie de Meerse, Hoofddorp met Dutch Dolls

projecten
- Dutch Dolls: in samenwerking met Geeske de Graaff het ontwerpen en vervaardigen van illustratief design op (met name) textiel.
Werk wordt verkocht in Blaak 010, The Bart Store, Shopper, Off_Corso (Rotterdam), (web)shop The Little League, Artgadgets (Eindhoven),
Guten Appetit (Tilburg), KIK (Usquert), webshop Sooo Happy (Amsterdam), guerilla store Blend (diverse locaties) en via de eigen
website www.dutchdolls.nl.
- workshops zeefdrukken op de (Kinder-)Parade in Rotterdam.

2006

illustraties en vormgeving
- About (artwork ten behoeve van cd, stickers, website)
- Merkloos (ontwerp t-shirt)
- Histartes/Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (ontwerp promotiemateriaal: poster, flyer, programmaboekje)
- The Kennedy Orchestra (flyer)
- Thuiszorg Rotterdam (strips ten behoeve van nieuwsbrief )
- Amsterdam Weekly (diverse illustraties)

exposities
september - februari 2007 Groepsexpositie Heel Kapot in Villa Zebra, Rotterdam met Dutch Dolls: installatie
mei - augustus Groepsexpositie Movers in Odessa, Leiden met Dutch Dolls
maart Groepsexpositie AmroCon in Chiellerie, Amsterdam met Dutch Dolls
januari - februari Duo-expositie in Flex, Wageningen met Dutch Dolls, ook solo werk

projecten
- Dutch Dolls: in samenwerking met Geeske de Graaff het ontwerpen en vervaardigen van illustratief design op (met name) textiel.
- ontwikkeling en begeleiding van een workshop voor peuters in kinderdagverblijf Bimbola Rotterdam. In opdracht van Villa Zebra,
in samenwerking met Geeske de Graaff.
- bijdrage aan de publicatie Stereo no. 4 Remote Control, presentatie in Roodkapje/Sim Central, Rotterdam tijdens museumnacht.
Shocked, the rough high pitched voice of Mrs Simpson says: "Not Lenny?!!"

-He wanted to have either a tiny company that would do wall paintings in different towns all over Europe, or travel through South America letting Native Americans make designer dolls from his blue prints, that he could send back to have the money to keep on going. "If everything didn't work out I could always move to London, buy a black motor-cross and become one of those cool delivery boys", he once said.

-Well, you have to have dreams in a world that is so overwhelmingly crowded and busy. In a world where everything starts to move, comes alive, crawls and falls past each other. Where the shapes of colors are pushed out of their outlines and everyone and everything seems to go totally nuts! As everyone either explodes or just smiles, celebrating endless dullness, there is this weird looking dutch guy who shook hands with Peter Pan and somehow didn't let go.

-His drawings populated themselves over the years with influences from all over the globe, and you wonder if his specific clash is a dutch one or that of some alien life form. He recently moved to amsterdam. While he claims to be just an artist who loves to draw, you might search for a greater meaning behind his drawings, murals, panels, and objects. Wondering if painting ever died as an art form, or if his lack of intension is an expression of our time.

-niels wolf-
The ‘Cirque de Pepin’ from Artoonist Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk from The Hague exists only in name; it’s the metaphorical reference to an important source of inspiration for the artist.

A tent of varnish and glazing. The circus is a theatre. The paintings look like film stills. They are instantaneous exposures.

The spectator looks straight through the façade and sees the cloyingly sweet fairy tale figures transform into what they are: sideshow freaks, the extra’s in the illusion, the creeps from the cellar. Contemporary cartoon icons and imaginary heroes encounter one another in the mysterious world of ‘Cirque de Pepin’.

One senses a nostalgic longing for a forgotten world in his work. Pepijn is inspired by the paintings from the Old Spanish masters such as Zurbarán and Velasquez and 19th century book illustrations. Traditional methods are rewritten and transformed to the contemporary sample & zap culture.

It’s what worries the muses
It’s the horrors of Grimm
It’s the crunch of gravel
on the grubby paths

"Let's rock", Wiske cried enthusiastically.
"Yeah? right", Porkus said and blew his trunk.

[Mot Meiners, translated by Tiny Mulder]

Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk
Born 13 October 1970 in Waddinxveen, The Netherlands.

2006
Part of the summer-exhibition at sculpturegarden ‘Landgoed Anningahof’ te Zwolle, with the ‘Afterwar Delight’ ceramic sculpture.
Participant in the ‘De gebakken strip’ show at Keramikos, Haarlem.
Solo exhibition ‘Innovation of History’, at KOCHXBOS gallery, Amsterdam.

2005
Participant of the ‘Choosing my Religion’ show at Preview Berlin artfair, presented bij Showroom MAMA.
Part of the exhibition ‘Cultuurlab II – wat je weggooit ben jezelf’ at Limburgs museum, Venlo.
Participant in the ‘Groeten uit Delfshaven’ show at Follow the White Rabbit gallery, Rotterdam.
Groupshow at SAG Contemporary Art Agency, Antwerp.
Participant in the 'Prettier in pink' show at Follow the White Rabbit gallery, Rotterdam.
Solo exhibition ‘Cirque de Pepin in Pulchri’ at Pulchri Studio, The Hague.

2004
Participant in the exhibition ‘Neotrad’, Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam.
Presentation of new Artoonist ceramics created at the EKWC, ‘De Briljantine Arm’, Rotterdam.
Participant in the ‘Najaarstentoonstelling’, Pulchri Studio, The Hague.

2003
Participant in the exhibition ‘Up the hill Backwards - The golden years of David Bowie’, Stip Gallery, Amsterdam.
Illustrations ‘Hollandsch Welvaeren’ in the first issue of ‘Global Dutch’ magazine.
Artoonist project ‘Inflatables’, De wereld van Witte de With festival, Rotterdam.
Participant in the exhibition ‘Gekken ontdekken verf, nine years of artwork from zone 5300 magazine’, VBKD Dordrecht.
Participant in the exhibition ‘BRUUT’, Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam.

Study

1994-1995
Internship at the design studio of the Royal Academy of Fine and Applied Arts, The Hague.

1990-1994
Royal Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in The Hague, Graphic- en Typographic design.
Exhibition: Thesis 'Collecting is fun!



Ingrid laat een geheel eigen grafische wereld zien. Meer informatie over wie ze is en wat ze doet op haar website www.ingriddelugt.com.
Kijk alvast naar de film over The Elephant Boy

Glaskunstenaar Iris studeerde het eerste jaar van haar opleiding aan de AKI in Enschede, het tweede en derde jaar volgde ze lessen bij Willem de Kooning in Rotterdam.

Het werken als (glas)kunstenaar behoeft volgens Iris een bijzondere mentaliteit, het heeft een zekere devotie nodig en zeer veel doorzettingsvermogen om je materiaal zodanig meester te maken, dat je er je eigen handschrift in bereikt. Daarna bevind je je dan ook in de unieke positie om je ideeën eigenhandig uit te kunnen voeren.

Waar vroeger de scheidslijn tussen ontwerpers en uitvoerder in glas bepalend was, is Iris in staat direct in het materiaal haar ideeën vorm te geven. Deze ideeënwereld wordt bepaald door een lijn tussen de kunstgeschiedenis en de hedendaagse sculptuuren: waar vroeger de kunst en de vormgeving op symbolische en figuratieve wijze de geest van de tijd weergaven, ziet Iris dat nu gebeuren in de wereld van de moderne media, muziek, strip, film en in subculturen.

De zoektocht naar universele schoonheid staat voorop, waarbij de traditie en de ambachtelijke kwaliteiten van het materiaal aanleiding bieden om te komen tot de beelden. Tevens is haar werk een weerspiegeling van haar levensvisie en een zoektocht naar bepaalde waarheden. Archetypische vormen bieden hierbij houvast en spelen zodoende een grote rol in het werk van Iris.

Geloof, Hoop, Liefde.

Naast het werken in glas is Iris ook bezig met andere materialen, zoals keramiek, borduren, zandstralen en schilderen. Door het gebruik van deze technieken hoopt ze aan te spreken bij een breed publiek, dat gevangen wordt door het aantrekkelijkee en herkenbare van het werk, en dat dan hopelijk iets meeneemt van de boodschap in haar werk; devotie, aandacht, respect, oftewel geloof, hoop en liefde.

Kunst is de hoogste vorm van hoop, aangezien het altijd verder kijkt, de grenzen verlegt en nieuwe wegen opent.
Ondanks de strijd die Iris voert met de (zelfbenoemde) kunstwereld, vindt ze nog steeds het meest geeigende podium voor haar werk. Zodoende is het love/hate thema belangrijk in haar werk en leven: de strijd tussen totale passie en hopeloze ellende.