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| Work in progress - Driftwood collection |
29.2.12
28.2.12
Upcoming exhibition: Kerkje van Persingen
In the Week-ends of 17/18 & 24/25 March the second 'Meanderlingen' exhibition will take place in the little old church of Persingen (close to Nijmegen, the Netherlands).
I know it's only a little over two weeks from now, and the weather will probably not turn to sunshine and warmth in that short period of time, but since it's almost spring, there is a (tiny) possibility the church and its surroundings will look something like this:
Even without the cows and clear blue skies the church is a beautiful building and I'm sure you can tell it's a great location for an exhibition.
We had a first 'Meanderlingen' exhibition here last summer ('We' being Wilfrie Linssen -bronze sculptures-, Jan van Oort -abstract paintings- and myself -jewellery-), which was pretty well visited.
Since we'll be there for 2 week-ends this time (instead of just one), we're hoping for twice the turnout!
Last summer the exhibition was over in a jiffy. I had so much fun talking to all the visitors that I totally forgot to take good photographs (typical...).
So please come and see for yourself. - Entrance is free!
I know it's only a little over two weeks from now, and the weather will probably not turn to sunshine and warmth in that short period of time, but since it's almost spring, there is a (tiny) possibility the church and its surroundings will look something like this:
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| Photograph via VVV (Tourist-agency) Arnhem-Nijmegen |
Even without the cows and clear blue skies the church is a beautiful building and I'm sure you can tell it's a great location for an exhibition.
We had a first 'Meanderlingen' exhibition here last summer ('We' being Wilfrie Linssen -bronze sculptures-, Jan van Oort -abstract paintings- and myself -jewellery-), which was pretty well visited.
Since we'll be there for 2 week-ends this time (instead of just one), we're hoping for twice the turnout!
To sum it all up:
Meanderlingen II
Jan van Oort -Wilfrie Linssen - Jana Flohr
17-18 & 24-25 March 2012
11:00 - 17:00
Kerkje van Persingen
6575 JA Persingen
Last summer the exhibition was over in a jiffy. I had so much fun talking to all the visitors that I totally forgot to take good photographs (typical...).
So please come and see for yourself. - Entrance is free!
27.2.12
Happy Monday: Strandbeesten by Theo Jansen
Just because this really makes me happy:
This film reminds me of a clear day in spring: blue skies and the hint of warmer weather, but the beach still windy and kinda chilly so there aren't a lot of people there: a perfect day for a Strandbeest ('Beachbeast').
It also reminds me of a trip T and I went on to go see the Strandbeesten at a beach near Den Haag one spring day a few years back.
Both of us came from different directions: I took the train from Rotterdam -where I worked at the time- and T came by car from his workshop in Amsterdam. When we both finally got there, it took us ages (and gradually reddening faces) to find the exact stretch of beach where the beasts would be 'living' that evening.
In the end we didn't make it in time, and the Strandbeesten were already being dismantled. Bleh.
But, sitting on the beach, having a drink and watching the sun set... well, you can imagine it wasn't all bad (or bad at all).
We will get a chance to see the Strandbeesten again, I'm certain. And next time, we'll make sure to be there a couple of hours early, so we might actually get to see them walking.
Meanwhile, I'm just enjoying watching the video's and photographs on the Strandbeest website.
(And thinking about spring)
This film reminds me of a clear day in spring: blue skies and the hint of warmer weather, but the beach still windy and kinda chilly so there aren't a lot of people there: a perfect day for a Strandbeest ('Beachbeast').
It also reminds me of a trip T and I went on to go see the Strandbeesten at a beach near Den Haag one spring day a few years back.
Both of us came from different directions: I took the train from Rotterdam -where I worked at the time- and T came by car from his workshop in Amsterdam. When we both finally got there, it took us ages (and gradually reddening faces) to find the exact stretch of beach where the beasts would be 'living' that evening.
In the end we didn't make it in time, and the Strandbeesten were already being dismantled. Bleh.
But, sitting on the beach, having a drink and watching the sun set... well, you can imagine it wasn't all bad (or bad at all).
We will get a chance to see the Strandbeesten again, I'm certain. And next time, we'll make sure to be there a couple of hours early, so we might actually get to see them walking.
Meanwhile, I'm just enjoying watching the video's and photographs on the Strandbeest website.
(And thinking about spring)
25.2.12
Screaming silence part II: Sonja Braas
Wow.
That's it.
Just 'Wow'.
(I'm silenced)
Look at it:
For more photographs and (not a lot of) other information please check out Sonja Braas' website.
(I don't see any upcoming exhibitions in the Netherlands, unfortunately...)
That's it.
Just 'Wow'.
(I'm silenced)
Look at it:
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| Tornado, 2005 (The quiet of dissolution) Sonja Braas |
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| Flood, 2006 (The quiet of dissolution) Sonja Braas |
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| Firestorm, 2008 (The quiet of dissolution) Sonja Braas |
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| Forces # 01, 2002 Sonja Braas |
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| Forces # 23, 2003 Sonja Braas |
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| You are here # 10 Sonja Braas |
For more photographs and (not a lot of) other information please check out Sonja Braas' website.
(I don't see any upcoming exhibitions in the Netherlands, unfortunately...)
24.2.12
Random stuff I liked this week
New craze:
I am a bit addicted to Pinterest at the moment.
Wanna keep track of cool stuff I discovered on the web?
Follow my Pinterest account.
Here's some stuff I pinned last week:
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| Animal Facets : Bird - By Lise Lefebvre Photograph courtesy Liselefebvre.com |
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| Budapest - By Masha Matijevic |
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| Styling by Susanna Vento Photograph by Kristiina Kurronen |
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| Vases by Tapio Wirkkala for Venini via Designboom |
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| Neon Decorating by Homelife |
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| 1/100 Architectural model accessories No.11: Cherry Blossom by Terada Mokei (photo by Kenji Masunaga) |
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| Giraffe art print by Berkley Illustrations |
23.2.12
Blocks of colour (Egypt 2007)
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| Blue flag, blue background Egypt, 2007 |
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| Green shutter, orange / pink wall Egypt, 2007 |
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| Pink wall, white clothes Egypt, 2007 |
22.2.12
21.2.12
Interior: Art Walls
Lately I have been spamming my own pinterest account with art walls.
Meaning: If an interior-shot shows a wall with at least 4 framed artworks pseudo-randomly placed together, I'll pin it.
Here's a collection:
That's it for now.
Feel like seeing more?
You can always follow me on Pinterest.
Meaning: If an interior-shot shows a wall with at least 4 framed artworks pseudo-randomly placed together, I'll pin it.
Here's a collection:
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| Delfin & Postigo house - via Yatzer Photograph by Manolo Yllera |
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| By Myrica Bergqyst Photograph courtesy of myricastylist |
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| Interior by WeekdayCarnival Photograph by WeekdayCarnival (Not the best shot of the art-wall, that's because we're supposed to look at the coffee table) (The table is also pretty -and kinda self made, which is great- but I find the wall even prettier) (Also love the rug, by the way) |
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| Interior via Happy Mundane Photograph by ??? |
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| Styled by Lili Diallo Photograph by the photographers (?) |
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| Kitchen via Marie Claire Maison Photo by Mai-Linh |
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| Green room Photograph by Louis Lemaire |
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| Interior by Susanna Vento Photograph by Kristiina Kurronen (Love the beads hanging there!) |
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| Nursery by Design Crisis Photograph courtesy of design-crisis |
That's it for now.
Feel like seeing more?
You can always follow me on Pinterest.
20.2.12
How it's made: Faceture by Phil Cuttance
The Faceture series, designed and made by New Zealand based designer Phil Cuttance, offers a lot of things I love: bright colours, facets (FACETS!), and the fact that each piece is hand-made and numbered.
What I love most about it, however, is the machine the designer made to produce the series:
And here's how it works:
FACETURE from Phil Cuttance on Vimeo.
How much nicer would the world be if only more things were made in pretty machines like this...
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| Faceture Vases Images by Petr Krejci & Phil Cuttance |
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| Faceture Lightshades Images by Petr Krejci & Phil Cuttance |
What I love most about it, however, is the machine the designer made to produce the series:
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| The Machine Images by Petr Krejci |
And here's how it works:
FACETURE from Phil Cuttance on Vimeo.
How much nicer would the world be if only more things were made in pretty machines like this...
17.2.12
Gone with the whiteness
This is what the polder close to our house looked like last week:
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| Iphone / Hipstamatic |
Beautiful, non?
This week the snow and ice is gone and the greyish rainy weather makes everything look earth-coloured.
Everything except for the grass, that is surprisingly green.
Do I smell spring in the air?
Happy weekend!
16.2.12
A flock of Wall Creatures by Peter Zwaan
On one hand I find myself inexplicably fascinated by the eery beauty of the dead animals and the wunderkammer-like dreamworld they live their post-mortem lives in.
On the other hand: it's dead animals. Dead. Animals we killed and made pretty to look at. (Yes, I know plenty of the animals probably died of natural causes, but we'll never be able to tell for certain, will we?)
I'll not get into this any deeper as I honestly don't know how I feel, plus this is not the actual topic of this blogpost. (If you want to read more about taxidermy in contemporary art, read this article I found on Art Info)
What I actually wanted to share with you is this:
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| Duimvogel (thumb-bird) by Peter Zwaan Photograph taken at the Raw Art fair with my Iphone |
Last week-end at the Raw Art Fair in Rotterdam I couldn't stop staring at this 'Duimvogel' (thumb-bird) by Peter Zwaan, a Rotterdam (or Den Haag?) based artist represented by Contempo Gallery.
After seeing this, you'll probably understand why I started out this post the way I did. Peter Zwaans' wall creatures show some similarities to taxidermy animals and share the wunderkammer-natural-dreamworld feel that most contemporary taxidermy artpieces radiate.
But Peter Zwaans creatures are so much more and -obviously- not made of dead animals.
The surrealism in his work is done so thoroughly realistic that you can't help but to want to believe birds like this exist somewhere. Your head automatically creates images of thumb-bird flocks flying over the Rotterdam harbour or sitting in a tree near your house. (I would love that, although it might be kinda creepy too).
At the art fair I spent a lot of time staring at this artwork. I even went back to it a few times, dragging along my friends because I felt the need to share this beauty with them. (I can get very messiah-like when I really really like something)
The gallery-owner noticed my enthusiasm (it would have been hard to miss), and kindly showed me some other Peter Zwaan works.
I'll stop with the words now, to just show you this:
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| Small humanfish, 2006 polyester, polyurethane, acrylic, aluminiumleaf, hair 24x6x3 cm Photograph courtesy of peterzwaan.nl |
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| Small humanfish 2nd generation, 2008 siliconen, polyester, acrylic, polyurethane, human hair 23x7x3 cm Photograph courtesy of peterzwaan.nl |
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| Small skin-finned humanfish, 2008 silicone, polyester, acrylic, polyurethane, human hair 26x12x3 cm Photograph courtesy of peterzwaan.nl |
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| Indexmutation, 2008 silicone and human hair 31x13x3 cm Photograph courtesy of peterzwaan.nl |
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| Humane fishblock, 2009 silicone, polyester, polyurethane, acrylic, horsehair 53x100x15 cm Photograph courtesy of peterzwaan.nl |
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| Forbidden fruit, 2010 (1/8) series of 8 individually unique works silicone, epoxy, acrylic, human hair 8x8x8 cm Photograph courtesy of peterzwaan.nl |
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| Young scissors, 2009 silicone, polyester, polyurethane, acrylic, human hair, parts of scissors 10x27x4 cm Photograph courtesy of peterzwaan.nl |
Yes, you are right, all these artworks together on 1 page might be a bit much. But I would absolutely love (did I say 'love'? - I'm sorry, I meant LOVE) to have one of his creatures come living at a wall in my house one day.
15.2.12
A beautiful book with wild animals for civilized people
Yesterday somebody pinned this image on pinterest:
With a little research (a.k.a. clicking on the pin and the subsequent link) I discovered this was actually a print taken out of the picture book 'Wild Animals' by Dutch illustrator / graphic designer Rop van Mierlo.
The book has its own wild-animals website, and was a winner in the Dutch Design Awards in 2011.
I Can't choose which animal I like the most (it might be the tiger), but here are a few of my favorites:
And here is a -don't blink or you'll miss it- sneak-peek of the entire book:
Wilde Dieren / Wild Animals from Rop van Mierlo on Vimeo.
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| Tiger |
With a little research (a.k.a. clicking on the pin and the subsequent link) I discovered this was actually a print taken out of the picture book 'Wild Animals' by Dutch illustrator / graphic designer Rop van Mierlo.
The book has its own wild-animals website, and was a winner in the Dutch Design Awards in 2011.
I Can't choose which animal I like the most (it might be the tiger), but here are a few of my favorites:
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| Deer |
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| Rabbit |
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| Bear |
And here is a -don't blink or you'll miss it- sneak-peek of the entire book:
Wilde Dieren / Wild Animals from Rop van Mierlo on Vimeo.
14.2.12
13.2.12
Das Haus auf der Schanze
Coloured vintage postcard, sent from Frankfurt to Amsterdam on the 19th of August 1957 (by Elly).
