 Now, 2002 120 x 178 cm, colour photo on di-bond, perspex Marijke van Warmerdam Wonder of wonders In Marijke van Warmerdam's exhibition "Wonder of Wonders", a butterfly plays the role of a creature constantly flitting about and refusing to stay put. It is not content to remain in one and the same place. Almost all of Van Warmerdam's recent work expresses a quest for the other. She is always one step ahead of the image in her work, you could say. With her it is a restlessness stemming from the wish to reconcile dualities, because the other goes with the one - and the one with the other - as can be seen, for example, in her new works "At home and away", "Half-asleep" and "You and I", in which place, time and thoughts merge into one and the same image. It is a paradox, but Van Warmerdam is able to bridge these extremes. The film loop "Stirring in the distance" (2004) shows an interior with a window looking out onto a landscape where it is snowing. In the foreground we see a hand calmly stirring a spoon in a cup. A contemplative work, in which the thoughts of the person in the room seem to be transferred to the snow-covered horizon. In the two photoworks "Passing" (2004) and "Puddle" (2005), the magic of the image is broken because the viewer suddenly sees him/herself in the mirror. Van Warmerdam first creates an image that invites you to think along in an anticipatory way, causing you to disappear further into the image. But then the confrontation with your own mirror image throws you roughly right back to the other side, to the here and now of the reality we all inhabit. Place, time and thoughts are thus put back in their place. Currently Marijke van Warmerdam has a solo show in the Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, Norway. Other solo exhibitions took place at the Malmö Konsthall, Sweden, 1998; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA and Kunsthalle, Nürnberg, Germany, both in 2000 and SMAK, Ghent, Belgium, 2004. Group exhibitions include Dutch Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1995; Documenta X, Kassel, 1997; Kwangju Biennial, South Korea, 1995; PS l New York, NY, 1996; Sydney Biennial, Australia, 1998; Berlin Biennale, Berlin, 2000; Castello di Rivoli, Torino, Italy, 2000; In Between Expo 2000, Hanover, Germany; ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2002; Artists' web project at DIA Art Foundation, USA, 2003. Exhibition: March 19 - April 23, 2005 Opening hours: Tue-Sat 1 - 5.30 pm Galerie van Gelder Planciusstraat 9a NL-1013 MD Amsterdam Telephone/Fax +31 (0)20 627 74 19 Email Gal.van.Gelder@Inter.NL.net www.galerievangelder.com |
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