Xtra (Yellow), 2012, 55x26x18 cm

 
Iemke van Dijk
Henriëtte van ’t Hoog
Jan Maarten Voskuil
Guido Winkler

Curated by
Iemke van Dijk and Guido Winkler

 
Hours: November 23 – December 20, 2018, 10 am – 6 pm, closed on Wednesday
Opening: Thursday, November 22, 7–9 pm

 
The exhibition Icons \ Shift brings together works from four Dutch artists who are closely related to each other and the Leiden based art initiative IS-projects. All four artists make paintings, yet are interested in leading painting away from the two-dimensional. The viewer’s standpoint matters. There is a shift from painting to object, although they are still painters.

Iemke van Dijk (1969) is co-founder of IS-projects. With printmaking as her background, her interest turned to making reliefs. Since 2010 she makes wall drawings and floor pieces that are basically trompe-l’oeil reliefs. Iemke van Dijk is interested in serendipity, yet deliberately sets rules for it to work. The work on show is part of a new series entitled Circles and Squares. The observer who understands that ovals represent circles will experience space and movement.

The geometric abstract work of Henriëtte van ’t Hoog (1943) often makes you lose your balance. She plays with the perspective of cube-like forms, with their three-dimensionality, their colour, and light. When you walk along these objects, their forms change, their perspective collapses. The reflecting paint on the back of the object radiates its colour on the wall. The reflection emphasizes its spatiality and gives the thing a poetic connotation. Consequently, the work of Henriëtte van ’t Hoog is at the same time concrete and not concrete.

Building on the philosophies of Theo van Doesburg, who promoted pure non-objective abstraction, Jan Maarten Voskuil (1964) creates multi-dimensional works that bridge the boundaries between painting, sculpture and architecture. He expands the possibilities of painting by stretching linen on spatial constructed wooden frames. Rigorous mathematical principles govern his experiments, as does an ongoing conversation with the conventions of Minimalism and Hard-Edge Painting.

In a concise and precise style, Guido Winkler (1969) makes paintings, photographs, multiples and spatial installations that evoke associations with architecture. They invite the viewer to experience space and time, and make him aware of the phenomenon of perception. Winkler’s wooden paintings are flat and have tapered sides. Like the work of the other selected artists, his work balances between painting and object. Guido Winkler is co-founder of IS-projects.