Towing the Line, Drawing Space: 40 Contemporary Dutch Artists Defining the Moment in Holland is a group show at White Box Gallery. The show represents 40 contemorary artists of different ages and styles from Holland. All of the work is somehow related to drawing, whether directly or indirectly. This includes installation, sculpture and painting.
I found the exhibiton style to be unusual but welcoming. Salon style is not usually the way I associate work shown in NYC galleries. I think it became distracting to view some of the work in this way but others benefited from it. (Sometimes a weak work can start to look a lot better right next to a strong piece)
The show was dominated by expressive painting and drawing. Even installation work had a very hands on and expressive feel like the installation piece by Iris Van Dongen. Artists that stood out to me were Hans Broeck, and Charlotte Shlieffert, Berend Strick, and Sylvia Russell.
It was interesting to see such painterly work in a contemporary art show.
I did not see too many connections between the artists work nor a theme to the exhibition other than their connection to the line (drawing).
I think that doing a show Salon style at this point can be a bit distracting for most people. It can be too reminescent of an undergraduate art show or a folk art exhibit. It can also take away from some of the better work that needs space to breathe and capture attention. On the other hand it was great to see a group of artists who are not afraid to leave their mark in their work, not creating cold and minimal pieces but working from their gut. I am excited to see more dutch artists showing in New York.
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While Salon style may not be typical for New York galleries there is certainly a European tradition of displaying artwork in this manner. I agree this presentation can help or hinder certain pieces but in many ways this helped me connect to the fact that these pieces were from 40 Contemporary Dutch Artists. By including such a wide variety of artists the show was able to display the similar relaxed free hand style which seems to be prevalent in today’s Dutch artwork. The biggest complaint I had was the lack of name tags throughout the gallery which forced me to reference the one title guide. But in some ways even this small hindrance forced me to see the work as an entire contemporary movement. Towing the Line, Drawing Space was successful because it’s traditional presentation, cohesive style (whether current in Holland or just for this show), and by the shear fact that it peaked both of our interests in seeing future work by many of these contemporary Dutch artists.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the writer that Towing the Line at White Box Gallery was quite peculiar, but extremely inviting and engaging. I really enjoyed the fun, chaotic installation of Towing the Line and did not find it at all distracting. On the contrary, the hodgepodge of works almost forces you to move about the exhibition carefully, making sure not to miss a single piece. In this sense, the European Salon style complimented the exhibition well. I disagree, however, that the exhibition did not have an apparent theme; the Line in all its diverse expressions was constantly present, uniting the exhibition from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that there are real art movements anymore. There are way too many artists an way too many inspirations out there for any two people to be interested in the same thing. 20 years ago there were 3 tv channels and now there are thousands not even counting the countless information on the internet.At this point no two people really listen to or watch the same things.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I actually really enjoyed the show I thought that it wasn't necessary to try to connect the works to each other in any way even if it is the line because the ideas,interests,or movement are all so different from each other.