Astrid Moors
After her training at the Academy of Visual Arts Maastricht, she followed a year of philosophy at the RU Utrecht. A few years later, she studied art, media and technology in Hilversum, followed by a master's degree at the art academy in Breda. Since 2000 she has been working in Rotterdam.
Astrid Moors makes drawings, large paintings with acrylics on canvas, interactive animations and combinations of the three.
What we see are isolated anecdotes, universal states of mind; subtly poetic, introverted and hushed. The works have a graphic approach in their interplay of lines and use of colour. The rhythm of repeated forms reinforces a detached stillness. Is there boredom or pointlessness? Killing time or (almost) entering into confrontation?
Work by Astrid Moors is included in collections by DELA, FNV, CBK, KvK and private individuals, among others. At the beginning of 2015 she had a major retrospective in the Rotterdam District Court, with paintings from the past 20 years.
Netty van Osch
PO & Kuna
Netty van Osch is working on a `Universal Autobiography`. All her projects and objects are part of it. The objects are constructed around self chosen style figures PO and Kuna. PO (pawn) stands for the common, it is a being that wants to work together. Kuna (king) stands for the individual, it is a monarch. They live together in POlymorf (symbiosis), the parallel world where opposition and possibilities, choice and fate, play and competition alternate or result in a duel. These are often installations in which the playing field is central. The fate of the stylistic figures is always the main theme of this Universal Autobiography.
PO & Kuna
Netty van Osch is working on the theme of a 'universal autobiography', which is the basis of all her sculptural work. This body of work features two iconographic characters, 'PO' and 'Kuna'. PO (pawn) is the community; a collaborative being. Kuna (king) is the individual; a monarch that seeks power. They live together in 'POlymorf' (symbiosis), a parallel world were opposing states coexist; where opportunity and oppression, choice and fate, cooperation and competition, all proceed together in either harmony or conflict. The 'playing field' is often a central metaphor in Van Osch's installations, where the 'fate' of her characters is played out in the disturbing drama of her Universal Biography.
Harry Schumacher
Harry Schumacher denounces the way man deals with nature. We place ourselves above nature, even if we are part of it. We see nature as a laboratory, with which we can do what we want, we think.
The complexity of social structures makes people rely on the ratio rather than the feeling, while a balance between the two is desirable. The ratio maintains inhibitions and self-preservation, resulting in the removal of nature. The installations are a confrontation of how we see nature, from man's point of view. By constantly being aware of the absurd human behaviour, recognizing becomes a second nature, so that the works can come about in an intuitive way. An alternative world of metaphors is the result.
In the drawing work, the arsenal of instruments is expanded. In a mixed technique developed in-house, drawings are transferred to felt.
Henk de Bont
Visual artist/singer-songwriter Henk de Bont has a small studio at Lange Hilleweg 235. Yet the space (14 m2) is large enough for a variety of activities. Henk writes Dutch pop songs and records them digitally on the spot. The studio also functions as a rehearsal space for his live performances. In another part of the space he makes illustrations, drawings and designs for his screen prints. The printing process itself takes place at a different location. The visual work is characterized by a clear, cartoon-like style, often related to social subjects. His work can not only be seen at www.benksbiz.nl, but also at Casper Haring Design, in the Schilderstraat in Rotterdam, where he permanently has a wall at his disposal.
Henk regards his studio as the executive organ of his brain cells, a kind of manifestation of his state of mind.
Lately Henk has been working with visual artist/poet Hans Wap. He puts poems by Hans, with the necessary adaptations, to music. Together they perform a theatre program, in which music and poetry alternate.
Els Kingma
In her recent sculptures, Els Kingma dissects the human form, both literally and figuratively. It is striking that the parts of the body show us individually more than the total. The heads and torques are stripped of everything superfluous. They have been reduced to the most essential form. Thus 'undressed' they reflect the core of the human condition. This striving for minimalism, however, is not a goal in itself for her. Nowhere does her working method lead to empty aesthetics or meaningless abstraction. By means of this stylized, 'thin' language of forms she seems to want to emphasize the naked reality of human existence. The torso has nothing voluptuous, busty or decadent, but tends towards purity and transcendence. In these undressed busts the attributes that are indispensable for survival such as breasts, legs, buttocks and crotch are only briefly shaped by a curve or a sculpted crease. The viewer has to make an effort to perceive them. They are depicted with restraint and reduced to simple forms in such a way as to give the impression that they are not parts of the body directed towards sex and reproduction, but aspects of the body which, like points and commas in a text, try to give direction to the reading of the reader or in this case to the observation of the viewer. Depending on the viewer's attention, the 'tortures' and 'heads' only gradually reveal their secrets. The urgency is not immediate but reveals itself step by step and becomes greater and more compelling every step of the way. She shows us her reality in an almost contemplative and introverted way. Her images are the opposite of 'noise art', of art that wants to 'please' or 'disturb'. She does not cause a stir with her images. Everything revolves around tranquillity. It is precisely this restrained expression that proves her craftsmanship.
Robert Klatser 2017
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