Full Moon; Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar

If you are visiting Museum Voorlinden to see the rather bombastic Anselm Kiefer exhibition, you might need some relief.

Full Moon gives you just that.

It is the perfect white cube show of modern, postmodern and post-postmodern art.

In this museum works of art that were once revolutionary have become neutralised aesthetic, value-free objects, while today’s art doesn’t get the chance anymore to be revolutionary.

On the other hand, the art is there and it is well exposed and well lit in an environment that will give you some peace of mind.

Like in any large collection there are the must-have artists like Damien Hirst, but also the must-have artists who make or have made more interesting work.

Everyone will have their own favourites in the collection.

It would be easy to say that these are images of the highlights of the show, but that would be pretentious, as they are of course personal favourites.

Full Moon is very much a side show, so it is probably not worth the ticket price to see it if you’re not planning on going to the Kiefer exhibition.

As for Kiefer, i’ll report on my doubts later in Villla La Repubblica.

Bertus Pieters

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© Villa Next Door 2023

Contents of all photographs courtesy to (the estates of) the artists and to Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar

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Façades of The Hague #167

Façade of a block of two flats, Dunne Bierkade.

The house was built in the 1880s in an eclectic style with exceptionally varied decorative brickwork in the lunettes above the windows and doors.

The building is a municipal monument.

Bertus Pieters

© Villa Next Door 2023

All pictures were taken in March 2020.

Façades of The Hague from #146 onwards: https://villanextdoor3.wordpress.com/category/facades-of-the-hague/

Façades of The Hague #1 – 71: https://villanextdoor.wordpress.com/category/facades-of-the-hague/

Façades of The Hague #72 – 145: https://villanextdoor2.wordpress.com/category/facades-of-the-hague/

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Niels Janssen, PARS ET TOTUM; Korte Vijverberg 2, The Hague

Niels Janssen (1967) calls his drawing practice psychography.

Essentially it is a way of dealing with the many aspects of everyday life in one drawing: the insignificant details, irritations and joys, the big issues that occupy the world and its horrors and emotions, mixed up as they usually are.

It is a world full of talking heads, but even more heads that keep their mouths shut, either because they have nothing to say or because they have too much to say.

Phrases and paraphrases intermingle, grotesque, quasi-concise, vulgar, sharp or a combination of these. Fish sometimes swim in them as if the whole world is a big aquarium, and even birds can appear.

A self-portrait may pop up as if to remind you that these are all individual thoughts and observations, but they also show you how complex everyday life is, and what impressions it leaves in the mind.

In his current exhibition at 2 Korte Vijverberg (just turn left when you enter the building) he also shows some smaller and colourful single-subject drawings that serve as a kind of timeline. They hang like loose thoughts in the room, leaving the rest of the space for you to fill in.

Janssen is undoubtedly one of the sharpest draughtsmen; his constant flow of ideas and improvisations will keep you on your toes both for their content and their brilliant execution. This is a must-see for all lovers of drawing (like me), but you’ll have to hurry as it’s only on show this weekend.

Bertus Pieters

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Contents of all photographs courtesy to Niels Janssen, Den Haag

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A Tribute to SinArts Gallery. (The Curtain Call; SinArts Gallery, The Hague)

SinArts Gallery is closing its doors.

The current exhibition The Curtain Call is its last.

2017; Between Blossoms; Shen Wei (detail)

Sad as it is, we should be thankful that the gallery showed its treasures in The Hague.

2018; Excited with no reason; Chen Hangfeng

SinArts has shown a mixture of works by Chinese artists – mainly from the diaspora – and from other artists from Southeast Asia, especially Japan.

As such SinArts contributed to a diverse range of galleries and platforms in the city.

2020; SinArts was one of the first galleries i visited during the Corona crisis; paintings by Zhu Hong

This shouldn’t be underestimated, as diversity is not something that can be imposed on the local art world.

2020; Gallerist Alex Lebbink in the online edition of Haags Hoogtij during the Corona crisis

Nevertheless, there is a feeling that SinArts didn’t get the attention it rightfully deserved.

2020; Optimism over Despair; Zheng Yilong

Gallerist Alex Lebbink certainly did his utmost best to show a wide range of art, varying from photography to sculpture, from conceptualism to ink painting, from young artists to older ones.

And he did so with infectious enthusiasm.

2021; Chrysanthemums and Prince Edward; Mel Chan

It is difficult, however, to keep the engine running on enthusiasm for the arts and the business alone.

Just ninety-nine per cent isn’t enough in this business (and neither is one hundred per cent).

2022; Opening Exhibition in a new space; Zhang Peng

Meanwhile the number of artistically interesting commercial galleries in this town continues to decline.

And they are not being replaced either by new good galleries or by young non-commercial platforms.

Anyway, this is your last chance to see this gallery!

And a big thank you to Alex and the bunch of artists he represented over the last few years!

As you’ve probably guessed by now, most of the images are from past exhibitions to give you a taste of what you’ll be missing.

2023; The Curtain Call; left Chung-Hsi Han, right Wang Yu

Bertus Pieters

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Contents of all photographs courtesy to all artists and to SinArts Gallery, Den Haag

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Jemima de Jonge, Behind the Belly Button; Heden, The Hague

To write an article about the installation A Body of Water by Jemima de Jonge (2001) – currently on show in the exhibition Behind the Belly Button – for Villa La Repubblica I went to Heden in The Hague. Click here to read the article in VLR (in Dutch).

As I’ve written quite extensively about part of the exhibition in VLR I just leave you here with some extra footage of the installation and rest of the exhibition without comments.

Click here to read the article in Villa La Repubblica (in Dutch).

Bertus Pieters

Now that you’ve come here, you might as well subscribe to Villa Next Door (top right of the page)!

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Contents of all photographs courtesy to Jemima de Jonge and to Heden, Den Haag

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Façades of The Hague #166

Façade of a former mansion, Korte Voorhout. It was built around 1700 in a representative but sober Louis XIV style, in the typical Dutch brick variant. The round tympanum at the top was added between 1855 and 1867.

Around 1900 the envoy of the Russian Empire lived here. Later on it housed the municipal education office and its alderman until November 1940.

After the Second World War it became the seat of the provincial government of South Holland until this moved to its new residence in 1975.

Today it houses a primary and secondary school.

Bertus Pieters

All pictures were taken in March 2020.

Façades of The Hague from #146 onwards: https://villanextdoor3.wordpress.com/category/facades-of-the-hague/

Façades of The Hague #1 – 71: https://villanextdoor.wordpress.com/category/facades-of-the-hague/

Façades of The Hague #72 – 145: https://villanextdoor2.wordpress.com/category/facades-of-the-hague/

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Dear Bertus, Thank you very much for your reply. If I am able to use the image(s), I will credit…

Dear John, You can download and use both for free. But i would appreciate if you mention my name and…

Dear Bertus, It's been great to look at your many photos of Florence. I would like to ask you if…

Ha Bertus, Een diep filosofisch inzicht. :) Gr Jos