Faithful companion
Guest curator Jeroen van Paassen had the noble intention to create a group exhibition
create about our pets in contemporary art. The Zaanse curator, who is known
is known for his more provocative exhibitions, felt like a 'holiday' exhibition in NO ART FASHION in Roggel. Just an innocent exhibition in beautiful Limburg.
As the various works of art were selected, a different image emerged
float to the top. The assembled exhibition not only provided insight into how pets or
better domesticated animals are represented in contemporary art. But questions
more our capacity to love truly. And in particular the question: 'are we able to
to keep a living being if it is not leashed, caged or useful to us. Is
love a prison? Is marriage a kind of confinement?
Not only artists from Limburg/the EUR region have been selected for the exhibition, but
also from various other regions. Such as Henriette van Gasteren and Raphäel Hermans from
Limburg, Claudia Breuer and Gerhard Günther from Aachen, Teppo Korte from Finland and Mari
Terauchi from Japan. From the Zaanstreek come Laura van Dijk, Erik Sok and Jasmine de Vries.
Rotterdam's Evelien de Jong also shows her work.
Claudia Breuer
Alienating is the right word for the work of Breuer from Aachen. In NO ART
FASHION shows a large video in which her dog plays the leading role.
She also shows all kinds of stuffed animals, from chicks to cockroaches.
Laura van Dijk
Van Dijk is known for her installations, in which objects from our daily environment
transformed into poetic reflections. In Roggel she shows a kind of puppet show,
which exposes the relationship between terraced houses and animal cages.
Henriette van Gasteren
According to a prestigious international photo art magazine, Van Gasteren is one of the
world top 10 photographers of self-nude portraits. During this exhibition, among other things, a
photo can be seen, which was taken in a Limburg butcher's shop in Reuven.
Gerhard Günther
The figurative painter from Aachen was born in East Berlin (GDR). The scenes of his works
always take place in the urban environment, in which he explores our relationship with nature and our
nature questions. They often evoke the atmosphere of a melancholic longing for freedom
in the middle of a concrete suburbia.
Evelien de Jong
In De Jong's recent work, man as a space traveler is central. Or as she puts it
calls 'Enzonauts'. Of course, our faithful four-legged friend cannot be missed during this
space travel. Neatly leashed with a tracker, imagine if he runs away.
Teppo Short
Finnish artist Korte has grown up with dogs his entire life. A life without a dog is unthinkable for him. Specially for this exhibition he creates new light boxes, in which people and dogs are central.
Erik Sok
The versatile artist Sok shows a kind of model of a pig flat in Roggel.
The work challenges the viewer in a stimulating and provocative manner.
Mari Terauchi
Japanese Terauchi is simultaneously showing her works from the series in Germany and Limburg
'Where do we come from?' (Where do we come from?). Lifelike chickens and pigs appear
from the assembly of meat product packaging.
Jasmine de Vries
Photographer De Vries brings the whole theme together in her SM-like scenes, in which one
their partner dressed as a dog parades through the streets of Amsterdam. On a leash
being held takes on a new meaning.
'Faithful Companion'
Participating artists are: Claudia Breuer, Herman Brood, Laura
van Dijk, Henriette van Gasteren, Gerhard Günther, Raphaël Hermans, Evelien de Jong,
Teppo Korte, Erik Sok, Mari Terauchi and Jasmine de Vries