Trouble wandering (to eternity) at Kasteel Wijlre estate

 
Trouble wandering (to eternity) at Kasteel Wijlre estate, Wijlre, The Netherlands

After the floods of July 2021 that inundated the estate and severely damaged the Hedge House, the renovated art pavilion reopens with the exhibition Trouble wandering (to eternity), curated by Xander Karskens.

Trouble wandering (to eternity) traverses land and plummets beneath the waves. This group exhibition combines works from the Jo & Marlies Eyck collection at the Bonnefanten with works by contemporary artists that raise questions about how humans relate to the world around us and, more specifically, to nature during the climate crisis. How can we redefine our relation to ‘landscape’ given the rapid changes to the planet in the wake of climate change? Can art provide a deeper understanding of our relationship to our environment and provide tools for improvement? Can art help us develop an ecological awareness by activating our imagination, and project alternative futures?

Participating artists: Maud van den Beuken, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Ronald Cornelissen, Elspeth Diederix, Mimi Lauter, Tala Madani, Otobong Nkanga, Rory Pilgrim, Joëlle Tuerlinckx, and Carel Visser.

Photo’s: Peter Cox (courtesy Kasteel Wijlre estate)
Thanks to Manon Berns and Xander Karskens
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Fire and Ice

 
Fire and Ice
Ink, pencil, watercolour, gouache and acrylic paint on paper – 71 x 112 cm – 2021
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Een ver afgelegen huis

 
From 5 February to 6 March 2022, the exhibition A far-away house was shown in the Vishal in Haarlem. Years ago curator Luuk Wilmering heard the story of a fellow artist, who at a certain point decided to retreat to a remote island to start a sheep farm in the desolation of that place. Away from everything, a new life. That story really appealed to him. It touched upon a vague longing in himself.

Many artists, writers and philosophers are familiar with the desire to isolate themselves from the world, temporarily or otherwise. In this age of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, this need seems greater than ever. It is almost impossible to escape the fleeting communication on social media. Whereas silence and isolation are prerequisites for free thinking and artistic research. A remote house sounds tempting. It can be a place where you can come to yourself and to new insights. But it can also be a place where you are confronted with yourself, with deep doubts, fears and imperfections. And it can be a place where you are not really welcome.

The exhibition can be seen as a search for the house where you naturally feel at home. For a place that mirrors yourself. For a sense of security that comes from your memory. A distant house can be seen as a last refuge, to be found in time as well as space. But it can also be a house where you don’t feel welcome. Where you are excluded. That is literally beyond your reach.

With Elise ‘t Hart, Wim Bosch, frank mandersloot, Luuk Wilmering and Ronald Cornelissen.
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P & The Three Witches (Barbe Q)

P (based on a photo by Otto Snoek)
Ink, pencil, watercolor, Acrylic paint and gouache on paper – 87,7 x 112 cm – 2021
Private collection Paris, France.

The Three Witches (Barbe Q)
Ink, pencil, watercolor, gouache and collage on paper – 88 x 113 cm – 2016…

Bus Twentysix, Ice Watch & P Centrum

 
Bus Twentysix
Ink, pencil, watercolor and gouache on paper – 79,5 x 140 cm – 2021

Ice Watch
Ink, pencil, watercolor, acrylic paint and gouache on paper – 79,5 x 140 cm – 2020

P Centrum (based on a photo by Otto Snoek)
Ink, pencil, watercolor and gouache on paper – 85,5 x 145,8 cm – 2021
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