Stigter Van Doesburg ushers in spring with ‘Leaf Plural’, an exhibition featuring work by Elspeth Diederix, Lex ter Braak and Marjolein Rothman. All three relate to nature, but in very different forms. If these days it is a hot topic as an artist to reflect on everything that grows and blossoms, or more so on everything that endangers it, you could say that these artists carry a form of silent resistance in their work. The obviousness of what we see as nature is stripped of its somewhat naive sheen in ‘Leaf Plural’. Can you still look at a flower in all innocence, knowing how hard it has to fight for its lore?
Lex ter Braak makes large works from several layers of paper and cardboard, sometimes torn away at the edges, covered with threads, bright splashes of colour -red, yellow, blue, muted by the softness of Japanese paper, a blank spot or the traces of a screen print. A cacophony of colour, shape and movement like a party about to get out of hand. In all their merriment, destruction lurks.
Marjolein Rothman’s paintings on aluminium are more hushed. In a contrasting colour, the paint strokes take on the background. This positive/negative makes the unpainted parts as important as the strokes themselves. The faded colours make it seem as if time has already gone into the paintings. Like a discovery in an attic, while the works have just been made. In both large and small sizes, Rothman manages to keep her work exciting through the aptness of colour and form, reinforced by the slight hint of tree and leaf.
For Elspeth Diederix, nature is familiar territory. In addition to her analogue photographs of flowers and plants, she has become increasingly concerned with real nature in recent years. She has her own publicly accessible garden in Erasmus Park, and sometimes made lasting interventions in various museum gardens. For ‘Leaf Plural’, she drew inspiration from the East Indian cherry. This annual, the favourite flower of many, shows itself with greying leaves, but also as a life-size mobile. The greatly enlarged leaf moves gently in the air, balanced by two smaller specimens. She took a Calder construction as a starting point and lets hers float with a slight form of irony.
In ‘Leaf Plural’, the artists relate to each other as flowers and plants can. Precisely
non-obvious combinations give an extra push to experience them separately and in
conjunction. As long as one does not displace the other.
Lex ter Braak (Haarlem, 1950) studied at the Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. Besides being
an artist, he is also known as organiser, curator and director of De Vleeshal, Middelburg,
Fonds BKVB and the Jan van Eyck Academy, Maastricht. Besides he was a teacher at the
Rietveld Academy and the Sandberg Institute. Since 2015, he has devoted himself entirely to his artistic and writing practice. His novel ‘Life Forms’ was published in 2021.
Elspeth Diederix (Kenya,1971) studied at the Rietveld Academy and the Rijksakademie van
Beeldende Kunsten, and recently took a horticultural course. Recent solo exhibitions:
Rijksmuseum Twenthe, 1922, ‘When Red Disappears’ Huis Marseille, Amsterdam 2018 ‘The
gardens of Elspeth Diederix’ Stedelijk Museum, Schiedam, 2018.
Marjolein Rothman(Eibergen, 1974 studied at the Akademie voor beeldende kunst en
vormgeving, Enschede and stayed at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten,
Amsterdam from 2003-2004. Recent exhibitions: Reversed Grounds Albada Jelgersma
Gallery, Amsterdam and Wetterling gallery, Stockholm. Her solo exhibition at Villa
Mondriaan opens on 28 April.
For showing the works of Lex ter Braak, we would like to thank gallery Dudok de Groot,
Amsterdam.
