Positions presents a range of ways in which artists engage with social issues and relate to the world in which we live. Some work with oil on canvas, while others ‘paint’ with materials like stones, textiles, chemical substances, or tulip petals to enhance the expressiveness of their work.
Topical themes such as sustainability and the climate serve, directly or indirectly, as points of departure for the works. Take for instance the relationship between man and nature in the work of Christina Lucas, Emma Talbot, and Adriano Amaral. Whereas Lucas takes an almost analytical and chemical approach, Talbot is open to transcendence and the irrational; with his images reflecting a mix of nature and technology, Amaral asks, above all, what remains natural these days.
Identity, gender, and our way of dealing with history are additional themes approached in poetic, personal, or nearly scientific ways in this exhibition. Lisa Oppenheim, Dina Danish, Meiro Koizumi, and Jennifer Tee, for example, try to come to grips with the present by investigating the past. They bring up painful history (Koizumi and Oppenheim), emphasize the impact of the news on our lives (Danish), or link history with personal and national identity (Tee). Neo Matloga, who finds a reflection of Black identity missing in art, proposes within his collage-paintings that everything can be fluid.
Without providing answers, these artworks offer room for multiple interpretations. They make us aware of the times in which we live. That they remain relevant over time is evident from the recently acquired drawing by Jacqueline de Jong, which is no less powerful even after sixty years.
With artworks by: Adriano Amaral, Dina Danish, Jacqueline de Jong, Meiro Koizumi, Cristina Lucas, Neo Matloga, Lisa Oppenheim, Han Schuil, Emma Talbot en Jennifer Tee.
