During Amsterdam Art Week 2025, andriesse ~ eyck gallery is proud to present the exhibition of Mik Bakker Théâtre de Tréteaux. The exhibition will be opened during the Festive Gallery Night on 22 May between 17:00 and 21:00.
Mik Bakker’s work moves between different disciplines, from sculpture, to design and architecture. She sees these as connected and constantly in dialogue, Bakker says: “I think it’s important to take space to wander through these fields, recognizing the progression of beauty and material over time. This form of boundlessness attracts me a lot.”
Théâtre de Tréteaux translates to “Theatre of the Sawbucks.” Bakker first became fascinated with homemade sawbucks in France, through her neighbour and carpenter Eric Faisant. But the title also refers to a simple, nomadic form of theatre that emerged around the 16th and 17th centuries. The stage was created by laying simple planks on sawhorses, without further scenery or decorations. These performances thus revolved mainly around the actors’ play, their dialogues and improvisation. The return to the essence of a craft is also central to the work of Bakker, who always looks for raw and original materials, and tries to avoid unnecessary actions or adjustments. Thus, she searches for the basic form of objects and spaces in her environment. Bakker: “Right now, I feel an affinity with places like wood and steel workshops, small-scale, material storage sheds or historic buildings, such as warehouses along the canals in Amsterdam. Places of transformation and craftsmanship. What intrigues me in these spaces are the raw materials that often have yet to be processed for a craft. In these materials I see a lot of potential and possibilities.”
