Power
MASTERS art: bodily adventure
Suzanne Swarts travels the world seeking the most remarkable museums and artworks, sharing her discoveries in MASTERS.
Suzanne Swarts travels the world in search of the most amazing museums and works of art and shares her adventures in MASTERS. This time the museum director stays closer to home and talks about the special exhibition that can now be admired in and on 'her' Voorlinden.
Of course I don't have to travel far to enjoy amazing art. Every day I cycle to the most beautiful workplace you can imagine: the Voorlinden Museum. We have deliberately made it a place where you can be amazed, be surprised and recharge - and I notice that many people have a strong need for that these days. It is truly an oasis of peace in the busy Randstad with a beautiful combination of art, nature and architecture. And this summer at Voorlinden is even more special, because the British artist Antony Gormley has largely taken over the estate and museum with his solo exhibition GROUND – the largest we have ever created at Voorlinden. Gormley creates spectacular sculptures, installations and works in public spaces. You may be familiar with the 26 meter tall crouching figure Exposure near Lelystad, which overlooks the Markermeer. His work is loved all over the world, from Brazil to his home country, the United Kingdom. We are currently presenting a major overview of his work, including his early lead works and recent space-filling installations. A number of works come from our own collection and can be seen in the Netherlands for the first time.
In love with Voorlinden
Location is very important to Gormley. In his work he explores the relationship between the human body and the space it occupies. The placement of his works of art is therefore essential. It was therefore not without reason that he chose Voorlinden. We have known the artist for years - he already made a sculpture for our sculpture garden in 1994 Clingenbosch – and he knows the estate well. He fell in love with the special location in nature, the air above the dunes and the light in the museum. And in GROUND he makes full use of these elements. You can already see this when you walk onto the estate and see the museum building looming in the distance. Because if you look around you carefully, you can discover sixty statues in the garden around the country house, in front of the museum and in the dunes. They are all casts of the artist's body and together they form a group of sculptures called Critical Mass. Gormley sees the cast iron casts as 'industrially produced fossils' that he has dropped into the green context of Voorlinden. With the traces of his body, the Brit wants to appeal to your 'feeling potential' and your 'body memory'.
MASTERS MAGAZINE
Read the entire column? In the summer edition of MASTERS an interview with Sven Kramer, a driving impression of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport and a study into the Effect of Max. But above all, it features people who bring light to the darkness. Such as Henk Jan Beltman, who took over Tony's Chocolonely because with a company you can make the world a more beautiful place. Chef Emile van der Staak, who has the ambition to change our food culture and therefore cooks with plants and vegetables that he obtains from the food forest. Designer Nienke Hoogvliet, who has introduced natural seaweed paint as an alternative to harmful textile paint. And Anna Nooshin, who criticizes the current social media culture of pretty pictures. In her documentary she also shares the less beautiful aspects of her life. All people who ask questions, hold up mirrors, take steps. Steps towards a healthier world and more understanding society.
