Neon art

"Neon 206 is a continuation of Chihuly's explorarations in neon. The coloured tubes seem to float, multiplying in number. The installation consists of factory-made glass tubes that have been heated and bent into angular forms which are filled with neon and argon gasses and charged with electricity." (museum info)

Neon 206 is part of the current exhibition "Chihuly" in the Groninger Museum.

Rainy day

View from inside the Groninger Museum across the city canal towards the Stationsstraat and bus station, on a rainy day last December.

Happy New Year

Ik wens al mijn bloglezers een sprankelend nieuwjaar!

I wish all my blog readers a sparkling New Year!

Chihuly Icicle Tower

'Chandeliers (like the one on the photo in a previous post) and Towers are perhaps the best example of Chihuly's desire to mass and control color on a grand scale. Unlike traditional chandeliers, they reflect light instead of emitting it.' (Museum info)

Go see the exhibition in the Groninger Museum if you have the chance. Happy Friday! :)

Chihuly Icicle Chandelier

The current major exhibition in the Groninger Museum exists of 16 installations of sensational glass creations by Americal artist Dale Chihuly (1941). His series of Chandeliers and Towers are assembled with multiple hand-blown glass forms mounted to a steel armature.

More to follow in the coming days. Check the link to the museum's website HERE.

Cappuccino

 Enjoying cappuccino and a treat in the restaurant of the Groninger museum.

De Ploeg exhibition

This year it will be 100 years since a group of young Groningen artists founded the artist collective De Ploeg ('The Plough' or 'The Group'). They decided it was high time to abandon 19th century ideals and traditions. Seeking new paths in painting, their work exists of brightly coloured Groningen landscapes and dynamic city scenes. The painting above by Jan Altink (1885-1971) is called 'The Harrower' ('De Egger' in Dutch). Altink was cofounder of De Ploeg.

This painting from 1927 shows the well known Groningen square 'Vismarkt' ('Fish Market'), painted by George Martens (1894-1979).
To mark the anniversary of 100 years of De Ploeg, the Groninger Museum currently presents "Avant-Garde in Groningen: De Ploeg, 1918-1928", with more than 250 works of art .

View on the Groninger Museum

As soon as you leave Groningen Central Station there is this view on the colourful buildings of the Groninger Museum.

The museum consists of 3 main pavillions, all modernist structures. The eye-catching yellow tower was designed by Alessandro Mendini, an Italian architect.

Tidings from far away

Dutch artist Ruud Venekamp (1957) was inspired by the Indonesian landscape when he painted this series of 7 large canvases. The country had impressed him by its light and colours, and the systematically landscaped plantations, which he calls 'tropical architecture'.

Venekamp lives and works in Groningen city. The exhibition "Tidings from far away" from this year was his first in the Groninger Museum.

Starck pavilion

This photo was taken when I was about to go downstairs and leave the Starck pavilion, one of the exhibition rooms of the Groninger Museum. The interior of this large room, with many round shapes, was designed by French architect Philippe Starck.

Mosaic stairs

The Groninger Museum is partly underground, from the lobby on the ground floor you take the colourful mosaic concrete stairs down to arrive here in this hall, from where the exhibitions can be reached. The spiral stairs were designed by Italian designer and architect Alessandro Mendini.

And looking up..   
For another photo taken from a different perspective, posted on this blog a few years ago, click HERE.

Dark romanticism

This dress made by Marga Weimans (1970) was created from polyester, satin, tin, and plastic. It is part of the Groninger Museum's current exhibition "Romanticism Today!". This particular dress was presented as "Dark romanticism in fashion and design".

Marga Weimans graduated as a fashion designer in 2005. Her collections were presented in Paris and in several exhibitions in Dutch museums. In her work she uses themes like identity, technology and beauty.

Sweepers Clock / Maarten Baas

Another ´Real Time´ item by Maarten Baas (see also yesterday's post) was this 'Sweepers Clock', where a camera films 2 men from high above while they keep the time by sweeping the hands of the clock.

Almost 11:45 here.. :)
The Sweepers Clock is part of the current exhibition 'Hide & Seek' in the Groninger Museum.

Real Time / Maarten Baas

I had a great time visiting the exhibition 'Hide and Seek' in the Groninger Museum last week, with works by Dutch designer and artist Maarten Baas (1978). As the photos show, 'time' is a prominent theme in his work. With clocks everywhere nowadays many people's lifes are ruled by time, and timekeeping has become increasingly precise. With these 5 Real Time clocks Baas visualises time using videos, in which actors -over a 12 hour-period of time- literally keep indicating what time it is by drawing the arms of a clock forward by hand.

And so every few minutes the time was wiped out and then drawn again. It was very funny to watch as it was like somebody was standing inside and you could actually see them draw.

Maarten Baas is considered to be one of the most influential Dutch designers of the beginning of the 21st century. His work is known as rebellious, playful, theatrical and artistic. His website is worth a visit, click HERE.

´What a coincidence!´ by Milan Kunc

Following up on yesterday´s post this is another piece by Czech/German artist Milan Kunc that appealed to me; an oil painting called ´What a coincidence!´. As explained yesterday it was part of a Groninger Museum exhibition last year, showing German Neo-expressionism from the 1980s.

Punk girls by Milan Kunc

One of the exhibitions in the Groninger Museum that I visited last year was called "Nieuwe Wilden" ("The New Wild Ones"), about the late-modernist or early-postmodern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s.
On the photo are 4 punk girls from Düsseldorf painted by hand in Cubist style by Milan Kunc (Praque 1944). I like his art a lot!

The Thinker by Rodin

This plaster model of ´The Thinker´ by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is a huge and powerful sculpture. It shows a nude male figure sitting on a rock with his chin resting on one hand as though deep in thought. It was initially a figure for a doorway surround called ´The Gates of Hell´, based on the epic poem ´The Divine Comedy´ by Dante.
The plaster sculpture is part of the exhibition 'Rodin - Genius at Work', currently at the Groninger Museum until April 30.

Rodin exhibition

Last Thursday I went to Groningen to visit the exhibition 'Rodin - Genius at Work' at the Groninger Museum. Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is the greatest and most influential sculptor of the modern era. His works do not simply represent idealised forms of the human body, but also bear traces of the creative process. (from the museum site)

With this female torso sitting in an earthenware pot beautifully placed in a glass bell, and with the sculptures on the photo above all put in glass displays, there were nice shadows and reflections so I am contributing this post to James´ Weekend Reflections.

Another post about Rodin tomorrow. Happy Saturday!

Two dogs by Joost van den Toorn

Two images taken in the Groninger Museum earlier today, from the exhibition "Something to believe in" with works by Dutch sculptor Joost van den Toorn (1954). Both are bronze dogs, the first is called "Black Dog"..

..and this is the "Atomic Dog". I thought both looked very sweet.
Van den Toorn's works are often caricatural, he combines old symbols with modern imagery.

3D printed steel

Two more photos taken at Joris Laarman Lab, the exhibition showing works created by Dutch designer, inventor and artist Joris Laarman (1979). Several days ago I posted the puzzle chairs of the Makerchair project, assembled from bits and pieces made by a 3D printer. This round and twisting "thing" of steel was also the product of a 3D printer.

A unique project where Laarman is currently working on is a 3D printed steel bridge, that will be placed over an Amsterdam canal when it is finished. On the wall you can see an image of the bridge.
Imagine crossing a 'printed' bridge! For more information click HERE.