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.

Chinaware Piano

Dutch artist Jelle Mastenbroek combined a porcelain cabinet and a piano, and so created an object for both the eyes and ears. After pushing the button (there in the bottom left corner of the photo) the piano started playing automatically, producing a sound resembling a happy (though maybe somewhat primitive) carillon. It was pretty loud as well so I expected one of the plates to break any minute. But obviously that didn't happen haha :)
Mastenbroek graduated in 2012 from the Design Academy Eindhoven in the discipline Man and Well-Being. This installation was made especially for this exhibition in The Princessehof Nat. Museum of Ceramics.

Happy New Year

Ik wens al mijn bloglezers een sprankelend nieuwjaar!

I wish all my blog readers a sparkling New Year!

KLM houses

For a long time, KLM has been giving every passenger flying business class a miniature earthenware Delft Blue house filled with gin. Each house is the likeness of an existing Dutch house. Every year, KLM releases a new miniature around 7 October, on the occasion of its founding date in 1919. Meanwhile, the Delftware houses have become true collectors' items. There are 93 different types, if you'd like to read more click HERE.
The collection above belongs to The Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics in Leeuwarden, that I visited today. I have never travelled business class so I haven't got any myself :)

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.

Rusty bike

You might think this bicycle doesn't have a caring owner, though as it was parked in 'museum village' Orvelte it is likely that the bicycle isn't meant anymore for daily use.

Giacometti

Both photos in this post show art by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966). They are part of the Fundatie Museum's current exhibition 'Facing Fear', with sculptures by Giacometti and English sculptor Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003). Their work pictures the sense of fear and disillusionment that pervaded Europe during the Cold War period.

In Giacometti's work he reduces the human (and animal) form to its bare essentials.
´Walking Man´ is seen as the ultimate symbol of the solitary traveller in time that we each are in our heart of hearts. Despite his attenuated boday and narrow head, the walking man is inseparably connected to the earth by his larege, heavy feet. -from the museum's info.

Sculpture reflection

Zooming into the bottom part of a large and shiny sculpture in front of the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle, that I visited earlier today. On the left you can see the reflection of the columns at the museum entrance.

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

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 .

Marilyn at Vapriikki

We very much enjoyed our visit to Vapriikki, a museum centre in the city of Tampere. One of the temporary exhibitions was 'the lovely Marilyn', showing the outward beauty, success and glamour of the life of Marilyn Monroe, but also it's other -dark- side. What a life she had.

Lots of personal items were on display: photos, film fragments, dresses, shoes, makeup, jewellery, and film scripts.

Jopie Huisman museum

The Jopie Huisman museum in the village of Workum exhibits drawings, painting and items collected by this Frisian self-taught painter. Jopie Huisman (1922-2000) was known for his compassion for people and the place where he lived, Workum.

When 3 of his paintings were stolen from an exhibition in Nuenen in the early 1980s, Huisman decided none of his works would ever be in a museum again. His friends however thought that his paintings were too good for not showing them to the public, and took the initiative to open a permanent display. That became the Jopie Huisman museum in his home town Workum.

Fiep Westendorp illustrations

A while ago the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle presented a small exhibition showing a number of orginal illustrations made by Fiep Westendorp (1916-2004). Westendorp was a very well known Dutch illustrator for children's books. The drawing above is a nice example. The text ('t is altijd Big Ben weer!) means: it's always Big Ben weather!

Three generations (including myself) grew up by knowing her for her drawings in B&W in 'Jip en Janneke', a series of children's books written by Annie M.G. Schmidt. They tell about the lives of 2 children, together wit Takkie the dog and Siepie the cat. The books are known for its simplicity and wit, and are still popular these days.

Stairs

Of course you can take the elevator, but why not take the stairs. Photo taken at the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle.

A view from the top floor

The top floor of the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle was built in the shape of an egg, or a cloud as some people see it. (see an earlier post HERE) The view outside offers this: ..

.. the old city centre of Zwolle, with the Peperbus tower there on the left.

Neo Rauch in Zwolle #2

Following up on yesterday's post I have a few more photos of the paintings by German artist Neo Rauch. His works that are currently exhibited in the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle are called dreamy, surreal, and whimsical.

Some of his paintings are colourful, others dark, some monochrome. This one in pink shades appealed to me a lot.

Neo Rauch in Zwolle #1

The Fundatie Museum in Zwolle currently shows 65 works by Neo Rauch (1960, Leipzig - Germany). The paintings are huge -the biggest one is 3 x 4,2 metres-, and they "transport the viewer to an apparently familiar world where, on closer inspection, the feeling of familiarity soon dissapears to be replaced  by confusion, and sometimes unease." (from the museum's website)

Rauch sees his paintings as 'Kreaturen", living creatures. They breath, expand, and need time to mature, both material as well as content. There is happening a lot on his paintings; the longer you view them, the more interesting they get. This second one is named "Geschäft" ("Business")
To read more about the exhibition please check the Museum's website HERE.

The American Dream in Assen

The current major exhibition at the Drents Museum is Assen is "The American Dream", about American Realism in the years 1945-1965. This painting called "Morning Sun" from 1952 by Edward Hopper (1882-1967) is on the cover of the exposition's information leaflet. The model is Hopper's wife Josephine, bathed in the morning light, sitting on her bed gazing out at the city. It is one of Hopper's most famous paintings.

This piece from 1963 by Andy Warhol (1928-1987) pictures Ethel Scull. She and her husband Robert Scull were American art collectors. Ethel was also the subject of Warhol's "Ethel Scull 36 Times", a large work depicting Scull in 36 different poses.

The exhibition can be seen until the end of May.

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.