Exhibition: January 28 – February 26, 2022
Midissage: Saturday February 12,
15.00 – 17.00 hrs.
Open: Wed – Sat 13.00 – 17.00 hrs.
The Triangle works are on show 24/7 in the window exhibition space DISplay, only visible from the St. Walburgstraat
Luuk Bode traverses the busy center of Rotterdam every day in order to reach his studio. There, he creates a series of artworks in which he captures what he encounters in his everyday route; the noisy, hustling city whilst being at the peak of its fuss. Altogether depicting the pure essence of the city. The colors of choice, black, white, red and yellow, depict his deconstructed view upon the city; the black and white strict lines remind viewers the road marking and the dispersed red and yellow marks the traffic lights.
Meanwhile, the hand of the artist is only visible through a meta-level of interpretation, as his artworks lack of the personal, human factor. Through the abstraction, which characterizes the paintings, the artist manages to distance himself from the figurative, conservative norms of art. As such, the strict lines made with tape, the use of simple colors and the complete absence of any figurative forms intrigue viewers to observe closely the artworks in order to create their own narratives and interpretations.
Walking through the white exhibition spaces of the RE:Search:Gallery viewers can also observe that Luuk’s paintings whether organized as an ensemble or hanging one by one, they all share the common characteristic of the empty center. In a world where everything begins from a crowed center in order for them to spread around, in these artworks we observe the exact opposite. The tension created by the strict, sharp lines escalates towards the edges of each canvas whilst leaving its center wide open. Once again, the artist invites viewers in a ‘game’ of balance, which remains meteor between chaos and serenity. In a ‘game’ of emptiness during which viewers are called to discover what will emerge from the voids!
Triangles at DISplay
In the DISplay space of the RE:Search:Gallery Luuk chose for three canvases in the shape of a perfect triangle. Luuk’s experimentation with perfection further develops, finding the most abstract form and, the exact, perfect distance between every line. Every line in the black grid is placed with great accuracy, with in every painting a small disruption in red, yellow or blue.
text: Veatriki Ventouraki (NP3 intern – University of Groningen)
Photo’s by Jan Tengbergen 2022