For the exhibition Equilibrium, the Mondrian House asked Elise van der Linden and Henriëtte van 't Hoog to draw inspiration from Mondrian's quest for balance.
In this mini-documentary, you can preview the artists and learn more about the works they created especially for exhibition Equilibrium.
Piet Mondrian lived in a turbulent time that saw two world wars. Not surprisingly, the artist was always looking for harmony and balance. Mondrian sought the right balance between lines and colour areas in his abstract compositions. For him, it was obvious that balanced art could contribute to more harmony in the world. He was convinced that if neoplastic principles were applied in everyday life, it would have a healing effect on society. To demonstrate this, the artist applied his artistic and philosophical ideas to his own living and working spaces. In his famous studios in Paris and New York, the artist experimented with space, composition and achieving harmony. These studios were a great inspiration to many.
Taking this as a starting point, the Mondrian House invited artists Henriëtte van 't Hoog and Elise van der Linden to explore what balance means to them. In the turbulent times we live in today, seeking and finding balance is again a very relevant theme. Both artists were allotted an exhibition space, which they have created entirely to their liking. In doing so, they have also been invited to go 'outside the lines'. They are also encouraged not only to establish a relationship with Mondrian's work and ideas, but also to explore a possible interaction between each other's work.
Elise van der Linden
In the work of Elise van der Linden (1983), time plays an important role. For her, it is about the constant tension between constant change on the one hand and the human tendency to want to hold on to things on the other. Van der Linden sees in the man-made world a snapshot of a constant transformation. It shows the interaction between nature and human 'nature' with its architecture and technology.
Where Mondrian's ideas tend towards social engineering of the world, Van der Linden sees more of an interaction between man and nature. Where Mondrian assumed that art can change the world, Van der Linden's work actually shows how, over time, nature regains ground on man's interventions. A major source of inspiration for Elise are abandoned and decaying buildings and human habitats. In such places, it is visible how the power of nature can nullify human intervention. Buildings, once newly completed, consist only of empty, dusty spaces or grit.
For Equilibrium, Van der Linden creates a sculpture in which she seeks a balance between order on the one hand and structures that look chaotic (inspired by what natural forces other than human ones produce) on the other. The work she creates is inspired by geometric structures created by human actions and what time does to such structures. In doing so, she draws inspiration from the decay of disused buildings, where natural forces visibly exert influence.
Want to know more about Elise's work and motivations? Then read the interview with her.
Henriëtte van 't Hoog
As an abstract working artist Henriëtte van 't Hoog (1943) known and familiar with the visual language of De Stijl artists. Her work and formal language are also inspired by De Stijl. But Van 't Hoog has developed her own mode of expression in it. She does not see De Stijl as a guideline to follow, but as a given that invites her to arrive at an autonomous vision of beyond. Like Mondrian's later work, Henriëtte van 't Hoog's work looks geometric but, like Mondrian's, is not based on a mathematical concept. Van 't Hoog also does not follow strict mathematical principles but lets herself be guided by artistic intuition in realising optical illusion, tension-filled contrast and visual balance.
Van 't Hoog is known, among other things, for her abstract murals in bright colours in which the architecture of the space becomes an emphatic part of the work. Her murals turn the corner, involve the floor, sometimes suggest depth and regularly put you on the wrong foot as a viewer, taking you off balance for a moment.
Van 't Hoog also makes angular wall objects, in which the relationship and interaction between them and between the objects and the space are essential. This spatial involvement gives her work a distinctive identity, which is reinforced by the choice of colours. The artist uses carefully chosen but often unharmonious, partly reflective colours that have their reflection on the wall to which the objects are attached.
In her most recent work, the objects come off the wall and into space. The floor sculptures titled Soul Light have moving light inside that escapes through openings in the sculptures. The reflected light at the wall objects here translates into direct light in floor sculptures.
The theme of balance plays an important role in Henriëtte van 't Hoog's work. She previously explored this theme in a series of murals entitled Equilibrium. For the exhibition at the Mondrian House, she will design a temporary mural that blends in with the architecture of the building and the layout of the space, but also gives it a quirky accent that can be perceived as contrasting. A shift in the perception of the space occurs, a new visual balance is created. The video shows how the mural, designed by Henriëtte and executed by Guido Nieuwendijk, came about:
Want to know more about Henriëtte's work and motivations? Then read the interview with her.
The exhibition Equilibrium is made possible by a contribution from the Mondriaan Fund.