Under the title ‘Order and Intuition’, the Mondrian House will present work by Irene Companjen and Theo Rooden from 28 February 2026. In the exhibition, both artists show their search for balance in their own way. Both explore the tension between systematics and intuition, between plan and chance. Companjen works with self-designed stamps on linen, while Rooden creates patterns with thread and loom. The worlds of print and thread meet in an exhibition in which both ordering principles and intuition guide the creative process.
The Mondrian House is the birthplace of Piet Mondrian, founder of abstract art. The museum tells the life story and highlights the artistic development of the artist who was born in Amersfoort in 1872. The upper floor of the museum houses contemporary artists who can be related to Mondrian's work or ideas. In the exhibition Order & Intuition works by Theo Rooden and Irene Companjen take centre stage.
For Mondrian, ordering principles and intuition went hand in hand. When creating his abstract work, the painter started from some framing principles: he used only primary colours, black, white and grey, and limited himself to horizontal and vertical lines. However, the composition then came about intuitively. For Rooden and Companjen, they also work from their own ground rules. At the same time, they leave room for chance and their inner logic.
Irene Companjen
Arnhem-based artist Irene Companjen (1954) plays with the boundary between abstraction and reality in her work. What appears at first sight to be an abstract pattern turns out on closer inspection to be composed of concrete forms from the everyday world. Companjen specialises in stamp printing on linen. She designs and makes the stamps herself; they are then applied to the canvas by hand or foot.
For the forms in her work, Companjen draws inspiration from real objects. She transforms everyday objects such as a pan, a box or a door into abstracted forms that she places on the canvas in a repeating rhythm. The choice of object comes about intuitively.
The compositions, executed in sometimes bright, sometimes more muted tones, radiate calm and clarity. They invite the viewer to look longer: first the pattern appears as a whole, then - sometimes with the help of the work's title - the recognisable object it is composed of reveals itself.
For the exhibition at the Mondrian House, Companjen drew inspiration from Piet Mondrian's studio in Paris. Among other things, she chose Mondrian's easel as the starting point for the pattern of one of the canvases on display at the museum from February 2026 - a tribute to the grand master of abstract art.
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Irene Companjen, Rest 1b, Rest 1b, 2019, 103 x 142 cm
Theo Rooden
Theo Rooden (1969) explores the relationship between order and chance, between system and intuition. The Rotterdam-based artist has a keen eye for rhythm and structure. Although he always works from a plan and with tight rules, the final result remains unpredictable.
With his self-imposed rules, Rooden seeks rhythms and patterns that are both systematic and surprising. The possibilities and limitations of the loom and the colours of available yarns are a constant source of inspiration. He likes to work in series to explore the effects of variations. When translating a design into a woven work, his rules sometimes have to be stretched. It is precisely there, in the space between system and deviation, that unexpected and intriguing results emerge. His intuition for colour and composition ultimately determines the direction and balance of the finished work.
In his hand-woven tapestries, Rooden questions the flat surface with geometrically abstract compositions. The optical effect results not only from colour and rhythm, but also from subtle differences in thread direction and incidence of light, which give the fabric depth and layering.
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Textile Festival 2026
With the exhibition Order and Intuition the Mondrian House joins the national Textile Festival 2026 which takes place from Wednesday 20 to Saturday 23 May 2026 in Amersfoort. The theme of the festival is ‘Inventing the Future - Textiles as inspiration!’. There is a city-wide programme with the Joriskerk on the Hof as the central festival location.
As part of the textile festival, master classes led by Amersfoort artist Marijke Schurink will take place at the Mondrian House Museum.
Order and Intuition can be seen from 28 February to 28 June 2026