Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands will open the second edition of the Voorhout Monumental open-air exhibition on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague on Saturday afternoon, June 3 at 4:00 PM.
Princess Beatrix, patron of Pulchri Studio, will receive the first copy of the catalog of the exhibition with more than 20 monumental sculptures with which the exhibition will be opened.
Artist society Pulchri Studio is organizing the second edition of the sculpture exhibition Voorhout Monumental on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague. From 3 June to 20 August, there will be more than twenty monumental sculptures and installations by our own artist members and other sculptors in the middle of the bustling Museum Quarter of The Hague.
Monumental sculptures will be displayed outside on the shell path under the title ‘Voorhout Monumental 2023’ and various sculptures will be shown for the first time in an additional exhibition in the Kloosterkerk. In addition, paintings, sculptures and video works of a monumental character can be viewed in exhibitions in the building and the inner garden of Pulchri Studio.
The curators are sculptor Piet Warffemius and art collector Jan van Huizen, both members of Pulchri Studio. “It will be an exhibition that the city of The Hague can be proud of.”
Theme:
In 2021 the theme of the sculpture exhibition was freedom. In the midst of all kinds of restrictive measures due to the pandemic, the need for freedom could not be greater. For the 2023 edition, we reflect on the MC Escher and Louis Couperus year.
June 17, 2023 is the 125th birthday of MC Escher. The artist from Leeuwarden is known for his woodcuts, wood engravings and lithographs, in which he often played with mathematical principles. His engravings often depict impossible constructions, studies of infinity and interlocking geometric patterns (divisions of planes) that gradually change into completely different forms.
On July 16, 2023, it will be 100 years since the Hague writer Louis Couperus passed away at the age of 60. His work spans a wide variety of literary genres. He made his debut with poetry, but soon turned to psychological novels. He also wrote cultural fairy tales, historical novels, travel reports and columns. He is generally seen as one of the most important writers in the canon of Dutch literature.
Participating artists (location Lange Voorhout):
Armando, David Bade, Marieke Bolhuis, Sjoerd Buisman, Harmke Datema Chang, Michael Jacklin, Theo Jansen, André Kruysen, Joep van Lieshout, Lon Pennock, Zeger Reyers, Marisja Smit & Thijs Trompert (ATM Atmosphere), Brigitte Spiegeler, Elisabet Stienstra, Joost van den Toorn, Carel Visser, Andre Volten, Dré Wapenaar, Ronald A. Westerhuis.
Participating artists (location Kloosterkerk):
Hans van Bentem, Bob Bonies, Cor van Dijk, Guido Geelen, Heringa/Van Kalsbeek, Theo Jansen, Hieke Luik, Narges Mohammadi, Jan van Munster, Sarah Reinbold, Maria Roosen, Joost van den Toorn, Auke de Vries, Jan de Weerd .
Participating artists (location Pulchri Studio inner garden):
Coby Brinkers, Lon Buttstedt, Babette Degraeve, Theo ten Have, Judith Heinsohn, Ruben Koerhuis, Marina van der Kooi, Kim Kroes, Frans de Leef, Louis Niënhuis, Guido Sprenkels, Albert in ‘t Veld, Aat Increase, Vera Whistler.
Curatorial Statement:
Voorhout Monumental 2023 must become an outdoor exhibition of high-quality, creative and monumental images that together – in their diversity – form a whole and can also make a statement in themselves compared to the sometimes 600-year-old and historic buildings on the Lange Voorhout that look at the estimated 20 images.
The images must have expressiveness and an undeniable originality. The diversity of the exhibition should be reflected in the variety of materials, art forms, colors and designs. Monumental means, among other things, grand and impressive and the statues should be that too.
Grand and impressive does not only mean big, but also glorious, phenomenal and proud. The pride has to splash of the images because that is what the artists want. An image and a display that the city of The Hague can be proud of. Above all, the event must be accessible and be an ode to three-dimensional art, appealing to both occasional art viewers and art professionals.
