Under the skin – Levi van Veluw
Under the skin
Sculpturen van stof en mensenhaar die het midden houden tussen iets menselijks en dierlijks. Zwanenvleugels die, verwijzend naar Icarus, staan voor de onmacht van de mens. Dekens, verwrongen tot grote skeletten: de expositie ‘Under the skin’ gaat over kwetsbaarheid, over leven, pijn en bescherming. In deze tentoonstelling zijn sculpturen, installaties en films te zien van kunstenaars uit verschillende landen. De onderwerpen zitten ons dicht op de huid, evenals het gebruikte materiaal: stof.
Stof is zacht, flexibel en tactiel. Stof biedt warmte, bescherming, comfort. Textiel is een materiaal waar we ons dagelijks mee omhullen. In de beeldende kunst wordt het vaak gebruikt om te verwijzen naar het typisch ‘vrouwelijke’. Maar de associaties gaan tegenwoordig veel verder. Doordat het als medium zo dicht bij de mens staat, leent het zich voor het aan de orde stellen van levensproblematieken. Dreigende bivakmutsen, lieflijke bloemenjurken, ‘harnassen’ van afgedankte tapijten of met stof omwonden geweien: de werken in ‘Under the skin’ spelen in op gevoelens van aantrekken en afstoten.
In de groepstentoonstelling ‘Under the skin’ wordt werk van de volgende kunstenaars gepresenteerd: Karin Arink (NL), Madeleine Berkhemer (NL), Clarina Bezzola (V.S./CH), Sara Bomans (B), Célio Braga (BR/NL), Berlinde De Bruyckere (B), Birgit Dieker (D), Didier Faustino (Fr/PT), Esther de Groot (NL/SE), Rebecca Horn (D), Maartje Korstanje (NL), Tomoko Mukaiyama (JP/NL), Nick Knight (GB) / LucyandBart (NL/GB), Anne van de Pals (NL), Grayson Perry (GB), Alet Pilon (NL), Chrystl Rijkeboer (NL), Hinke Schreuders (NL), Marian Schoettle (V.S.), Misato Unno (JP/NL), Levi van Veluw (NL), Lie van der Werff (NL), Erwin Wurm (AT), Ray Zijlstra (NL).
ABOUT Levi van Veluw
Levi van Veluw was born in the city of Hoevelaken in 1985. He lives and works near Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Over the past 15 years, Van Veluw has produced a diverse and evolving oeuvre that is exhibited all around the world. He is known for installations, sculptures, drawings, and autobiographical films that draw from his childhood memories. From the depths of his memory, the artist unearths images that provoke universal emotions and question our human logic. Van Veluw plays with elements of order and chaos, posing to the viewer questions about our obsessive pursuit of control.
Van Veluw creates his works with extreme care and craftsmanship; his sculptures of clay and wood are made entirely by hand, giving them an authentic, coarse, and organic character. His intricately built-up charcoal drawings show great symmetry and harmony, whilst his remarkable use of light evokes a strong, meditative mood. The installations by Van Veluw offer intense and immersive experiences. In the past, he has built complete, though fictional cathedrals – amongst other dark and sensory spaces built of obscure forms and materials. Visitors that enter Van Veluw’s alternate realities become disassociated from their existing spatial interpretations. They experience a disruptive environment where both order and chaos live one amongst the other.
The work of Van Veluw has been exhibited internationally in leading museums and institutions worldwide, such as the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Bass Museum of Art, Miami; Ars Electronica, Linz; Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico City; Design Museum, London; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, and Marres House for Contemporary Culture, Maastricht, amongst others. His work is included in both public and private collections, such as the Borusan Collection, Istanbul; Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar; Museum MORE, Gorssel; the KPMG Art Collection, Amstelveen; the Ekard Collection, Wassenaar; the Lakeside Collection, Rotterdam, and Cobra to Contemporary/The Brown Family Collection.
Additionally, Van Veluw has worked on commissions for private clients. Within these commissions he has undertaken many collaborations. In 2012, Van Veluw worked alongside curator Marc Coetzee on the film “Family”, produced as part of the “Films4peace” project. In 2014, working alongside Hermès, Van Veluw created a life-sized site-specific installation for one of their main windows in Shanghai. Van Veluw has also participated in international film festivals, including Addis Foto Fest, Addis Ababa; Afrika Film festival, Leuven; Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Port of Spain, and West Midlands Human Rights Film Festival, Birmingham.
