Dutch artist Willem de Rooij’s works in linen and acrylic at Friedrich Petzel incorporate traditions from 70’s conceptualism, monochromatic painting, phenomenology, fiber art and glam rock. The Dutch artist’s show Crazy Repelled Firelight shows five hand woven linen ‘paintings’ the artist has made since 2007. The first piece, made in 2007 and originally exhibited in the 2009 Athens Biennale, Silver to Gold displays five panels made by combining linen fibers with subtly shifting tinted acrylic fibers. Read from left to right, the piece moves from silver to gold. The four new works were created on a 200 year old loom close to Potsdam Germany. Each piece in the exhibition relies on weaving linen fiber with tinted acrylic fiber that creates subtle shifts depending on the perception and placement of the viewer. The piece Back to Black (2011) incorporates the shift by modulating the black acrylic fibers from shiny to matte, creating a subtle shift in tonality; the piece Black to Brown (2011) by interweaving black and brown threads, Digot Lovers by interweaving silver and gold threads and Mechanize Her Jenny (2011) by interweaving ten pink shades of fiber with the linen. Each piece will shift in color depending on where the viewer is standing and how the light hits the work.
Willem de Rooij’s work deals with perception and collaboration. Each work is made with a collaborator, in this case the weaver Ulla Schunemann that uses pre-existing materials, the linen and acrylic threads. The collaboration continues with the viewer and the light surrounding the work. The viewer in a sense ‘finishes’ the work by where and how they stand with each piece. Slight changes will in effect ‘change’ the work’s coloring. By creating works of such limited chromatic width, de Rooij forces the viewer to respond to the slightest change in the visual experiences his work affords. De Rooij wants the work to have its meaning based in the woven material, not an external reference point. De Rooij is grounding the work, the viewer and time into one aesthetic experience. Unlike his previous work which relied upon social context and other artist’s pre-existing work, the work of Crazy Repelled Firelight present time unfolding with the passages of movement and soft changes in light and perception. De Rooij, through collaboration with his materials and the co-creators of his work, interweaves time, light and perception into a work of art.
Willem de Rooij 'Crazy Repelled Firelight' Friedrich Petzel Gallery
Installation View
Willem de Rooij
Silver to Gold
2007
Willem de Rooij 'Crazy Repelled Firelight' Friedrich Petzel Gallery
Installation View
Willem de Rooij 'Crazy Repelled Firelight' Friedrich Petzel Gallery
Installation View
The "Silver to Gold" have a great transitional quality. I would love to see some closeups of these works to get a feeling for the texture.
ReplyDeleteA very different style there, like Ian said I'd love to get up close and study these pieces.
ReplyDeletecanvas art prints