Collection Satellite #2: Bik Van der Pol: Mom, What Is Nature Really?
November 16, 2018–May 5, 2019
Two extraordinary exhibitions close the Kunstmuseen Krefeld’s program in 2018: Volker Döhne. Seeker and Finder as well as the Collection Satellite #2 Bik Van der Pol: Mom, What Is Nature Really?
Volker Döhne
Seeker and Finder
Cityscapes, landscape prospects and the repeated look at the commonplace that is only rarely if ever truly perceived despite being a normal part of the public space: These motifs have occupied the photographer and designer Volker Döhne (born 1953 in Remscheid) since 1976. One of Bernd Becher’s early students at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Döhne above all explores the Rhineland and Ruhr District of Germany with his camera. He proceeds with broad historical backgrounds in mind, finds traces of early industrialisation and seeks “quiet places,” the now almost completely vanished outdoor toilets that by 1976 were already only rare relicts of a past time and society. In the process, Döhne’s pictorial language remains objective and orderly. As is typical for the Becher School, his works are exemplified by their depth of focus and neutral lighting. In any case, he is a “Sucher” (literally seeker) as well as a finder—these two very different camera terms are employed in German and English, respectively, to designate the same technical device that photographers look through to compose the motifs they wish to capture.
This first large-scale retrospective Seeker and Finder presents 12 series encompassing circa 150 photographs taken between 1976 and 2018. In addition, circa 30 photographs of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Haus Lange and Haus Esters document the artist’s photographic dealings with 1920s modernism that has continuously occupied him since 1980. Döhne’s work as a graphic artist is displayed here for the first time with the help of an extensive selection of his artist’s books, catalogues, posters and exhibition invitations.
Partner for photography and media art: CANON
Curator: Dr. Sylvia Martin
Collection Satellite #2
Bik Van der Pol: Mom, What Is Nature Really?
Mom, what is nature really?—How should one best answer this seemingly harmless question? The exhibition by the Dutch artists Bik Van der Pol presents a selection of more than 70 works from the collection of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld that address such themes as the landscape in art, industrialisation, climate change and the disappearance of nature. Based on the Krefeld collection, Bik Van der Pol show what shaped the 20th century and still shapes the present. The title is taken from a review of the 1971 Haus-Rucker-Co exhibition in Haus Lange titled COVER. In the course of that show, Haus Lange was transformed into an artificial climate zone, already calling attention to the growing problem of environmental pollution and its consequences for mankind. Bik Van der Pol have realized a sound and wall piece that is based on exhibition reviews found by the artists in the museum’s archives. Katia Baudin, director of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld, is pleased about the collaboration with Bik Van der Pol: “Almost 95 years ago, the Dutch artist Johan Thorn Prikker was the first to produce a site-specific work at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum. By inviting Bik Van der Pol for Collection Satellite #2, we pick up this thread and again focus our attention on Dutch artists who with their site-specific works frequently promote a reflection on the role of art in society.”
The Collection Satellite is a new semi-annual interdisciplinary exhibition and project series of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld in which artists, designers, choreographers, writers etc. are invited to innovative exploration and occupation with the museum’s collection. It is aimed at inciting a new, dynamic dialogue between artists and the museum. The collection as the identificational heart of the museum serves as starting point and catalyst for new artistic projects.
Featuring works by: Bik van der Pol, Vito Acconci, Josef Albers, Mamma Andersson, Lothar Baumgarten, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Jan Dibbets, Andreas Gursky, Hans Haacke, Ulrich Rückriem, Michel Sauer, James Webb, Christopher Williams, etc.
Curator: Constanze Zawadzky
The Sparda-Bank West Foundation is the partner of the Collection Satellite series.
