2020 autumn exhibitions

We invite you to experience our autumn exhibitions, on view starting September 20, 2020, in the galleries of our currently nameless institution at Witte de Withstraat 50 in Rotterdam, NL:

Usha Seejarim, a solo exhibition
Seejarim takes ordinary objects and recasts them into new form, structurally transforming their meaning and function. Working with clothes pegs, wooden brooms, irons, and serving trays in their multitudes, Seejarim creates a bodily form through accumulation and reassembly of materials. The object’s function is rendered useless and yet they are aesthetically attractive. This is the artist’s first exhibition in the Netherlands. The exhibition is curated by guest curator Tumelo Mosaka.

Christian Vinck, new work
Including nearly 200 new paintings, Vinck’s work explores, on the one hand, the unofficial history of aviation in Latin America, and, on the other, the national birds of Venezuela and Curaçao. Vinck is originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, neighboring the Dutch Antilles, where his family partly comes from. He recently moved to Spain, where he has been addressing the intersection of Dutch and Spanish colonial histories and heritage in his native region. This is the artist’s first exhibition in the Netherlands.

Kapwani Kiwanga, new work
Kapwani Kiwanga will show a new body of work and research, that examines the fragile distance between pharmakon (medicine) and poison, found in the trajectory of the transatlantic slave trade. The exhibition further considers the visibilities and invisibilities of violence, resistance, self-care, trauma, and how they can deconstruct but also inform anew, dominant historical narratives as well as our current reality. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the Netherlands. The exhibition is curated by guest curator iLiana Fokianaki.

Michael Stevenson, a solo exhibition
Known for large-scale art installations and ambitious sculptures, this Berlin-based artist sources materials drawn from journals and archives as well as manufacturing “boneyards” towards the creation of his work. For decades, he has especially focused on exploring the intersection of economics and theology, collaborating with scholars and engineers, as well as individuals whose oral histories have yet to be widely communicated. His exhibition presents works drawn from key projects over the past decade, here newly developed. It is co-presented with The KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, who will present an expanded version in 2021.

The exhibitions of Stevenson and Vinck are curated by Rosa de Graaf (Associate Curator) and Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy (Director). The exhibitions of Kiwanga and Seejarim are organized by Wendy van Slagmaat-Bos (Project Coordinator).

Michiel Huijben, new work
An exhibition and live performance that places our institution’s 19th-century architecture at its center. Huijben’s new work searches for traces of decision-making across the histories of the building’s use (it was originally a school) and wider city environment, as well as its place in debates around a so-called national style. Curated by Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy.

Rotterdam Cultural Histories #18: The 1980s art scene on the Witte de Withstraat
The 18th edition of the ongoing exhibition series Rotterdam Cultural Histories, co-organized with CBK – Tent, focuses on the emerging 1980s art scene in our street. This documentary exhibition presents materials, narratives, and photos of a handful of art galleries active during that decade. Curated by Wendy van Slagmaat-Bos.

A presentation with works by Jarmal Martis, Nelly Dos Reis, Enang Wattimena, and Tina Rahimy
In two projects, photographer Jarmal Martis together with story-teller Nelly Dos Reis, and film-maker Enang Wattimena, as well as political philosopher Tina Rahimy, are invited to capture and to reflect upon the relationship between the institution and Rotterdam’s inhabitants. The exhibition is curated by Jessy Koeiman.

A series of public programs are organized in conjunction with the exhibitions.

A press pack with images for all exhibitions and biographies for all participating artists can be downloaded here. For press requests or for further information, please contact Jeroen Lavèn via press [​at​] fkawdw.nl.