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The Netherlands’ first, fully multi-sensory collection display
Delinking and Relinking: the major collection display that can be seen, touched, heard and smelled
On Saturday 18 September, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven will open a comprehensive new collection display featuring 120 pieces of art and spanning all five floors of the museum’s collection wing. Delinking and Relinking in the Van Abbemuseum Collection invites visitors to experience art differently. Sometimes in the literal sense, by touching, smelling or listening to it; other times metaphorically, by giving expression to different, lesser known or previously unheard voices. Mostly inspiring and occasionally confrontational, Delinking and Relinking reveals to visitors how artists from 1900 to the present day respond to different cultures and perspectives. It explores how they tackle the big questions of their era, and how their artworks relate directly to what they see, feel and experience happening around them.
With over 25 multi-sensory tools, including texts in Braille, scent interpretations, tactile drawings and soundscapes, Delinking and Relinking represents the first, fully multi-sensory collection display in the Netherlands. Besides enriching the museum experience for everyone, the exhibition is accessible to a wide audience, including visually or hearing-impaired visitors and wheelchair users. Delinking and Relinking is sponsored by the VriendenLoterij and runs until mid-2024. In February 2022, the exhibition will be expanded with, among others, a gallery dedicated to the work of Dutch artist René Daniëls.
Collection display layout
Since its founding in 1936, the Van Abbemuseum has taken an experimental approach to the questions it poses on the relationship between art and society. Many of the 3,000 plus artworks in the museum's collection came into being on the fringes of society. Places of tension, where artists are compelled to examine and to create. Presented largely in chronological order and with an emphasis on the personal perspective, the art in Delinking and Relinking tells of unexpected encounters, associated ideas and ideals throughout the world, of differing positions within the same society and of what connects people. The exhibition consists of three main Chapters, each on a different floor. The basement level houses a prologue on the museum’s history and an epilogue with work by Lily van der Stokker - a nod to the privileges but particularly the burdens of being an artist.
European and non-European perspectives
Chapter 1, on the ground floor, displays pieces dating from the first half of the twentieth century: a period in which artists left, rediscovered and sometimes reinvented their homeland. Cuba’s Wifredo Lam and Spain’s Pablo Picasso, for example, met in Paris, where the Argentine Alicia Penalba studied under the Russian Ossip Zadkine. Together, they sought ways of giving expression to their feelings and ideas, yet these were informed by very diverse traditions and experiences. Such encounters show how views on art evolved through a dialogue between European and non-European perspectives. This chapter also includes works by Marc Chagall, Joan Miró and El Lissitzky.
Coexisting
Chapter 2, on the first floor, covers the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. These were decades during which Dutch society was reinventing itself against a backdrop of reconstruction, decolonisation and the Cold War. Among the display items is a video installation by Wendelien van Oldenborgh on a 1970 experimental housing project in Eindhoven by architect Frans van Klingeren. Van Klingeren designed the community building without any internal walls, meaning that the school, shop, library and café were all open plan. The idea was that this would lead to a better, more conscious communal existence. The video installation shows the history of this building, in which walls were gradually erected.
The world today and tomorrow
The third Chapter displays artworks dating from the 1990s to the present day. Racial inequality, climate change, gender and sexual identity lead the agenda. The artists in this Chapter share a fascination for life on our planet, and a longing to learn about what preceded it. These artists invite us to ponder the world of today and that of tomorrow. The Proud Rebels gallery, named after the work by Patricia Kaersenhout, makes quite an impression. This gallery is dedicated to the success of women who fight for their own and others’ emancipation. The pursuit of justice and a more equitable society are key themes in the works of Sanja Iveković, Gülsün Karamustafa, Marlene Dumas and Iris Kensmil. This Chapter also features many new acquisitions, including the video Dit Learn by Laure Prouvost, the film Toxic by Boudry / Lorenz and tapestry, The Captive: Here's A Heart For Every Fate by Prix de Rome-nominated artist, Mercedez Azpilicueta.
Differing perspectives
The exhibition was developed in collaboration with various experts in the field of physical accessibility. Also consulted were The Office of Queer Affairs and Wie Zijn Wij (Who Are We), two interest groups that have a long-standing working relationship with the museum to help introduce broader perspectives to the museum.
"Museums are places that collect the past and show it in the present. The main means to connect collections with people has been by telling stories to museum visitors. The intention is to liberate the objects and give them a value and importance for today. I believe this is the fundamental and unchanging task of every museum. What is changing now is the nature of the stories that are told and the people who voice them. It is no longer only the owners, curators and gatekeepers of the museum that own a museum’s narratives. In the participative society of the 21st century, people from different backgrounds and experiences demand the right to be heard." -Charles Esche, Van Abbemuseum Director
Five multi-media tours
Given the huge scope of Delinking and Relinking, visitors have the option of five different media tours to guide them through the exhibition. The Introduction Tour and Family Tour offer a general overview for both young and old. The Bodily Encounters Tour explores the potential benefit to our becoming more conscious in our bodies. The Love Letters Tour offers an insight into the love that exists between visitors and pieces of art. Can a visitor date an artwork? The Broader Story Tour explains how the foundation of the Van Abbemuseum was laid through tobacco plantations in colonial Indonesia, and how art and art institutions are rooted in the colonial past. Visitors can access the tours for free by downloading the Smartify app on their smartphone.
Short-term projects
Delinking and Relinking includes scope for shorter projects where artists whose work features in the museum collection are invited to reflect on the collection itself from their own standpoint or perspective. The first guests in this series are Marcel van den Berg (1978, Alphen aan de Rijn) and Erwin Thomasse (1972, Eindhoven). The two became acquainted through their involvement in the worlds of hip-hop and urban culture. They will be presenting new works in this small-scale exhibition.
Opening weekend
Delinking and Relinking will ceremoniously open to the public on the weekend of Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September. Saturday will kick off with a performance by two big names in Dutch hip-hop, dance duo, Roché Apinsa and Ruben Chi, better known as Ghetto Funk. Visitors will be treated to various other musical pop-up acts throughout the weekend.
Publication
A richly illustrated visitor's guide will be published in early 2022. With contributions by Wayne Modest, Barbara Strating, Charles Esche, Diana Franssen and Steven ten Thije. Dutch and English.
Delinking and Relinking exhibits work by
Karel Appel, Rasheed Araeen, Mercedes Azpilicueta, Gam Bodenhausen, Boudry / Lorenz, stanley brouwn, Jean Brusselmans, Marc Chagall, Chryssa, Céline Condorelli, Hanne Darboven, Yael Davids, Ad Dekkers, Marlene Dumas, Max Ernst, Lucio Fontana, Nilbar Güreş, Lubaina Himid, Isaac Israëls, Sanja Ivekovic, Patricia Kaersenhout, Gülsün Karamustafa, Karrabing Film Collective, Toon Kelder, Iris Kensmil, John Körmeling, Wifredo Lam, Fernand Léger, El Lissitzky, Lucebert, Joan Miró, László Moholy‑Nagy, Piet Mondriaan, Otobong Nkanga, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Rodan Omomá, Gabriel Orozsco, Pieter Ouborg, Alicia Penalba, Constant Permeke, Pablo Picasso, Wim van der Plas, Marjetica Potrc, Laure Prouvost, Michael Rakowitz, Gé Röling, Wilhelm Sasnal, Jan Schoonhoven, Lily van der Stokker, Ellie Strik, Koki Tanaka, Charley Toorop, Roy Villevoye, Henk Visch, Friedrich Vordemberge‑Gildewart, Ossip Zadkine and Qui Zhijie.
Colophon
Curators - Charles Esche, Diana Franssen en Steven ten Thije
Exhibition Architecture - Diogo Passarinho Studio, Berlin
Graphic Design - The Rodina, Amsterdam
With thanks to
NOTE FOR EDITORS
Invitation press preview
You are cordially invited to attend the preview of the exhibition on Monday 13 September at 2 p.m. Charles Esche, Diana Franssen and Steven ten Thije, curators of the exhibition, will provide a guided tour of the exhibition, followed by an opportunity to conduct interviews.
For futher information, interviews and HR-images please contact
Neeltje van Gool, Communicatie & Pers
T: +31 (0)40 238 1019 / M: +31 (0)6 1299 5794
E: pressoffice@vanabbemuseum.nl
Images (top to bottom, left to right): Foto's Boudewijn Bollmann | Pablo Picasso, Buste de Femme, 1943, collectie Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven. Foto: Peter Cox | Wifredo Lam, Le Marchand d'Oiseaux, 1962, collectie Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven. Foto: Peter Cox | Ossip Zadkine, Saint Sébastien, 1929, collectie Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven. Foto: Peter Cox | Marc Chagall, Hommage à Apollinaire, 1913, collectie Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven. Met steun van Vereniging Rembrandt. Foto: Peter Cox | Marlene Dumas, Models, 1994, collectie Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven. Foto: Peter Cox | Patricia Kaersenhout, Proud Rebels (Ernestine Comvalius), 2015, collectie Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven. Foto: Peter Cox | Mercedes Azpilicueta, The Captive: Here's a Heart for Everey Fate, 2019, collectie Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven. Met steun van de BankGiro Loterij. Foto: Peter Cox | Foto's Boudewijn Bollmann
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Visiting address
Stratumsedijk 2, Eindhoven
The Netherlands
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Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday 11am - 5pm.
The museum is closed on New Year’s Day, King's Day and Christmas Day.
Admission
€13 Adults
€ 6 Students, CJP card holders
Free Children aged up to 12, holders of a Museumkaart,
BankGiro Loterij VIP card & every Tuesday afternoon after 3pm.
Book tickets online
vanabbemuseum.nl/tickets
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Het Van Abbemuseum wordt onder andere ondersteund door / is supported by:
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