UNLIMITED.NL #1

‘UNLIMITED.NL is the first of a series of exhibitions conceived to show the work of artists who live and work in the Netherlands. Usually, De Appel presents young art from abroad in an effort to inform the public of international developments. The idea for UNLIMITED.NL was born of the conviction that art in the Netherlands is flourishing once again. At biennials and other international forums there is more and more interest in the state of the fine arts in this country - reason enough for De Appel to put together an annual selection of works of art that testifies to the presence of a great deal of young talent here.UNLIMITED.NL does not limit itself to artists of Dutch birth and exhibits a broad range of media, from computer generated choreographies to highly figurative images. During the selection of these works (which was based solely on their expressive power and personal character), affinities, similarities and contrasts emerged of their own accord which then were intentionally given slightly more emphasis. UNLIMITED.NL has become an exhibition in which the physical goes hand-in-hand with the ephemeral instead of being contrasted against it, and sensual and mental perceptions are interwoven. The artists' choice of materials is based not on ideas about techniques or methods, but on an attitude. That attitude is best described as an attempt to seduce which is sometimes wrapped in sensuality and sometimes in pure irony. Whereas Yvonne Fontijne's abstract choreographies have been called 'computer dance without sweat', and Sjaak Langenberg's texts claim that he's eager to 'transfer to another body', the blank little figure by Fiona Tan stands at the centre of a reality in which she cannot participate. Longing and vulnerability also characterize the work of Arno Nollen, whose black-and-white video images evoke shudders, as Machiel van Soest does by means of the skin of his paintings. Paul de Reus speaks of 'a woman blushing like a lamp.' Pia Wergius allows a small rat to eat bit of food from the spaces between her teeth, and Arthur Elsenaar shows 4096 different expressions made by the human face. 'An alphabet of indispensable signs' is what Barbara Guldenaar calls the individual elements of her work, while Langenberg is interested in the 'tangible proofs of a secret language.' In UNLIMITED.NL it is mainly these kinds of qualifications - such as 'indispensable' or 'tangible' - that indicate the desire to choose another register.’ (Press release De Appel) Catalogue: UNLIMITED.NL, 1998. Yael Davids, Arthur Elsenaar & Remko Scha, Yvonne Fontijne, Barbara Guldenaar, Dianne Hagen, Ram Katzir, Fransje Killaars, Moshekwa Langa, Sjaak Langenberg, Arno Nollen, Elka Oudenampsen, Paul de Reus, Machiel van Soest, Fiona Tan, Pia Wergius. Dutch & English. Editors Edna van Duyn, Wineke Onstwedder. 32 pp., 14 b.w. Design: Stéphanie de Vilder. SOLD OUT