Galerie Mokum proudly presents the duo exhibition of Stijn Rietman and Mara van Laaren. For Van Laaren it is the first exhibition at Galerie Mokum where work has previously been shown with great success during various group exhibitions and fairs. Both artists will be present at the opening on March 24 to answer any questions and explain the different paintings.
About the artists:
Stijn Rietman
Stijn Rietman (Drachten, 1979) graduated in 2006 from the Art Academy Minerva in Groningen. There he had lessons from Matthijs Röling, among others. For his final exams he won the Dooyewaard Stipendium and then worked for six months in Blaricum. In 2015 he won the Gerrit van Houten Atelierprijs. In March 2016, the exhibition "Bittersweet" by Stijn Rietman was shown in the Drents Museum. The publication of the same name has been published for the exhibition, a publication by WBOOKS. The book is available at Galerie Mokum.
Stijn Rietman has made a new series for this exhibition. The paintings are apparently empty surfaces containing the subject as a minimum. Rietman explores the balance between matter and emptiness; it is about serenity versus disturbance (Sample work: "Wall") For this exhibition, in which "the wall" is a recurring subject, Rietman started working in series. On, on or in the wall, so much happens for him that one painting has not yet been set up or the following picture is already necessary. The wall with all its traces is a very interesting subject for Rietman and a source of inspiration. (Examples of works: "Measurement errors" and "Plug spot") For this series of "walls", Stijn first made a relief using: an acrylic paste that he later works on with oil paint in different layers. The wooden panel as a carrier has remained unchanged.
Mara van Laaren
Mara van Laaren (Amsterdam, 1977) graduated from the Wackers academy in Amsterdam in 2015 under the supervision of Sam Drukker. Van Laaren lives and works in Amsterdam. She finds her subjects in the interior of old Amsterdam buildings. During her graduation she worked in the abandoned Groote Museum of Artis for six months. Van Laaren, who had previously studied Architecture for a few years, measures everything in space, draws up floor plans and sketches, which she then processes into a perspective drawing. She uses this as the basis for several paintings of the same subject. The drawing often remains largely visible. In her paintings of often imposing, historical spaces, she searches for silence with her scantily painted tonal approach. The dazzling precision of perspective combined with the incident light makes her work mystical.
The exhibition of Stijn Rietman and Mara van Laaren can be seen at Galerie Mokum in Amsterdam from March 24 to April 22, 2018. The opening is on Saturday March 24 from 4 - 6 pm.
