In honor of the 50th anniversary of Galerie Mokum in the Drents Museum, from 22 September 2013 to 19 January 2014, an exhibition of well-known figurative painters such as Matthijs Röling, Barend Blankert, Wout Muller and Henk Helmantel will be on display. In addition, work is shown by many other figurative artists with whom the gallery collaborates. During the opening of Figuration Now, Galerie Mokum 50 years on 21 September, the Sacha Tanja Medal will also be presented by Wim Pijbes, the director of the Rijksmuseum.
The exhibition
The exhibition Figuration Now, Galerie Mokum 50 years in the Contemporary Art department includes works that have been purchased from Galerie Mokum in the past ten years, supplemented by works from the collection of the Drents Museum. In addition, Rutger Brandt, owner of Galerie Mokum, has made a selection from work by artists who have been associated with the gallery in recent years. You can admire work by Dick Pieters, Piet Sebens, Arnout van Albada, Peter Hartwig, Qiangli Liang, Kenne Gregoire, Karel Buskes, Ellen de Groot and Douwe Elias, among others.
Publication
In honor of the 50th anniversary, a publication has been published under the title "Mokum 50". The book contains texts by Rutger Brandt (owner of Galerie Mokum), Emily Ansenk (director of the Kunsthal), Sanne ten Brink (senior curator of ING Art Management) and Annabelle Birnie (director of the Drents Museum) and is available in the Museumshop and the webshop of the Drents Museum.
Sacha Tanja Medal
Every year this medal of honor is awarded as an oeuvre prize, as an incentive prize for young talent and as this time, as a medal of merit. The namesake of the medal Sacha Tanja (1942-2004), former chief curator of the ING Collection, has spent years promoting and stimulating contemporary figurative art in the Netherlands. In 2005 the Sacha Tanja Penning was created in memory of her figurehead of Dutch figurative art. The medal will be awarded for the tenth consecutive time during the opening of the exhibition Figuration Now, Galerie Mokum for 50 years on 21 September. According to the jury, consisting of Wim Pijbes (Rijksmuseum), Emily Ansenk (Kunsthal) and Joop van Caldenborgh (Museum Voorlinden), the award this year goes to someone who, although not a visual artist himself, has made a particularly creditable contribution and promotion of figurative art in the Netherlands. The medal, made by sculptor Guus Hellegers, will be part of the exhibition.
