Curators Hendrik Driessen and Rebecca Nelemans present artists, photograph by Fred Sonnega.
Press release 18th November 2022
In 2023, the monasteries of the Heilige Driehoek in Oosterhout, North Brabant, will play host to the third instalment of a contemporary art biennial of international standing. Continuing under a new moniker, the h3h biennial of 2023 will have Faith as its theme.
Curators Hendrik Driessen (former director of Museum De Pont Tilburg) and Rebecca Nelemans (independent curator) have invited 2 artists from the Netherlands and abroad to exhibit new and existing work, inspired by the unique location’s rich historical and spiritual traditions. The artists are: Ghada Amer, Maarten Baas, David Bade, Marwan Bassiouni, David Claerbout, Delphine Courtillot, Anne Geene, Lisette de Greeuw, Loek Grootjans, Elise ’t Hart, Frank Havermans, Laura Henno, Ann Veronica Janssens, Folkert de Jong, Alicja Kwade, Rudy Luijters, Rick van Meel, Paulien Oltheten, Kathrin Schlegel, Fiona Tan, Fran Van Coppenolle, Ine Vermee, Wessel Verrijt, and Dré Wapenaar.
The curators have also selected works by the late Piet den Blanken and JCJ Vanderheyden.
ARTIST SELECTION
The curators greatly value the artists’ ability to forge a bond between their work, a specific location on the monastery premises, and the theme of Faith. The symbiosis emerging from the work and the site played a deciding role in the artist selection. The pieces on display will vary from paintings, sculptures, (audio) installations, photography and video to monumental landscape interventions.
Here’s a short preview:
Love Grave by Ghada Amer
The Egyptian-American artist Ghada Amer (Cairo, 1935) will be showing the work Love Grave in the St. Catharinadal gardens in a reflection on the essence of life. It was made by carving out the letters of the word “LOVE” in a meadow and digging to the depth of a grave. In uniting the word love with death, she highlights the connections between Eros and Thanatos, between fullness and emptiness, between mortality and life eternal. The work also alludes to the end of relationships, both between individuals and peoples.
Ghada Amer, Love Grave, 2020, Anderson Ranch. Credits Ian Edquist.
NEW PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARWAN BASSIOUNI
In the cloister of St. Paulus Abbey, Bassiouni (Morges, Switzerland 1985) will show eight new photographic works from a series titled New Western Views. With the photos depicting a mosque window looking out over an urban setting or a landscape shaped by human intervention, the artist draws a connection not only between the house of worship and its surroundings, but also between two worlds that can sometimes collide.
Marwan Bassiouni, New Swiss Views #01.
Satellite by Rick van Meel
The Juno Scale Model, a lifesize sculpture of a satellite, symbolises our desire to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos, enabling us to better understand our own world. Initially made by Rick van Meel (Breda,1985) for the final DordtYart exhibition, the sculpture will be revived and prepared for outdoor display.
Rick van Meel, Juno Scale Model 1:1, 2019, credits Dick van der Zande.
Outdoor work by Wessel Verrijt
On a field behind the St. Paulus Abbey, a large work by young Eindhoven artist Wessel Verrijt (1992) will arise. His sculptures evoke processions and rituals, but also elicit association with the huge, theatrical parades held in Belgium and the southern Netherlands. The curators have asked Verrijt, who mostly exhibits at indoor sites, to create a sculpture suitable for outdoor display this time. To this end, he’ll research durable materials during an EKWC residency.
ABOUT THE THEME OF FAITH
The original meaning of “faith” goes back to the notions of trust and conviction, and is intricately connected with passion and compassion. We’re living in an age where multiple “truths” exist side by side, as free journalism and democratic principles increasingly enter the line of fire. This casts concepts like faith, hope and love in a new, broader perspective. Faith helps us find meaning in life and come to terms with its inevitable end. Faith is about the sensation it evokes, about being touched by the realisation of something deeper, or simply about bliss. The curators’ intention for this exhibition is to present various aspects of this experience and desire for meaning.