AUKE DE VRIES
After the Rain/Slow Speed Paradise
February 19 thru April 2, 2006
Location: Hogewal 1-9, The HagueStroom Den Haag
FAT
All You Can Eat
March 5 thru April 9, 2006
Location: Stroom annex, Toussaintkade 55, The Hague
Hogewal 1-9
2514 HA The Hague, The Netherlands
T 31-70 3658985
info@stroom.nl
www.stroom.nl
Opening hours: Wednesday thru Sunday 12-5 pm
AUKE DE VRIES
This month the sculptor Auke de Vries was presented with the Cultural Award 2005 of the city of The Hague. Auke de Vries received this prestigious award for his unique achievements as an artist and for his invaluable contribution to the image of The Hague as a city of culture. The award consists of a sculpture and prize money amounting to 25,000, Euros to be spent on the realization of an art project. This has resulted in the book Photo Archive Auke de Vries and the exhibition After the Rain/Slow Speed Paradise at Stroom Den Haag.
Auke de Vries is very well known for his sculptures in public space, both in The Netherlands and abroad. His exhibition at Stroom Den Haag, however, focuses on a less publicized aspect of his work, namely his ideas and projects in the field of landscape design and urban development. Auke de Vries presents two projects, one for Südraum Leipzig and one for Istanbul, by means of installations, sculptures, photographs and (wall) drawings. Thus he emphatically shows his engagement with specific situations within a sociohistorical context. In Istanbul he made a sculpture condemning the architectural gap between the slums and the plazas (After the Rain). For Sudraum Leipzig, in former East Germany, he developed plans for the revival of an area eroded by browncoal mining (Slow Speed Paradise). With these ideas Auke de Vries aims to inspire others to look as the landscape in a more creative way; the end result is not necessarily an autonomous piece of art.
FAT
More rather than less is the motto of the UK based architectural practice FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste), formed in 1995. Their work covers fine art, public art and all sorts of things in between. Their exhibition All You Can Eat features models of current and recent projects as well as more sculptural pieces exploring central issues concerning the practice.
FAT were recently presented with the prestigious British FX Award for their contribution to the Fiets&Stal project. Thirteen artists, designers and architects were invited to design guard houses for bicycle stations in The Hague. Fiets&Stal was initiated in 2000 by Stroom Den Haag, the City of The Hague and the foundation Biesieklette. The visually striking building, or Non-ument as FAT call it, was recently included in a new series of stamps dedicated to contemporary art, issued by Royal Dutch Mail.
Stroom Den Haag focuses on the urban environment from the viewpoint of visual arts, architecture, urban development and design.
Photo credits:
Auke de Vries, After the Rain
FAT, View of the Villa, Hoogvliet (WiMBY), scale model
