Bas Jan Ader

Exactly 50 years after his disappearance at sea, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is staging a comprehensive exhibition of the artist Bas Jan Ader (1942–75). Rich in references to “Netherlandish” art history, American conceptual art and the philosophical ideas of his time, Bas Jan Ader is a key figure for subsequent generations of artists, a so-called “artists’ artist”.

His work is at once melancholic and absurd, emotional and conceptual, simple and complex. Loss of control— depicted in motifs of falling and tumbling—becomes a conscious decision in his work. Failure becomes an inescapable experience. Throughout his life, Bas Jan Ader was in search of existential experiences, those that revealed hidden, mysterious and wondrous aspects of life, which he pursued at the risk of his body and ultimately his life.

As part of an artistic trilogy entitled In search of the miraculous, he set off on a single-handed crossing of the Atlantic in a tiny sailing boat in 1975 at the age of 33. However, he was never to reach his destination, Falmouth in Cornwall (GB). Months later, the sailing boat was found off the Irish coast—with no trace of Bas Jan Ader. What remained was a small, legendary oeuvre consisting of photographs, 16mm films, slides and room installations, which is presented here in a rare solo exhibition

Curated by Brigitte Kölle with assistance by Julia Kersting.

Supported by: Freunde der Kunsthalle e.V., Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in Germany, Rudolf Augstein Stiftung, Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media, Angelika and Jens Kellinghusen, Christine and Heinz Lehmann