Download - travel and residencies 2010
travels and residencies 2010 Hans van Weeren
Introduction.
The year 2010 started with travelling to South East Asia. In January I went to Bangkok, Thailand. From there I traveled on through to Bali, Indonesia, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and then all the way to Beijing, China, where I had a residency. This residency of two month was with the Red Gate
Gallery. I had been there twice before as an artist-in-residence, so I knew what to expect. But as they say in Asia: Same, Same, But Different. And so it is. There
are always new people, new things and new experiences. While my residency with the Ami Gallery in Hoi An, Vietnam was a first for this gallery, Red Gate has
many years of experience. In Hoi An I worked mostly on Vietnamese paper. This is a very delicate kind of paper that has to be treated correctly to get the best
results. While experimenting with this paper some fine artworks came to life. At the end of the month there was a nice exhibition in the Ami Gallery that was still
ongoing when I left Vietnam for Beijing. In Hoi An, I also started a video project that has continued in China and will be completed in Europe. In Beijing, I worked
on paintings, videos and photography. There was an exhibition of my works in Unit 1/Pickled Art Center in the famous 798 Art District.
Bali is a very small and interesting island
where you can find the most luxurious hotels
and resorts but also untouched little villages
without foreign influence.
After a trip along the island, I stayed in Ubud
and made some drawings in the Pranoto
Gallery. I also visited a couple of projects for
handicapped children. It was so good to see
how volunteers are working for the benefit
of these children.
Cambodia is a poor but wonderful country. It is
important to visit Angkor Wat while in Cambodia,
being one of the most famous temple complexes.
Afterwards I traveled across the country for three
weeks and gained a totally new perspective of this
wonderful country where the people are so friendly.
After all the tragedy of their history, they are still
smiling. Here, my focus was on special projects for the
children. I visited some villages where a Dutch
organization is doing all they can to give them a better
live. Water pumps are installed, schools are built and a
hospital is ready to operate. And all the volunteers
give their time and expertise for free! There are
childrens’ homes for those without parents or for those
so poor that they can’t feed their children. And so I
gave a lesson in this small school in this small village
in Cambodia.
In Vietnam, in Hoi An, I stayed for a residency
with the Ami Gallery. It was for one month and
the gallery has found a house with working space
within the city. It was quite nice when you can
bike everywhere. I decided to work traditionally
on the original Vietnamese “do” paper. This is all
handmade and I bought it in Ho Chi Min City.
Working in black and white with ink was a new
experience. After the opening of the show that I
had in the gallery, I also made some drawings
with views from the market. This was such a
lively experience, very difficult to catch in a
drawing. The results were really Vietnamese in
character, so they told me.
After the black and white I also
worked with some local bought
watercolors.
I had my name stamp made in
wood.
Ink drawings from Hoi An market on natural “do” paper
Beijing, with a great studio to live and work.
I also stayed a week in a downtown apartment
to see the old folks doing their tai-chi in the
morning and painting their calligraphy with
water on the streets. They also sing well-
known traditional songs.
Working on a found
mannequin. Cleaning (really
necessary), making angel wings,
(because the arms were missing)
and painting it gold. It was used
with the exhibition to attract
Chinese people who really love
to make photos of everything.
In Vietnam I had already started a video project:
I want you to be president. Everyone in the video is
telling the viewer that he or she wants you to be
president. I think that many people are capable of
becoming president, more then what everyone thinks:
president of a country, a football team or a hospital, it
doesn’t matter. I want people to start thinking about
their own qualities.
.
You start looking for someone to
make your frames and there is
always someone in the
neighborhood. You just order and
they will deliver to your studio.
There is one problem, you should
speak Chinese, but with hand and
body language you’ll manage
also. The same rule applies for
buying all your other materials.
And then you start working….
Unit 1/Pickled Art Center
is in the Beijing 798 Dashanzi Art
District. Hundreds of galleries, art
shops, cafeterias and some studios
are located in this old industrial
complex. The opening with a big
barbeque party was really well
attended.
And so there were parties, dinners, and fun and idea exchanges.
This is what makes a residency such a great experience, meeting
other artists, other disciplines, from around the world.
Hans van Weeren 1950 born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 1981 graduated from d’Witte Leli School of Art, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands Present lives and works in Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands and le Rialet, France Exhibitions: (solo) Pavillon Adélaïde, Burlats, France La Remise, Le Rialet, France Chambre de Commerce, Castres, France STAA gallery, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands Amcha gallery, Bennebroek, the Netherlands ING bank, Mijdrecht, the Netherlands Kunstgenootschap 't Reghthuys, Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands Gallery Blijvers, Hazerswoude Dorp, the Netherlands La Cave, Amsterdam, the Netherlands La Remise, Mazamet, France Gallery de Verleiding, Oudewater, the Netherlands Gallery RDH Kunstwerken, Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands Ami Gallery, Hoi An, Vietnam Unit1/Pickled Art Center, Beijing, China Exhibitions: (group) Staa gallery, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands Maison de Sidobre, Lacrouzette, France Portraits, Aussillon, France James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA Mixed Media, Print Gallery E.R., Kaunas, Lithuania 153 kinderkistjes, Roden, the Netherlands Salon des Artistes Indépendants du Tarn, Vénès, France Mixed Media, Gallery Kaire Desine, Vilnius, Lithuania Gallery des 30, Mazamet, France Gallery de Brugspin, Ter Aar, the Netherlands
STAA gallery, silkscreens, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands International Collage Exhibition, Vilnius, Lithuania Gallery Art Présent, Paris, France Salon d'Arts Plastiques, Graulhet, France Gallery Alizarine, Albi, France Salon d'automne d'Albi, Albi, France European Fine Arts Biennale, Brugge, Belgium Museum Fodor, Exhibition Amsterdam Artists, Amsterdam, the Netherlands La Cave, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Gallery Representation / work in stock: Gallery RDH Kunstwerken, Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands Atelier la Remise, le Rialet and Mazamet, France Gallery Lucas van Leyden, Boston, USA Ami Gallery, Hoi An, Vietnam Artist in Residency: 2008 Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China 2009 Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China 2010 Ami Gallery, Hoi An, Vietnam 2010 Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China Collections: Belgium, Germany, France, Romania, England, Egypt, Vietnam, China, USA and the Netherlands
Addresses
La Remise
81240 le Rialet, France
tel: 05 63 98 45 87
and
atelier la Remise
14, rue Victor Hugo
81200 Mazamet, France
copyrights 2010 - hans van weeren
Hans van Weeren
Stortenbekerstraat 49
2421 ET Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands
tel: 0172 575296
cell-phone: +31 6 1370 1616
Website: www.hans.vanweeren.com
E-mail: [email protected]