Room on the Roof presents Rutger de Vries and the installation SPECTRUM during Dutch Design Week from October 20thuntil October 28th.
SPECTRUM involves installations which consist of two fire extinguishers containing two – often complementary – colours of paint which are released at the top of a white background, allowing the paint to run freely down the canvas and merge together in a puddle beneath. De Vries’ roots in street art makes this particular project very interesting. Exhibiting his installations in a setting such as De Bijenkorf relates to the notion of occupying a public space which is characteristic of graffiti.
“To me it seemed like a big challenge to make my work function in the setting of a shopping environment. I believe that the boundary between applied and autonomous art in 2018 has faded. That’s why I think it’s a good statement from de Bijenkorf to show a work of art during Dutch Design Week next to all the design. Hopefully it can serve as inspiration.” – Rutger de Vries.
Rutger de Vries is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice is described as Post-Graffiti Art. His audacious body of work is based on autobiographical experiences as a graffiti writer and trained graphic designer. De Vries’ method of integrating elements of public space, such as everyday-life objects, into his installations is a reoccuring reference to his life as a street artist. By producing artwork mechanically through the use of self-built painting machines, the “tag”, not only becomes an allegory but is a way of questioning authorship and the role of today’s fine artist. “There always is something in-between me and my work – It is either a tool or a machine”, de Vries states.
Special thanks to Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten and mini galerie.
