Willem de Rooij

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Willem de Rooij (born 1969 in Beverwijk, Netherlands) is an artist and educator working in a variety of media, including film and installation. He investigates the production, contextualization and interpretation of images. Appropriations and collaborations are fundamental to De Rooij's artistic method and his projects have stimulated new research in art history and ethnography. [1]

Contents

Biography

Willem de Rooij studied art history at the University of Amsterdam (1989–1990), and art at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (1990–95) and at the Rijksakademie (1997–98), both in Amsterdam. [2] He worked in collaboration with Jeroen de Rijke (born 1970 in Brouwershaven, Netherlands, died in 2006) from 1994 to 2006, as De Rijke / De Rooij. [3] Major monographic exhibitions were mounted at K21 in Düsseldorf in 2007, and at the Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (MAMbo) in 2008, [4] and they represented the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale in 2005.

De Rooij has taught and lectured extensively since 1998. He worked at De Ateliers in Amsterdam from 2002–2014, is Professor of Fine Arts at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main, since 2006, [5] and advisor at the Rijksakademie, Amsterdam, since 2015. [6]

Works

In 2004, De Rooij began to include works of other artists in his own artworks. For example, his film Mandarin Ducks (2005) [7] was shown at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 2005 within the context of objects and artworks from the museum's collection. [8] In 2007, De Rooij made two installations in which he included the work of artists Isa Genzken, Keren Cytter and designer Fong Leng: one at Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris named "The Floating Feather", [9] and one at Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Cologne named "Birds in a Park". [10] His 2009 installation "Birds" was shown at Cubitt Artists in London and included, among others, works by Dutch artist Vincent Vulsma.

In 2010, De Rooij showed an installation titled Intolerance at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, combining 18 works by Dutch animalier painter Melchior d'Hondecoeter with a selection of 18th-century Hawaiian featherwork. The three-fold publication includes the first substantial monograph on the work of d’Hondecoeter to date, and a catalogue raisonné of all capes, helmets and god-images that are part of the category known as Hawaiian featherwork written by Adrienne Kaeppler. [2]

A 2012 installation named Residual situates a 17th century painting by Jacob van Ruisdael in the location that it depicts: Bentheim Castle in the city of the same name. [11] [12]

De Rooij’s 2014 project Character is Fate consisted of a year long installation at FKAWDW in Rotterdam and a publication of a 1911 horoscope that Piet Mondrian had made for himself, before he emigrated from his native country the Netherlands. [13]

Proposal for the Memorialization of 'Asoziale' and 'Berufsverbrecher' (2018) aims to give the two groups that are underrepresented in German memorial culture a place in the memorial site at the former NS concentration camp in Dachau. [14]

Since 2002, De Rooij has been making a series of sculptures made of flowers, the Bouquets. [15]

Since 2010, De Rooij has been working on the first monographic publication on the life and work of the 18th century painter Dirk Valkenburg. [16]

Reception

Describing the work of De Rijke / De Rooij in an introduction to a portfolio of their work published in Artforum in 2008, art historian Pamela M. Lee states that the artists trace "the recursive economy of the image: its affective power, its capacity to seduce and organize perception, and its mediation of time and subjectivity." [17]

Speaking to Dieter Roelstraete in an interview published in the journal Afterall in 2010, De Rooij stated: "The very notion of 'representing', of 'imaging', is what my work is most deeply concerned with." [18]

Pondering the nature of De Rooij's oeuvre in a 2016 Artforum article, art historian Daniel Birnbaum wrote that his works "operate as (...) instances of abstraction that cut right through the textures of meaning that we tend to read into works of art" and that they "might exist as physical crystallizations, but their logic owes much to the tactics of film: framing, cutting, editing, and, above all, focus. The very concept of focus presupposes a dialectic between discreteness and contextual embeddedness: To focus is to draw attention to this by ignoring that. In the act of bringing an image into focus, the filmmaker prompts scrutiny of an object while also articulating the fact that the rest of the world is still out there, beyond the edge of the frame. This dialectic is key to De Rooij’s work, where the same meticulous care is given to display elements and framing devices as to the art itself." [19]

Exhibitions

Institutional solo exhibitions include Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden (2019); [20] Kunstwerke Berlin (2017); [21] IMA Brisbane (2017); [22] MMK Museum of Modern Art, Frankfurt/Main (2016); [23] Le Consortium, Dijon (2015); [24] The Jewish Museum, New York (2014); [25] Piktogram, Warsaw (2012); [26] Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2010); [27] MAMBo Bologna (2008); [28] K21, Düsseldorf (2007); Secession, Vienna (2005) [29] and Kunsthalle Zürich (2003). [30]

Group exhibitions include the John Hansard Gallery, Nottingham (2020); [31] BDL Museum, Mumbai (2019); [32] the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2018); [33] Jakarta Biennale (2017); [34] Limerick Biennial (2016); [35] Aishti Foundation, Beirut (2015); [36] 10th Shanghai Biennale (2014); [37] Raw Material Company, Dakar (2013); [38] BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels (2011); [39] Media City Seoul (2010); [40] 2nd Athens Biennale (2009) [41] and the Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles (2008). [42]

Collections

De Rooij’s works can be found in the collections of Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; MUMOK, Vienna; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; Centre Pompidou, Paris; MOCA, Los Angeles and MOMA, New York. [43]

Recognition

In 2000, De Rooij won the Bâloise Art Prize, [44] and he was nominated for the Hugo Boss Award in 2004 [45] and the Vincent Award in 2014. [46]

Other activities

De Rooij was a Robert Fulton Fellow at Harvard University in 2004, [47] a DAAD fellow in Berlin in 2006 [48] and a resident at the Goethe Institut in Salvador da Bahia in 2018. [49]

In 2016, De Rooij co-founded BPA// Berlin program for artists, [50] and became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, KNAW. [51]

Also in 2016, De Rooij was part of the selection committee that nominated Gabi Ngcobo as artistic director of Berlin Biennale in 2018. [52]

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References

  1. ↑ admin. "Willem de Rooij". The Film Study Center at Harvard University. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  2. 1 2 Willem de Rooij – Intolerance, Neue Nationalgalerie / New National Gallery, Berlin
  3. ↑ Kölnischer Kunstverein. Konzepte der Liebe/Concepts of Love. Exhibition Catalogue. Cologne: Walther König, 2008.
  4. ↑ MAMBo Bologna
  5. ↑ "Willem de Rooij – Städelschule". www.staedelschule.de. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  6. ↑ Rijksakademie, Advisors. "Advisors | Residency". Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  7. ↑ Rijke, Jeroen de; Rooij, Willem de (2005-06-12), Mandarin Ducks, Cas Enklaar, Anke van 't Hof, Runa Islam, retrieved 2018-01-26
  8. ↑ De Rijke / De Rooij – Mandarin Ducks (Dutch Pavilion Biennale 2005)
  9. ↑ Galerie Chantal Crousel
  10. ↑ Galerie Daniel Buchholz
  11. ↑ Lütticken, Sven (2012). "Willem de Rooij – Residual". Sven Lütticken. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  12. ↑ "kunstwegen | Künstler, Willem de Rooij, Bad Bentheim". www.kunstwegen.org. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  13. ↑ "Witte de With Centre of Contemporary Art: Character is Fate".
  14. ↑ "Tell me about yesterday tomorrow: Willem de Rooij". yesterdaytomorrow.nsdoku.de. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  15. ↑ Adrichem, Jan van (2011). Willem de Rooij. The Bouquets (2002–2010). Rotterdam: In: Marente Bloemheuvel and Toos van Kooten (ed.): Windflower. Perceptions of Nature. pp. 177–190.
  16. ↑ Tropenmuseum (June 20, 2019). "The Subject(s) of Slavery: The Paintings of Dirk Valkenburg and Albert Eckhout as Sites of Remembrance". Research Center for Material Culture.
  17. ↑ Lee, Pamela M. "Jeroen de Rijke/Willem de Rooij: A Portfolio." Artforum, March 2008, p. 318
  18. ↑ Afterall • Online • Artists at Work: Willem de Rooij
  19. ↑ Birnbaum, Daniel (September 2016). "Floral Imperative: The Art of Willem de Rooij". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  20. ↑ "Kupferstich-Kabinett: De Rijke/de Rooij". kupferstich-kabinett.skd.museum. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  21. ↑ "Willem de Rooij – Whiteout". KW Institute for Contemporary Art. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  22. ↑ Brisbane, Institute of Modern Art. "Willem de Rooij". Institute of Modern Art. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  23. ↑ "Willem de Rooij – Entitled". www.mmk.art. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  24. ↑ "Willem de Rooij – The Impassioned No". Le Consortium.
  25. ↑ Museum, The Jewish (2017-03-15). "In Conversation: Willem de Rooij". Medium. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  26. ↑ "Willem de Rooij, Gript Amok, Warsaw, Poland". Galerie Chantal Crousel. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  27. ↑ "Willem de Rooij – Intolerance, Neue Nationalgalerie / New National Gallery, Berlin". www.intolerance-berlin.de. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  28. ↑ "Jeroen De Rijke/Willem De Rooij – Mambo". www.mambo-bologna.org. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  29. ↑ "Christopher Williams & de Rijke / de Rooij « secession". www.secession.at. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  30. ↑ "Jeroen de Rijke / Willem de Rooij | Kunsthalle Zürich". kunsthallezurich.ch. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  31. ↑ "John Hansard Gallery | What's on | Many voices, all of them loved". John Hansard Gallery. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  32. ↑ "DR. BHAU DAJI LAD MUMBAI CITY MUSEUM – Shoonya Ghar". www.bdlmuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  33. ↑ "Stories of Almost Everyone | Hammer Museum". hammer.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  34. ↑ "JIWA: Jakarta Biennale 2017". Biennial Foundation. 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  35. ↑ "Willem de Rooij". EVA International. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  36. ↑ "Willem de Rooij – Artists – Regen Projects". www.regenprojects.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  37. ↑ "Power Station of Art". www.powerstationofart.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  38. ↑ "HOLLANDAISE". www.rawmaterialcompany.org. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  39. ↑ ""The Crooked Path" at BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  40. ↑ "A Report from Trust: Media City Seoul 2010". Rhizome. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  41. ↑ "The 2nd Athens Biennale 2009 HEAVEN is conceived as a multifaceted contemporary art festival that extends along the coastline of Athens, in the central areas of Palaio Faliro and Kallithea". Biennial Foundation. 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  42. ↑ Store, Japanese American National Museum. "Living Flowers – Ikebana and Contemporary Art". Japanese American National Museum Store. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  43. ↑ "Willem de Rooij". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  44. ↑ "Baloise Art Prize". art.baloise.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  45. ↑ "Hugo Boss Award 2004, official press release" (PDF).
  46. ↑ "Gemeentemuseum Den Haag: The Vincent Award 2014". www.gem-online.nl. 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  47. ↑ "Harvard Film Study Center Alumni". The Film Study Center at Harvard University. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  48. ↑ "Berliner Künstlerprogramm". www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  49. ↑ "Willem de Rooij – 20/08 – 12/10/2018 – Goethe-Institut Brasilien". www.goethe.de. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  50. ↑ "BPA // Berlin program for artists | BPA facilitates exchange between emerging and experienced Berlin-based artists, through coordinated studio visits and meetings". berlinprogramforartists.org. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  51. ↑ "Rooij, Dhr. W. de (Willem) — KNAW". www.knaw.nl. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  52. ↑ Gabi Ngcobo Appointed as Curator of the 10th Berlin Biennale Berlin Biennale, press release of 28 November 2016.
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