Six blow-up artworks now on display in Museum Quarter during outdoor exhibition BlowUp Art The Hague
5 May 2023
Steve Messam's work, 'Crested', stands on top of the Museum Quarter car park exit. (Photo: Ronald Smits)
BlowUp Art The Hague: 5 May - 28 May 2023
The Hague - Big, colourful, creative and sometimes confrontational. Since today, the second edition of outdoor exhibition BlowUp Art The Hague has officially launched in the Museum Quarter with a total of six blow-up artworks. The installations were designed by international, contemporary artists, designers and architects.
After the success of the first edition of BlowUp Art The Hague in October last year, six new, temporary artworks can now be seen until 28 May in the area around the Binnenhof. Five can be found outdoors and the sixth hangs in the historic, covered shopping street De Passage. In addition, Studio Pulchri presents a small exhibition of the 'making-of' with sketches and models by BlowUp Art Den Haag (Lange Voorhout 15).
Yamuna Forzani – A big heart
In this facade on Schouwburgstraat, two old buildings push against the grey new building of Het Nationale Theater - Koninklijke Schouwburg. This surreal borderland is ideal for Yamuna Forzani, an Italian-English artist who connects opposites. 'The LGBTQIA+ community is the new utopia for globetrotters.' Embraced by + and -> symbols, Forzani's globe represents equality and optimism. Forzani studied Textile and Fashion at the KABK and is working on a successful international career from The Hague.
Yamuna Forzani's work, 'A big heart', stands atop the side façade of Het Nationale Theater - Koninklijke Schouwburg on Schouwburgstraat.
Steve Messam – Crested
Bigger than a house, light as a feather. The latter should be. Because Steve Messam's inflatable textile artworks are often used on monumental buildings all over the world. Playfulness is preceded by precision work. Once inflated, the impact is profound. The bright red dots move undulating in the wind and turn an everyday place into a joyful situation.
Steve Messam's work, 'Crested', stands atop the pedestrian entrance to the Museumkwartier car park on Tournooiveld.
Lambert Kamps – Submarine. To be or not to be
The world is full of cars and buildings that we only use for a small part of the day. There is also art that makes you think 'if only it wasn't there'. Space is too precious to use thoughtlessly, thinks designer and artist Lambert Kamps. His installation in the Hofvijver rises to the surface and sinks under the water again after a while. The art object plays with Shakespeare's old question: 'to be or not to be'.
Lambert Kamps' work, 'Submarine. To be or not to be' floats in the Hofvijver next to the Binnenhof.
Raw Color – Compressed Cylinders
'Compressed Cylinders' is a play of lanky tubes pumped up against the walls of an empty shop window. The space fills with colour. As they deflate, a new composition of cheerful shapes emerges. This installation was created by Raw Color from Eindhoven. Since 2007, designer duo Daniera ter Haar (NL) and Christoph Brach (D) have been developing a pure approach to colour that can take shape in graphic design, photography or products. Their work has been acquired by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the Textile Museum.
Raw Color's work, 'Compressed Cylinders', is on the shell path along Lange Vijverberg.
Paul Cournet – Solar Cloud
'Solar Cloud' floats like a huge cushion above the freestanding pavilion designed by the great master builder Berlage a hundred years ago. Paul Cournet's new intervention seems umbilically linked to this jewel of The Hague's architectural history.
Not surprisingly, Cournet had his eye on the Berlage Kiosk as the location for his BlowUp artwork on the Buitenhof. After studying architecture in Bordeaux and Paris, Cournet worked as a senior architect at Rem Koolhaas' renowned OMA in Rotterdam. In 2021, he started his own studio 'Cloud'.
Paul Cournet's work, 'Solar Cloud', hangs above the terrace of the Berlage Kiosk at Buitenhof.
Theo Botschuijver – Ode aan de Gloeilamp
It is never pitch black here. A century ago, electricity drove the darkness out of houses and streets for good. 'A bit of a shame that the light bulb has been forgotten,' says artist Theo Botschuijver. 'Energy-saving bulbs and LED, more economical of course, would never have come about without this incandescent icon.'
Botschuijver has been working in blow-up art since 1967. Music fans will recognise the giant blow-up pig from Pink Floyd's Animals from 1977. A large silver ball in which actor Sean Connery walked across the water in James Bond's Diamonds are Forever is also his work.
Theo Botschuijver's work, 'Ode to the Light Bulb', hangs in the dome of De Passage.
Lambert Kamps' work, 'Submarine. To be or not to be', floats in the Hofvijver next to the Binnenhof. (Photo: Ronald Smits)