Faiza, 2020 © Robin de Puy Courtesy of The Ravestijn Gallery
In a unique group exhibit being shown in conjunction with Art Rotterdam 2021, The Ravestijn Gallery is displaying the works of three photographers, two Dutch and one South African. All three are vastly different from each other. Indeed, one of the few similarities between the three is their use of a lens to construct their art, yet together they represent the wide diversity of style and method in the world of photography.
Featuring recent work from Dutch portrait photographer Robin de Puy, the playful and deceptive collagist Ruth van Beek, and the multi-disciplinary South African Nico Krijno, the exhibit is an exciting testimony to the constantly evolving ways in which artists create images.
Installation Image Courtesy of The Ravestijn Gallery
In the case of Robin de Puy’s deeply personal portraits, the evolution is more subtle. Focusing on a variety of subjects ranging from the internationally recognized like conservator Jane Goodall, to unknown subjects such as the protesting woman in Faiza, de Puy’s photographs clearly adapt to the subject. Constantly tinkering with frame, light, color, and pose, de Puy’s portraits show an artist striving to tell us something personal in every photograph. Whether the subject is famous or unknown, de Puy seems determined to capture the unique context and emotion of each person she photographs.
Ruth Van Beek, EVERBEARING VARIETIES, 2020. Fine art inkjet-print 88 x 100 cm / image: 80 x 92 cm / Edition of 8 plus 1 artist's proof. Courtesy of The Ravestijn Gallery
Fellow Dutch artist Ruth van Beek’s work on the other hand discards human subjects entirely. Her collages focus on inanimate objects, the identities of which she warps by creating her own gouache painted paper replicas which become sublime collages when photographed. Her work challenges the traditional conception of what a college should be, by creating multi-dimensional works using nothing more than a combination of found and crafted pieces of paper, light, and shadow. Soft, subtle, and creative, van Beeks will have you enjoying every second you spend figuring out her visual puzzles.
Lockdown Collage #108, 2020 © Nico Krijno Courtesy of The Ravestijn Gallery
Even further situated within the realm of abstraction, Nico Krijno’s work truly blurs the lines between photography, performance, and sculpture. Reading like visual barcodes, his collages are complex and seem to offer boundless interpretation to those who endeavor to decode them. Originating from his collection Lockdown Collages, the photographs on display are composed of hundreds of encyclopedic images taken by the South African photographer during the pandemic. Sliced horizontally and stacked vertically, fragmented images of household items and ephemera are reconstructed into fascinating visual sculptures, totem poles of fragmented images that seem both real and imaginary, yet rarely complete.
The Ravestijn Gallery’s exhibit for Art Rotterdam 2021 is on display online here.
