Woody van Amen and Hidde van Schie presented new and existing work in an exhibition that focused on the power of art to move people. Paintings of birds crying inconsolably, enthusiastically flashing light sculptures, magical taxat symbols and serene neon paintings paid tribute to art that aims to give a new, romantic impulse to the relationship between the work of art and the viewer.
Beyond irony and cynicism, the two artists create space for emotions and sentiment, as a self-reflective pursuit or desire for something that transcends banal reality.
Brought in nearly fifty years Woody van Amen (Eindhoven, 1936) produced a sensational and versatile oeuvre including painting, sculpture, installations and film. In the mid-sixties, Van Amen broke through as a leader of a major international art movement in the Netherlands at the exhibition 'Nieuwe Realisten' in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. Fresh from New York and working in a style in which he combined appealing icons from consumer society and popular visual culture, he became the representative of Dutch Pop Art in one fell swoop. From the seventies onwards, he travelled extensively in Asia and Indonesia. The way in which he has since then combined his interest in 'low culture' - from advertising to film to comic strips - with notions of identity and spirituality is groundbreaking.
Hidde van Schie (Rotterdam, 1978) makes music, writes texts, makes collages and installations, and is best known as a painter. He is also a versatile musician; on his album 'The Mirror & The Razorblade / Dusty Diamond Eyes' he sings and also plays guitar and organ. In Van Schie's work there is no difference between 'high' and 'low' art: both matter, 'as long as it touches you', as he says. His compositions of jungles and birds are smoothly painted, virtuoso in design, often referring to famous motifs in art. In his sculptures and collages he assembles all kinds of materials; whether they are magazine photos, texts or parts of musical instruments: a drum kit, speakers and guitars.
The exhibition was accompanied by a publication with texts by Noor Mertens, city curator of Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and published by Nai010.