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In De Vensterbank, visual artist Jasper Hagenaar (b. 1977) is showing two paintings from his extensive oeuvre, in which several themes come together; the figure with spread arms and the vase. Simultaneously with The Window Bench, his work can also be seen in Mirror | Mirror at Kunsthal KAdE. For the exhibition in KAdE, Hagenaar made an anamorphosis: a painting with a distorted image that only looks realistic with the help of the mirror. In this, too, the figure with spread arms plays a leading role.
"The figure with open arms is a recurring theme within my work," Hagenaar says. "It's a pose with an awful lot of associations, including Vitruvius' man and the sun salutation. The theme also recurs in the works for Kunsthal KAdE, forming a nice reference to those works. The image of the man in front of the shot bearskin is taken from the very first work(s) I made within this theme. This was a small ink drawing at the Rijksakademie in 2004. Painting it on a vase, a theme that did not make its appearance in my work until much later, felt like it had come full circle."
Read the story Jantine Kremer wrote for De Vensterbank (Jantine also works at Kunsthal KAdE as a museum docent) following a conversation with the artist in his studio.
In the studio of Jasper Hagenaar. Photo: Jolanda Meulendijks
Jasper Hagenaar at Kunsthal KAdE
Commissioned by Kunsthal KAdE, Hagenaar created a work of anamorphosis that looks realistic only with the help of the mirror cylinder. At first glance, the work looks like a strange, distorted image, but with the use of a round mirror, this distortion is remedied and the original relationship is restored. This anamorphosis shows that the rules of perspective can be followed not only in straight lines, but also along curved forms, as long as the proportions remain the same.
"It has to do with painting, but it's mostly about looking," Hagenaar said. Because the version on paper he had made proved difficult to glue to the pedestal in the art hall, he recreated the complete painting directly on the pedestal.
New exhibition at Kunsthal KAdE
The exhibition Mirror | Mirror allows visitors to marvel at the versatility of the phenomenon of mirroring. With the mirror we are confronted daily. On social media we are constantly mirroring our identity. The present time demands (self)reflection more than ever. Using art-historical, narrative and scientific perspectives, visitors are invited to explore this reflection. The exhibition includes work by some thirty artists and designers from the Netherlands and abroad who relate to the phenomenon of mirrors in different ways.
The Window Bank in Amersfoort
De Vensterbank can be viewed seven days a week on the sidewalk of Bergstraat 32 in Amersfoort and is lit daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. De Vensterbank is a 10-minute walk from Kunsthal KAdE, and a 10-minute walk from Central Station.
For more information and background stories:
thewindowbank.com
