Iris van Dongen - Kimberly Clark
dal 22/11/2011 al 19/1/2012
Segnalato da
22/11/2011
Iris van Dongen - Kimberly Clark
Luis Adelantado Valencia, Valencia
On this occasion, together with van Dongen's large format drawings, the artist presents a series of small sketch drawings. At the same time on view the work by Kimberly Clark, group founded by the artist, where she develops a more perfomatic and sculptural side of her work.
From the innocent face of a young woman to abstraction and from abstraction to eternity.
Different dimensions of time through which Iris van Dongen slides the portrayed women in her
recent works.
Well known for her pastel portraits, Iris van Dongen (1975 Tilburg, Netherland) achieves
joining reality with elements of a transitory character –the expression of apathy, the captured
vitality, wrapped in white sheets, trying to make time stand still and beyond that, to remove it
completely. We see women who seem to hide behind curtains, absorbed in their worlds. Van
Dongen takes us on a never ending journey through time, never alone but always accompanied
by the flowering of youth.
In her technique we find glimpses of a renaissance style, through the use of warm and golden
colors, characterized by painters as Raphael and Da Vinci, she creates a link to a time known
for its humanist aspect and for its craving for immortality.
On this occasion, her first solo show in Spain, together with her large format drawings where
color and light are distinctive elements of her work, we also find a series of small sketch
drawings (10x5 cm), which are fundamental to the understanding of her creative process and at
the same time define her personal ideology.
The working project of van Dongen is expanded beyond the pictorial drawings when she in
2005 founds the artist group “Kimberly Clark” where she develops a more perfomatic and
sculptural side of her work. The group, consisting of Iris Van Dongen, Eveline van de Griend
and Ellemieke Schoenmaker, generates their projects from street performances which
characterize not only the role of young women today, but also the clichés she carries.
Focusing
on their appearance, they show themselves wearing flashy clothes from luxury designers,
drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or listening to rock music, portraying powerful women who
personalize the stereotypes and clichés of the eternal teenager or a unique blend between
femme fatale and "bad girl ". Ultimately, performances of a narcissistic lifestyle outside the rules
of society, supported by elements of youth consumption, fashion, drugs, or the pure pleasure of
provocation.
Despite her age, the artistic career of Iris Van Dongen is noted for its international scope and
rigor, developing a constantly changing style, always taking into account the current
circumstances of a generation driven by the role of young, beautiful and mysterious women.
After studying at the "Academie voor Kunst" in Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, the artist won
two scholarships for successive residencies at "Kunstlerhaus Bethanien" in Berlin. Among the
many group exhibitions both in galleries and museums we highlight: the Berlin National
Museum, the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, Stedelik Museum of Amsterdam, The CGAC in
Spain, The Flag Art Foundation in New York, La Biennale Tinara, White Box in New York ...
Individual projects include: The center of the Netherlands De Hallen, Diana Stigner Gallery in
Amsterdam, the Stedelik Museum, Gallery and Cargnel Bugada French, Greek gallery The
Breeders well as in the Salon Gallery 94, New York among others.
Image: Kimberly Clark
Opening: 23 november 20-22
Luis Adelantado Valencia
calle Bonaire 6 - Valencia
Hours: Moon-sat 10-14 e 16.30-20.30
Free admission