Paul Kooiker
dal 13/11/2006 al 10/2/2007
Segnalato da
13/11/2006
Paul Kooiker
Foam Photography Museum, Amsterdam
Photos and video. The artist's work reflects his fascination for perception. He focuses on the female form, which appears in his work in many different ways. His oeuvre is a continuation of the theme of the relationship between artist and model, viewer and viewed, object and subject.
Paradise Twenty-One
Paradise Twenty-One presents various series of photos and new video work made over
the last ten years by Dutch photographer Paul Kooiker. Kooiker's work reflects his
fascination for perception. He focuses on the female form, which appears in his work
in many different ways. His oeuvre is a contemporary continuation of a traditional
theme: the relationship between artist and model, viewer and viewed, object and
subject. You never feel at ease when viewing work by Paul Kooiker. Not that you turn
away, because the image is always compelling. You keep looking, despite that
disturbing feeling. Generally subtle, occasionally challenging.
Kooiker approaches each series as a project. Because he works with series, the
definitive value of each individual image is only apparent as part of the whole.
With his series of forty blurred photos of a stretch of woodland in which women
appear to be peeing in the open air, Kooiker won the 1996 Prix de Rome for
photography. This voyeuristic motif is a constant theme in his work and is explored
in a playful way in his 'Hunting and Fishing' series (1999): in a lush green
landscape we see blurred forms of naked women running away from us.
Sometimes a series may expresses erotic desire, associated with observation;
sometimes the emphasis is on the study of models posing in less than erotic
positions. As in the 'Model Studies 2001' and 'Showground 2004' series, in which the
setting is confined to Paul Kooiker's studio. The result may be beautiful,
disturbing, ironic or intriguing, but always personal.
Paul Kooiker (b. 1964, Rotterdam) graduated in 1992 at Amsterdam's Rijksacademie van
Beeldende Kunsten and has since exhibited work in numerous shows in Holland and
abroad. Kooiker has published several works, some of which are featured in this
exhibition. In addition to photography, Kooiker also teaches at Gerrit Rietveld
Academie in Amsterdam. He is currently represented by Galerie van Zoetendaal where
an exhibition of Kooiker's latest work opens in January 2007 on the theme of a
Residence in Xiamen, China.
Foam_Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam
Keizersgracht 609 - Amsterdam
Open daily from 10am to 5pm , thu/fri 10am to 9pm.