Generosity
Generosity
The exhibition ‘Generosity’ at Stroom Den Haag by the British artist Toby Paterson
(1974, Glasgow) features new works exclusively. Toby Paterson (winner of the Beck’s
Futures Award 2002) is generally viewed as one of today’s leading British artists.
He is fascinated by modernism in the art of painting, sculpture and architecture,
with special emphasis on its underlying ideology of the malleable society. In
preparation for the exhibition and upon invitation by Stroom, Paterson visited The
Hague for a number of times in 2006. During this intensive period of research and
analysis specific sources of inspiration for him were the post-war redevelopment
area of The Hague South West, the Black Madonna social housing block (designed by
Carel Weeber), and the building of the Ministry of Finance. All three are in the
midst of radical transformation.
For years Toby Paterson has explored the urban environment as an impassioned
skateboarder, thus gradually developing his special way of looking at architecture
and public space. In his work he usually focuses his attention on the often
dilapidated modernist architecture which is gradually disappearing from the urban
landscape as the result of subsequent planning and design developments. In his
paintings, works on Perspex, sculptures and photographs he represents these
architectural elements in such a tranquil, sophisticated and aesthetic manner that
their inner beauty is regained. Implicitly the lost ideals are weighed and made
visible again.
In 1995 Toby Paterson graduated with honours from the Glasgow School of Art. During
his studies he spent one year as an exchange student at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago (1993). In 2001 he designed a skateboardpark for the Royston
Road area in Glasgow. His work has been shown a.o. at the ICA in London; TATE St.
Ives; Tramway in Glasgow; the Barbican in London; the Henry Moore Foundation in
Leeds; Modern Institute Glasgow; and CCA (Center for Contemporary Arts) in Glasgow.
In 2005-2006 Paterson was part of the traveling exhibition ‘British Art Show 6’,
organized every five years by the Hayward Gallery. He is currently working on a
prestigious commission for the new headquarters of BBC Scotland in Glasgow.
The exhibition is made possible in part by: Mondriaan Foundation and Modern
Institute Glasgow.
Stroom Den Haag focuses on the urban environment from the viewpoint of visual arts,
architecture, urban development and design.
Stroom Den Haag
Hogewal 1-9 - The Hague
Opening hours: Wednesday thru Sunday 12-5 pm