There is no such thing as a copy. Everything is a translation of something else. *
The 18th century building ‘Paviljoen Welgelegen’, the seat of the King’s commissioner of the province of Noord-Holland in Haarlem, stages every three months a contemporary art exhibition under the name Dreef exposities, produced by a guest-curator. In the spring of 2022 HB Art Consultancy had the honour of making an exhibition.
The exhibition presented art inspired by the classical sculpture that is part of the fabric of the house. The original fragile led sculptures commissioned by Henri Hope in the 18th century in Rome with the sculptor Francesco Righetti are now part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. There they are prominently displayed in the central hall. In Haarlem they are not missed, though. The sculptures are replaced by bronze copies made in 2009.
This theme of copying classical art was the red threat in selecting artists for this project. However, the cycle of copying litterally was broken by the participating artists. Each in their own way they appropriate the classical idiom. On show were a selection of photographs, ceramics and sculpture.
Participating artists: Laurence Aëgerter, Ellen Boersma, Nicolas Dings, Carla van de Puttelaar and a Belgian/French designers collective consisting of Victor Ledure, Studio Joachim-Morineau, Marina Mankarios and Adèle Vivet.
* David Hockney in Spring cannot be cancelled, Martin Gayford, Thames&Hudson, 2020
