Woody van Amen

Woody van Amen. The Best of presents key works from his decades-long oeuvre and traces the evolution of his work from the early 1960s, when he emerged as one of the pioneers of Pop Art in the Netherlands. From Pop Art paintings and assemblages to the iconic taxat motif, the exhibition shows how Van Amen repeatedly explores the boundaries of visual culture, technology, and spirituality. His playful, direct, and sharp visual language makes this artist relevant to this day.

Experiment

A remarkable work by Van Amen is Habanera (1961). The work, presented at the time as the longest painting in the world, is a painting on a thirteen-meter-long organ book. Over the holes that guide the music, Van Amen applied his own abstract, expressionistic score. Coarse splashes and brushstrokes betray the speed with which the artist tackled the leporello.

Pop art

Van Amen left for the United States in the early 1960s, where he came into contact with artists such as Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg. There, he encountered an art scene in which everyday objects, brand names, and images from consumer society took center stage. This influence is clearly visible in his early work. Van Amen used well-known brand names such as RVS, Philips, and Wrigley in paintings whose imagery appeared to be taken directly from the streetscape: neon letters, logos, and industrial forms.

Everyday objects

The exhibition presents a number of Van Amen's assemblages: combinations of elements from everyday objects that move and make sound or even freeze, such as his iconic Ice Machines. Also on display are the Vibro-objects: sculptures that vibrate by means of small motors or mechanical parts from discarded equipment. Inspired by the harsh side of American culture, the electric chair forms a compelling subject in Van Amen's work. He isolates the object, thereby making the chair a self-contained, sculptural image.

Symbolism

One of the most important developments in Van Amen's oeuvre is the use of symbols with an originally religious charge, which he discovered during his travels. Influences from Asia are visible in drawings of wayang puppets and other cultural motifs. For instance, the taxat is one of the best-known symbols in his oeuvre: a double cross that he found in the upholstery of a taxi in Singapore. The name coined by Van Amen refers to this discovery site. The symbol intrigued him so much that he had the three-dimensional form, consisting of thirteen cubes, mathematically recorded. The characteristic peak of the Swiss Matterhorn also recurs regularly in his work, as do Nepalese prayer flags.

Cooperation

The exhibition is a collaboration between Kunsthal Rotterdam, Woody van Amen, and initiated by the founder of EENWERK, Julius Vermeulen, and guest curator Irma Boom.