INTERIOR/ EXTERIOR. PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS BY ANDY GOLDSWORTHY (U.K.) AND CARO NIEDERER (SWI.)

08.11.2002 – 08.12.2002, Cultural Centre De Romaanse Poort, Leuven (B)

This was an exhibition I organised in Leuven, in a marvellous cultural centre located in a former chapel building. It was subsidised by the City of Leuven and Pro Helvetia and featured art by two artists, Andy Goldsworthy and Caro Niederer, more precisely documentary photography used to register (their own) works of art. The beautiful exhibition design was done by Catarina Adams and Barbara Grijspeert; all graphics were done by Martijn Vogelaers.

Goldsworthy’s works showed fragile creations in a natural environment made out of materials e found on the spot while Niederer photographed her own paintings, pictures or screen prints in the interiors of collectors. Both perform a kind of artistic investigation. Niederer examines the processes inherent to the art market; Goldsworthy on the other hand tries to fathom certain aspects of the location he works with and in. Both artists are not primarily nor exclusively photographers but they use the medium as a form of documentation of the interaction between space(s) and their art as well as of the so-called Nachleben of their respective works.

Goldsworthy once tried to explain the driving force behind his art by saying: “What I am trying to understand is the relationship between man and the land and it’s not achieved so quickly”. His oeuvre consists of objects crafted from chiefly natural materials, in an attempt to harmonise with Nature, the location at hand and the moment (of creation). Some works are permanent, sometimes even monumental ‘sculptures’. More often than not agricultural traditions of historical references are integrated. Other pieces consist of photographs showing ephemeral works. They are all a witness of the permanent search for understanding the way man interacts with nature, and vice versa.

Caro Niederer is fascinated by the way her works are placed in different contexts, be it as objects in a gallery, as pictures on postcards,as prints in a catalogue (possibly without a covering essay), or in the collection of an art buyer. Especially the sometimes vague division between the private and what is defined as ‘public’ is repeatedly the subject. Niederer considers these themes using a wild variety of techniques and media: painting, installations, tapestries, postcards and photography. Pieces often refer to memories of rather trivial aspects of her private life. Since 1994 she takes pictures of these works placed in the collections where they ended up, for instance private homes, office environments or offices. This way, they are brought back into the public art domain.