Remco Torenbosch
20 Mar - 25 Apr 2014
REMCO TORENBOSCH
The Story Behind l European contextualisation l
March 20 through April 25, 2014
NoguerasBlanchard is delighted to present European Contextualisation a project by Dutch artist Remco Torenbosch (1982, Assen) part of the exhibition cycle 'The Story Behind', curated by Direlia Lazo.
Working across a range of media including installation, collage, sculpture and performance, Torenbosch explores social conditions surrounding forms of economic production and distribution. The research that underlies his practice explores, with a historicist outlook the politics of economic relations that exist in contemporary society, while their formalization refers to the austere minimalist aesthetic stripped of all cognitive references.
European contextualisation is part of an ongoing investigation into the history and production of the blue flag of the European Union designed by Arsène Heitz and Paul Lèvy in 1955. The presentation shows a collection of textile fabrics made in the European blue color code by the still existing weaving mills in the European Union. Although the color code for the EU flags is mandated, because of the differing production processes in each country and at each mil, it can still vary, resulting in a wide diversity of blue tints, as seen in this collection. According to Torenbosch, these interpretations are a striking metaphor for the more recent European situation: “The idea of Europe is not a collective concept, and it certainly can not be defined. Each member country has different ideas about its meaning... The color differences reflect the diversity in expectations and visions.”
In his text 'The Blue Curtain' Mihnea Mircan draws attention to the dichotomy of symbolic spaces where these flags are produced and displayed: “Of imprecise size and color, it flutters somewhere between the low-wage places where it is manufactured and the ceremonial occasions where distinct ideas of Europe, that its distinct hues of blue might be correlates for, temporarily forget what differentiates them in order to respond to some fresh crisis”. The research behind the project also reveals the recent challenges faced by the textile sector in Europe, which has undergone significant changes to keep abreast of competition in the global market.
European Contextualisation is the first solo presentation of Torenbosch in Spain and is part of a much larger project recently nominated for the 2013 Prix de Rome and exhibited in Holland deAppel art center in Amsterdam.
Remco Torenbosch lives and works in The Netherlands.
Recent individual exhibitions include: EUROPA, GAMeC – Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art Bergamo, IT (2002); Between Act and Protest (...), IK Paviljoen Oost-Souburg, NL (2011); Fault, De Kabinetten van de Vleeshal Middelburg, NL (2010). A selection of his performance include: Walking Manifesto, Lonno, IT (2012); Mandeville Reading, W139 Amsterdam in collaboration with Casco Utrecht, NL (2011); An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes (...), Stroom Den Haag, NL (2011); Non-Value Added Activities, Noord Nederlandse Dans (NND) Groningen, NL (2011) and Financial Times, De Vleeshal Middelburg, NL (2010). Group exhibitions include: Blue Times, Kunsthalle Wien, Viena, AT (2014); Threads, Mmka, Arnhem, NL (2014); include/exclude, Castrum Peregrini, Ámsterdam, NL (2014); Prospects & Concepts, Mondriaan Fund, Rotterdam, NL (2014); Prix de Rome 2013, de Appel arts centre, Ámsterdam, NL (2013); Radio Calling, Tent Rotterdam, NL junto con Camden Arts Centre, Londres, UK (2013); Against Interpretation, San Serriffe, Ámsterdam, NL (2013).
The Story Behind l European contextualisation l
March 20 through April 25, 2014
NoguerasBlanchard is delighted to present European Contextualisation a project by Dutch artist Remco Torenbosch (1982, Assen) part of the exhibition cycle 'The Story Behind', curated by Direlia Lazo.
Working across a range of media including installation, collage, sculpture and performance, Torenbosch explores social conditions surrounding forms of economic production and distribution. The research that underlies his practice explores, with a historicist outlook the politics of economic relations that exist in contemporary society, while their formalization refers to the austere minimalist aesthetic stripped of all cognitive references.
European contextualisation is part of an ongoing investigation into the history and production of the blue flag of the European Union designed by Arsène Heitz and Paul Lèvy in 1955. The presentation shows a collection of textile fabrics made in the European blue color code by the still existing weaving mills in the European Union. Although the color code for the EU flags is mandated, because of the differing production processes in each country and at each mil, it can still vary, resulting in a wide diversity of blue tints, as seen in this collection. According to Torenbosch, these interpretations are a striking metaphor for the more recent European situation: “The idea of Europe is not a collective concept, and it certainly can not be defined. Each member country has different ideas about its meaning... The color differences reflect the diversity in expectations and visions.”
In his text 'The Blue Curtain' Mihnea Mircan draws attention to the dichotomy of symbolic spaces where these flags are produced and displayed: “Of imprecise size and color, it flutters somewhere between the low-wage places where it is manufactured and the ceremonial occasions where distinct ideas of Europe, that its distinct hues of blue might be correlates for, temporarily forget what differentiates them in order to respond to some fresh crisis”. The research behind the project also reveals the recent challenges faced by the textile sector in Europe, which has undergone significant changes to keep abreast of competition in the global market.
European Contextualisation is the first solo presentation of Torenbosch in Spain and is part of a much larger project recently nominated for the 2013 Prix de Rome and exhibited in Holland deAppel art center in Amsterdam.
Remco Torenbosch lives and works in The Netherlands.
Recent individual exhibitions include: EUROPA, GAMeC – Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art Bergamo, IT (2002); Between Act and Protest (...), IK Paviljoen Oost-Souburg, NL (2011); Fault, De Kabinetten van de Vleeshal Middelburg, NL (2010). A selection of his performance include: Walking Manifesto, Lonno, IT (2012); Mandeville Reading, W139 Amsterdam in collaboration with Casco Utrecht, NL (2011); An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes (...), Stroom Den Haag, NL (2011); Non-Value Added Activities, Noord Nederlandse Dans (NND) Groningen, NL (2011) and Financial Times, De Vleeshal Middelburg, NL (2010). Group exhibitions include: Blue Times, Kunsthalle Wien, Viena, AT (2014); Threads, Mmka, Arnhem, NL (2014); include/exclude, Castrum Peregrini, Ámsterdam, NL (2014); Prospects & Concepts, Mondriaan Fund, Rotterdam, NL (2014); Prix de Rome 2013, de Appel arts centre, Ámsterdam, NL (2013); Radio Calling, Tent Rotterdam, NL junto con Camden Arts Centre, Londres, UK (2013); Against Interpretation, San Serriffe, Ámsterdam, NL (2013).