Jeroen Jongeleen
04 Feb - 17 Mar 2012
JEROEN JONGELEEN
No Style
reflections of public statements on art..
4 February - 17 March, 2012
Upstream Gallery proudly presents “No Style, reflections of public statements on art..” a solo exhibition with new works of the Dutch artist Jeroen Jongeleen (Apeldoorn, 1967).
Jeroen Jongeleens’ work generally evolves in public space. He leaves traces in the urban landscape which he documents with photographs and films. He labors under the alias “influenza”, creating various icons, signs and texts as an anonymous signature. With his interventions he promotes the free use of urban public space and criticizes the way advertisements, architectural structures and signs regulate public behavior. He chooses to counterattack by bringing subversive forms of creativity into publicity.
In this exhibition Jongeleen brings the street within the walls of the ‘white cube’. The works, made of discarded Ikea cupboards on which short quotes are sprayed, criticize the regulated, engineered society in which we live.
The composition of the works shows that Jongeleen carefully selected and matched his material. The layout of the works and the colors of the cabinet doors are clearly inspired by the minimal compositions of Mondrian and De Stijl.
Also in his texts Jongeleen refers to icons of modern art, as demonstrated by the quote on one of the pieces: At least before we used to have real artists like Mondrian, Rietveld, Van Gogh etc.. Jongeleen finds many of his texts on Geen Stijl, a weblog that publicizes sharp opinionated pieces focused on news, actual events and politics. He selects opinions on contemporary art, spraying these quotes onto the sterile minimalistic surfaces of his artworks. The texts critically address the economic underpinnings of contemporary art, framing the latter as a complex system of patronage that forges its own exclusive habitus and undermines the freedom and creativity of art. Through this Jongeleen asks attention for the public ideas on art.
No Style
reflections of public statements on art..
4 February - 17 March, 2012
Upstream Gallery proudly presents “No Style, reflections of public statements on art..” a solo exhibition with new works of the Dutch artist Jeroen Jongeleen (Apeldoorn, 1967).
Jeroen Jongeleens’ work generally evolves in public space. He leaves traces in the urban landscape which he documents with photographs and films. He labors under the alias “influenza”, creating various icons, signs and texts as an anonymous signature. With his interventions he promotes the free use of urban public space and criticizes the way advertisements, architectural structures and signs regulate public behavior. He chooses to counterattack by bringing subversive forms of creativity into publicity.
In this exhibition Jongeleen brings the street within the walls of the ‘white cube’. The works, made of discarded Ikea cupboards on which short quotes are sprayed, criticize the regulated, engineered society in which we live.
The composition of the works shows that Jongeleen carefully selected and matched his material. The layout of the works and the colors of the cabinet doors are clearly inspired by the minimal compositions of Mondrian and De Stijl.
Also in his texts Jongeleen refers to icons of modern art, as demonstrated by the quote on one of the pieces: At least before we used to have real artists like Mondrian, Rietveld, Van Gogh etc.. Jongeleen finds many of his texts on Geen Stijl, a weblog that publicizes sharp opinionated pieces focused on news, actual events and politics. He selects opinions on contemporary art, spraying these quotes onto the sterile minimalistic surfaces of his artworks. The texts critically address the economic underpinnings of contemporary art, framing the latter as a complex system of patronage that forges its own exclusive habitus and undermines the freedom and creativity of art. Through this Jongeleen asks attention for the public ideas on art.