Ménage à trois: a fascinating trio exhibition

Annick Bettink, Dealer Relations Gallerease
Annick Bettink
Dealer Relations
42 Artikellen1 Obras com curadoria

Three galleries show three artists at three different locations for three weeks. That is briefly explained what Ménage à Trois is all about. The young galleries QLICK Gallery from Amsterdam, SinArts Gallery from The Hague and gallery with tsjalling: from Groningen, join hands in one for this special collaboration project. Each gallery has its own specialization; photography, Chinese art and drawings. A trio exhibition in which all three artist depict their own fascination of the human body.

 Ménage à trois, exhibition Joris van der Ploeg, Jans Muskee, Shen Wei

Breaking with the traditional gallery world status quo

 

Following the example of a project like Condo, in which London and New York galleries exchange their spaces; the galleries make a traveling exhibition. From mid-February, the exhibition will be presented in one of the three cities in succession for three weeks. Using each other's location and network, a new formula is created that breaks the status quo of the traditional gallery world and where the artists and galleries can reach a larger and more diverse audience.

 

Household of three

 

Literally translating to “household of three” the exhibition Ménage à trois showcases the work of the photographers Joris van der Ploeg (QLICK Gallery), Shen Wei (SinArts Gallery) and draftsman Jans Muskee (gallery with tsjalling). A trio exhibition in which all three artist depict their own fascination of the human body. The use of various media and the different interpretations of this subject provide an exciting combination, making the traveling exhibition an absolute must-see!

Joris van der Ploeg, Transcendence, Qlick Gallery, Ménage à trois
Joris van der Ploeg (1989), Transcendence 1, 2 and 3

 

 

The model in its purest form - Joris van der Ploeg

 

In the work of Joris van der Ploeg the 'standard' portrait has been brought to a new form; an almost exalted version where the human is fading and transcending. "I mainly photograph girls and young women because I find them so mysterious, fragile and at the same time very powerful." Van der Ploeg is looking for the pure and natural form of the model; this is the starting point of his work.

It has been a conscious choice to rid the image of as much context as possible. All models are naked, they are in an empty space and no use is made of make-up. Because the postures are not directed, classical and natural compositions are created. This leaves only the model in its purest form and you come to the essence that contributes to the mystique surrounding the image. The choice of the technique used reinforces this: the doubling created by this works slightly alienating and gives something elusive to the work.

 

Jan Muskee, Marcel and Eve, Menage a trois, gallery with tsjalling
Jan Muskee (1961), Marcel and Eve

 

Social inconveniences - Jans Muskee

 

Since the nineties Jans Muskee has made large drawings in which social inconveniences are the point of focus. He subjects such issues as male-female relationships, family relationships, friendship and suppressed sexual desires. The situations in which the persons find themselves are often quite ambiguous; disturbing and ordinary at the same time.

Muskee works with oil pastel and despite this unruly material tries to work as photorealistic as possible. With his virtuoso technique, Jans Muskee knows how to put the viewer on the wrong track; to create confusion between what is reality, and what is not.

Shen Wei, photography, Sinarts Gallery, Ménage a trois
Shen Wei (1977), Dan, Melissa and Arthur

 

Connections with everyone's own story - Shen Wei

 

Shen Wei’s intimate portraits in the Almost Naked series say as much about the emotions of the subjects as about the personal story of the artist. Born and raised in Shanghai, Shen often tells about his 'strict and conservative youth' with little room for self-development. These photographs reveal his story through the contrast with the apparent ease with which his American subjects reveal themselves, both physically and emotionally.

It is human to investigate our own identity by looking at others, and the photos in Almost Naked invite the viewer to investigate together with Shen the people portrayed and to make the connections with everyone's own story.

Ménage à trois: Joris van der Ploeg, Jan Muskee & Shen Wei

Opening February 23 – March 9 gallery with tsjalling Groningen
March 16 – March 31 SinArts Gallery The Hague
April 13 – April 29 Qlick Gallery Amsterdam

For more nude art or photography please have a look here at our latest online collection at Gallerease!

 


Written by Annick Bettink on 20 Feb 2018, 09:00 Categoria Art Exhibition
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