Artists: Willem Hussem, Esther Tielemans, Jongsuk Yoon, Alejandra Venegas
Exhibition title: What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun
Venue: Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague, The Netherlands
Date: July 17 – September 5, 2021
Photography: Gert Jan van Rooij / copyright Willem Hussem, Esther Tielemans and Alejandra Venegas and courtesy by Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague; copyright Jongsuk Yoon by Galerie Nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna
Note: an accompanying essay by Joke de Wolf (chair of the Dutch section of AICA) is available here
‘What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun’ presents the work of Willem Hussem (1900-1974) alongside that of three female artists: the Dutch Esther Tielemans (1976), the Mexican Alejandra Venegas (1986) and the South Korean Jongsuk Yoon (1965).
Willem Hussem was active as a painter, sculptor and poet and is considered one of the most important abstract working Dutch artists after the Second World War. Since Dürst Britt & Mayhew took over the representation of Hussem’s estate two years ago, we have increasingly been placing his work in a contemporary context and in an international perspective. Hussem was always fascinated by Asian cultures and Pre-Columbian art and the influence of this is clearly perceptible in his work.
At the same time, Hussem is an artist who will today be referred to by some as the prototype of the “old white male artist”. With this exhibition, we want to show that such (dis)qualifications are irrelevant on a purely visual level; the similarities between the works of Hussem and the other artists – regardless of age, gender and cultural origin – can be called remarkable. All four painters attempt, in their own way, to capture nature and the landscape by means of abstract forms. It is furthermore interesting that each of the three female artists not only comes from a different continent, but is also in a different phase of her life.
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alejandra Venegas, Sunset #3, 2018, acrylic on paper, 28 × 21 cm
Alejandra Venegas, Sunset #1, 2018, acrylic on paper, 28 × 21 cm
Esther Tielemans, You never see the same sky twice 4, 2019, acrylic and epoxy on wood, 80 × 120 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Willem Hussem (1900-1974), Composition, 1971, oil on canvas, 100 × 150 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Jongsuk Yoon, Winterreise, 2019, oil on canvas, 170 × 140 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Esther Tielemans, Based on a true story 6, 2018, acrylic on wood, 150 × 108 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Willem Hussem (1900-1974), Composition, 1970, Indian ink on paper, 69,5 × 54 cm (with frame)
Willem Hussem (1900-1974), Composition, 1970, Indian ink on paper, 69,5 × 54 cm (with frame)
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Esther Tielemans, You never see the same sky twice 5, 2019 -2021, acrylic and epoxy on wood, 80 × 110 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alejandra Venegas, Mountain-Water series #95, 2018, ink and watercolor on rice paper, 183 × 96 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alejandra Venegas, Mountain-Water series #58, 2018, Indian ink and watercolour on rice paper, 138 × 69 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Jongsuk Yoon, Spring, 2020, oil on canvas, 80 × 100 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Esther Tielemans, Based on a true story 7, 2018, acrylic on wood, 150 × 108 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Willem Hussem (1900-1974), Composition, 1966, oil on canvas, 65 × 55 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Jongsuk Yoon, The Shadow, 2020, oil on canvas, 70 × 60 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Willem Hussem (1900-1974), Composition, 1964, oil on canvas, 130 × 100 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Alejandra Venegas, Mountain-Water series #18, 2019, Indian ink and watercolour on rice paper, 181 × 96 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Jongsuk Yoon, Mountains 2, 2020, gouache on paper, 21 × 29,7 cm
Jongsuk Yoon, Die Alpen, 2020, gouache on paper, 21 × 29,7 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Jongsuk Yoon, Summer Night, 2019, oil on canvas, 170 × 140 cm
What the moon can tell you has been said by the sun, 2021, exhibition view, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague
Willem Hussem (1900-1974), Maannacht II, 1924, woodcut on paper, 42 × 37 cm (with frame), no. 24 from an edition of 25