Surplus plus

detail of Still life with Skull by Dirk Nijland, 1932

Under the title Bourgeois Leftovers the Appel arts centre presents thirty-two Dutch genre paintings leftover from the current Van Abbe museum collection display, together with commissions and contributions from contemporary artists.  

Some beautiful old paintings can be seen in this exhibition. One of my favorites is an old oil painting by Wout Schram called 'Still Life with bottle' . The serene yet sultry atmosphere in this painting is intriguing. With its soft nuances and deep warm colors it becomes an evocative and sensual tableau. I am surprised when I notice the signature of Schram hidden in the right hand corner. Its boldness somehow doesn't seem to connect to the refined style of the painting.

'Leftover'
 Still life with bottle by Wout Schram

'Leftover'
 Signature Wout Schram

Barbara Visser is one of the contemporary artists . Especially for this event she made a new work based on the  central theme 'Leftovers'. In this conceptual aesthetically pleasing work Barbara connects old Farrow & Ball archive colors with the paintings that are the leftovers from the leftovers. In her project she takes care of the paintings that in the second selection round, done by the Appel curators, were again ignored.

Barbara Visser

Barbara Visser

The measurements of these unwelcome paintings are translated into a bar chart painted on the wall in Farrow & Ball archive colors. For some of the colors F&B leftovers are collected from the local paint shop. It is interesting to notice how balanced this range of coincidental colors is and how well the chart merges with the painting that is positioned on top of it. The two stories seem to connect in a natural self evident way, as if they were made for each other.

Barbara Visser
backsides of the 'leftover' paintings

A collage of photographed backsides of the paintings are hanging opposite the bar chart revealing practical information about the neglected works. Although the spectator is not able to admire the poetry of these paintings she is reminded of their existence in a factual way. And the good news about this giant bar chart is that it can be appreciated even without being informed about the concept. 

For more information see also: http://bourgeoisleftovers.com/