About the work of Rob Voerman
The monumental architectural constructions, small sculptures, delicate drawings and staged photographs by the Dutch artist Rob Voerman (1966) are disturbing and seductive at the same time. They sketch a perfectly constructed, utopian world with apocalyptic traits, a world that is continually proliferating but is also protected, a world that has broken down but is also rising from its ashes. In addition, Voerman’s work has an important critical component: the central perspective has been abandoned for more points on the horizon, more views, for alternatives. In this way, in addition to an aesthetic, Voerman always performs an imaginary role: there are vehicles for thoughts, vehicles for change, discussion and analysis.
Voerman’s three-dimensional sculptures and monumental installations are wonders of architectural and tactile ingenuity. They are made up of (plexi) glass, epoxy, wood, cardboard, car parts, textiles, paper, paint, glue and much more. In the monumental works photo slides and films are sometimes shown, sometimes they are places for discussion or retreat. Always a socially critical component is hidden in Voerman’s work. The decline of democratic structures, the danger of (neo-) capitalist money systems, the nature of political and other power systems and the major ecological threats that are based on our way of life for the planet – these are issues that Voerman examines in his work, analyzes and -last but not least – visualizes. His work is also a reason to organize collection campaigns for the financing of projects in the local community. For example, with his fictitious bank building called The Exchange on Sonsbeek 2016, Voerman raised money for a reforestation project in Sulawesi and Borneo, and donated work for philanthropic auctions.
As different as the material with which Voerman works, so are Voermans’s art-historical references. Modernist artists such as Kurt Schwitters and his organically growing Merzbau, the Dutch utopian builder Constant, as well as Richard Buckminster Fuller’s ecologically inspired geodesic domes are important sources of inspiration.
Voerman is currently working on a serie of large lightboxes and models relating to “places of power”.
He reacts on the function of the place or building and transforms their meaning and existing systems.
Recently Voerman also tackles the notion of possible crackdown of democracies and the notion of manipulation through media. Sculptures, photoworks and prints that contain broken down stadiums and forums that have been placed in new constellations are only one part of this new theme in Voerman’s work.
Voerman’s work is exhibited internationally: from America to China and Japan. His work has been included in the collections of the MoMA (New York), the UCLA Hammer Museum (LA), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), the Musée d’Art Contemporaine (Kinshasa), the Generali Foundation (Vienna) and numerous other public and private collections in the Netherlands and abroad.
Artist’s statement
‘My work is at the heart of society, it both imagines and reflects on it. In addition, I hope my work can serve as a source of change – no matter how small.’
2007 Linoleum print, silkscreen and watercolour on paper 201 x 180cm
Edition of 5 + 1AP
Rob Voerman Curriculum Vitae
1966 born in Deventer (NL)
Lives in Arnhem and works in Groessen (Netherlands)
Study
CABK Constantijn Huygens (sculpture), Kampen (NL) 1990-1996
Vestlandets Kunst Akademie, Bergen, Norway (4 months in 1995)
Solo Exhibitions
2020
New Art Projects, London, UK
Gallery Artoxin, Munich, Germany
This Art Fair, Amsterdam
2018
Ayumi Gallary / Cave, Tokyo, Japan
Xi'an Moca, Xi'an China
Eurasia University Museum, Xi'an, China
Ningbo Art Museum, Ningbo, China
Generator, Arnhem (NL)
2017
"Entropic Empire", Galerie Artoxin, Münich, Germany
2015
"Faculty", The Mattress Factory Art Museum, Pittsburgh, USA
Motel Spatie, Arnhem (NL) Large temporary site-specific work in
shopping centre Presikhaaf (curated by Claudia Schouten)
2014
Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam (NL)
Cellen #6, Klooster Tiel (NL)
2013
Hans Peter Zimmer Stiftung, Düsseldorf (D)
2012
Coda Museum, Apeldoorn (NL)
2011
"After the Goldrush", Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam
2010
Cobra Museum, Amstelveen (NL)
Museum Henriette Polak(Jeanne Oosting Award 2010), Zutphen, duo-exhibition with Emo Verkerk (NL)
2008
Art Brussels (stand Upstream Gallery)
2007
Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam
“Tarnung,” Bregenzer Kunstverein/Magazin 4, Bregenz (A)
“Rob Voerman. Grafiek/Installation,” Flevodruk, Harderwijk (NL)
2006
“Rob Voerman: Bad Buildings, Good Spaces,” Architectural Association,
London (including presentation of installation on Bedford Square)
2005
Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam (NL)
2004
“Building Backwards”, Rhodes+Mann, London
UCLA Hammer Museum, “Hammer Projects”, Los Angeles
Group Exhibitions (selection)
2020
Van Abbehuis, Eindhoven
Kunstmuseum Reutlingen, Germany
2019
"all natural 100% Collection". Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria
"Good Space - Communities or the Promise of Happiness", Villa Merkel, Esslingen, Germany. (large outdoor installation and indoor exhibition)
Museum IJsselstein, "Vrijplaats bij MIJ" (exhibition and site-specific project), IJsselstein (NL)
"Stadsbeelden", Museum Flehite, Amersfoort (NL)
"Vouch", group-exhibition/artist-run sales-project, Loods 6, Amsterdam (NL)
"Biennial Gelderland", Arnhem/Nijmegen (NL)
2018
"Volatile Dreams- Art of the World's Fair" (curated by Friederike Fast), Museum Marta Herford, Germany
Jahres-Ausstellung, Galerie Artoxin
"Into the Future: Collyer Bristow Gallery, London, UK
Nomadic Mountains, Schunck, Heerlen (NL) (curated by Jean-Bernard Koeman)
2017
7th. Bi-City Biennial of Urbanism/Architecture, Shenzhen, China.
"Bye Bye De Stijl", Centraal Museum, Utrecht (NL)
Compilation 5 Jahre Weltkunstzimmer, Düsseldorf (D)
38CC (duo-exhibition with Alicia framis), Delft (NL)
"Architecture as a Metaphor", Griffin Gallery, London
2016
Sonsbeek 2016, Arnhem (NL) (curated by Ruangrupa)
“(In)constancy of space”, Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam (NL) (curated by
Neva Lukic)
Grafiek 2016, Van Abbehuis, Eindhoven (NL)
'Maelström, de Kracht van het ongrijpbare' in Arti et Amicitiae,
Amsterdam (Curated by Frans Franciscus and Arjen Lancel)
Kuub, Utrecht
2015
Shenzhen Hong Kong Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, Shenzhen,
China. (curated by Aaron Betsky)
Amsterdam Art Fair, Booth Upstream Gallery
Kunstpodium T, Master-Apprentice Project, Tilburg (NL)
Sculpture garden Anningahof, Zwolle (NL)
2014
Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE (curated by Peter Lewis
en Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi)
1st.Kinshasa Biennial (Yango Biennial), Democratic Republic of Congo
(curator Sitabile Mlotshwa)
Printmaking-exhibition, Pulchri, The Hague (NL)
“Inconstancy of space”, Mestrovic Pavilion, Zagreb, Croatia (curated by
Neva Lukic)
“Coming Soon”, NAI/Bureau Europa, Maastricht (curator Saskia van Stein)
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London, UK
“City of Ash”, Artspace g39, Cardiff, United Kingdom (curator Sam Perry)
Art Rotterdam (through Upstream Gallery) (NL)
2013
"EinDruck Ausstellung - Internationale Zeitgenössische Druckgrafik",
Halle 14, Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Baumwollspinnerei,
Leipzig, Germany (D)
"The glorious rise and fall...", K14, Den Bosch (NL)
"Vision vs. Confrontation", Mondriaanhouse, Amersfoort (NL)
Sculpture park Anningahof, public sculpture and group show, Zwolle (NL)
Artfair Pusan (South-Korea) through Art Amalgamated
2012
"Kaleidoscope", C24-Gallery, NewYork (curator Kristen Johnston)
The Armory Show, New York (through Upstream Gallery)
University Art Museum (curator Elyse Gonzales), Santa Barbara (USA)
Kunstenlab, Deventer (NL) Two-persons-exhibition with Miyuki Okuyama
"Going to the Etsch", Pictura, Dordrecht (NL)
"Going to the Etsch", Kruithuis, den Bosch (NL)
2011
"Märklin-perspective", KaDe, Amersfoort (NL)
"Architektur Sommer Rhein-Main 2011" Site-specific installation in the
city of Offenbach (D) (curators Marcel Schumacher and Britt Bauman)
"De Stad 3D", Museum Hilversum (NL)
Robert Miller Gallery, New York (hvcca-benefit-auction)
"What if.." Rondeel Architectural Institute, Deventer (NL)
"Graphosbiennale", Den Bosch (NL)
"Urban Expressionism", Nest, Den Haag
2010
"Buiten", BBKC, Tilburg (NL)
“Brachen-Siedlung”, Nijmegen (NL), Duisburg (D) and Arnhem (NL)
“BeeldHalWerk”, Amsterdam
“Light Art Biennial 2010”, Linz, Austria
“Plan 10”, Cologne, Germany
"Habitat".Antwerp, Belgium. Site-specific project in Luchtbal
(curator: Bruno Herzeele)
2009
“Modernism as a Ruin,” Generali Foundation, Vienna (curator: Sabine
Folie, with Dan Graham, Isa Genzken, Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert
Smithson a.o.)
“Modernism as a Ruin,” Kunst Museum Liechtenstein, Vaduz
“Double Dutch,” Hudson Valley Center for Contemp. Art, Peekskill, NY
“Different Places — Different Stories” (presentation temporary/
public sculpture), Roermond (NL)
“Stressed Spaces,” KW14, Den Bosch (NL)
“Open Source,” Amsterdam Bijlmer (curator: Helga Lasschuijt,
with Thomas Hirschorn, Allora & Calzadilla, a.o.)
2008
“Apocalyptic Landscapes,” Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam
Biennale “Art Grandeur Nature,” Paris (presentation of public sculpture,
curator: Olivier Marboeuf))
Bodhi Berlin, Halle am Wasser, Berlin (curator: Shaheen Merali)
2007
NADA Art Fair, Miami (stand Upstream Gallery)
“Sculpture Now!,” Herrmann & Wagner, Berlin
“Shelter,” Museum De Fundatie/’t Nijenhuis, Heino (NL)
(with Berlinde de Bruyckere, Maria Roosen, a.o.)
“Rainer Neumaier/Rob Voerman,” Thomas Rehbein Galerie, Cologne
2006
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (new acquisitions)
NADA Art Fair, Miami (stand Upstream Gallery)
“Kunst werkt. Biënnale Gelderland”, Museum Valkhof, Nijmegen (NL)
“Merz”, Kunstverein Bregenz Bregenz, Austria (A) (curator: Peter Lewis)
“Bild — Skulpur,” Galerie Jette Rudolph, Berlin
“The Square Root of Drawing, ” Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin
Coda Museum, Apeldoorn (NL)
2005
NADA Art Fair, Miami (stand Upstream Gallery)
Euregio Kunstpreis, Museum Katharinenhof, Kranenburg (D)
“Situaties/Laboratorium Flevoland,” Museum De Paviljoens, Almere (NL)
Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem (NL)
Museum Braenderigaarden, Viborg (DK)
2004
Taiwan Museum of Modern Art, Taipei
“The Beginning of the World,” Cell Project Space, London
2003
Kunstverein Kohlenhof, Nürnberg (D)
International Print Center, New York
Commissions
2019
Sketch for commission Fraunhofer Institut, Wildau, Germany
Sketch for commission Jagersrust, Ossendrecht (NL)
Sketch commission for Museum Flehite, Amersfoort (NL)
2018
Permanent outdoor sculpture/pavilion, Lisser Art Museum (NL)
Permanent pavilion World Innovation Exhibition Center, Xi'an
Sketch for commission public sculpture in Slijk-Ewijk (NL)
2017
Sketch for commission public sculpture in Rijswijk (NL)
Commission for a model representing the history of the Industry for the new
extension of the Historical Museum in Frankfurt, Germany
2016
Public commission for Monnikenhuizen, Arnhem
(Commissioned by Portaal Housing Corp. and Kunstbedrijf)
2014
Sketch for commission public sculpture in Zoetermeer (NL)
2012
Commission for entrance-hall Ministery of Economy, Innovation and Agriculture, The Hague, Netherlands
Commission for the entrance-hall for a new office of Achmea (insurance-company based in The Netherlands)
2010
Permanent Public Sculpture at Leische Rijn-neighbourhood, Utrecht (NL)
2009
Temporary sculpture in public space, Bijlmer Neighbourhood, Amsterdam
2006
“Off Centre,” commission for temporary public sculpture in Byker-neighbourhood, Arts Council of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Awards
2014
Finalist Arte Laguna Art Prize, Venice, Italy
2010
Winner Jeanne Oosting Award 2010 (NL)
2007
1st Prize Printmaking Award, Province of Gelderland
2005
1st Prize Euregio Award, 2005
2002
Pépinières Européennes pour Jeunes Artistes, 2002, Paris
2001
The Presse Papier Invitation Award, Québec (CDN)
2nd Prize Kwak & Van Daalen & Ronday Printmaking Award
Residency
2018
Ayumi Gallery / Cave, Tokyo, Japan, (3 months)
2013
ISCP (International Studio and Curatorial Program)
2012
ISCP (International Studio and Curatorial Program)
2005
Galerie Hermann & Wagner, Berlin (2 months)
2002
Delfina Project Space, London (3 months)
Collections (selection)
Museum of Modern Art, New York
UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Musee d'Art Contemporain, Kinshasa, DR of Congo
Deutsche Bank
Generali Foundation
Speyer Family Collection, New York
KKR Office Collection, New York
Matteo Rossini Art Collection, Milan
CODA Museum, Apeldoorn of the
Valkhof Museum, Nijmegen
E-1 Nation Collection, Amsterdam
Collection Brown
Plancius Collection
ABN-Amro Bank
Art collection KPN
Achmea Kunstcollectie
De Nederlandse Bank
Rabobank
Arcadis
Province of Gelderland
And other collections in The Netherlands and abroad
Publications (selection)
2018
"Brisante Träume" "Volatile Dreams - Art of the World fairs"
Marta Herford / Kustmuseum Ahlen
2017
Catalogue 7th. Bi-City Biennial Architecture/Urban Planning, Shenzhen.
2016
Catalogue/action-book, Sonsbeek16
Artforum, Sonbeek16
NY Times, about Sonsbeek16
2015
Catalogue Bi-City Biennial for Architecture and Urban Planning,
Shenzhen, China (text by Aaron Betsky)
Tubelight, exhibition Park, Tilburg (NL)
2014
Art Forum, Exhibition –review “The Fifth Season” by Huib Haye van der Werf
2013
The Fifth Season, Tekst by Marcel Schumacher, Curator Museum
Folkwang, Essen, publisher Revolver Verlag and WeltKunstZimmer,
Düsseldorf (D)
“The Stumbling Present: Ruins in Contemporary Art”, The Art, Design & Architecture Museum of the University of Santa Barbara (USA) by Elyse A. Gonzales, with an essay by Brian Dillon.
2012
Bomb Magazine, article by Tabitha Piseno
Art Tomorrow, article by Paul Eachus
Year-Report Mondriaanfoundation (NL)
2011
"Standpunt", Art and Design County Gelderland (text Marlies Hummelen)
2010
"Aftermath, Installations, Sculptures, Works on Paper", with contributions from Sabine Folie, David van der Leer and Tim Nolet, Published by Valiz Publishers (www.valiz.nl)
2009
Robert Klanten and Lukas Feireiss (eds.), Spacecraft 2: More Fleeting Architecture and Hideouts, Berlin: Gestalten Verlag
Robert Klanten and Lukas Feireiss (eds.) Beyond Architecture: Imaginative Buildings and Fictional Cities, Berlin: Gestalten Verlag
Modernism as a Ruin, An Archaeology of the Present, Sabine Folie (eds.) Generali Foundation, Vienna
Hammer Projects: 1999-2009, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles,
Un-Folded, Paper in Design, Art, Architecture and Industry, Birkhäuser
Verlag, Luzia Kälin and Mareike Gast (eds.)
Double Dutch, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY
Stressed Spaces, KW14, Den Bosch (NL)
2007
Rob Voerman: Grafiek/Installaties, Harderwijk: Flevodruk Harderwijk, text by Gretchen Wagner
Rob Voerman: Tarnung/Camouflage, Bregenz: Bregenzer Kunstverein;
Magazin 4, texts by Max Hollein and Sabine Folie
Robert Klanten and Lukas Feireiss (eds.), Spacecraft 1: Fleeting Architecture and Hideouts, Berlin: Gestalten Verlag
2006
Rob Voerman: A Vernacular of Life, London: AA Publications, text by Anselm Franke
MERZ, Bregenz: Bregenzer Kunstverein; Magazin 4
2004
UCLA Hammer Museum "Hammer Projects", Los Angeles,
text by Aaron Betsky
Other
2020
8-Days workshop at designlab at Rietveld Academy , Amsterdam
2018
Guestteacher Artez, Arnhem, (NL)
Guest-teacher and Lecturer Eurasia University, Xi'an
Lecturer Xi'an Art University
2017
Lecturer Shenzhen University, China
Lecturer Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA), China
2016
Guestteacher Artez, Arnhem, (NL)
2014
Lectures Radboud University, Nijmegen (NL)
2013
Guestteacher students from Akademi Düsseldorf and art-academy Den Bosch/Breda (NL)
Lecturer and guest teacher Art-academy Den Bosch (NL)
Lecturer and guest teacher Artez, Arnhem (NL)
2012
Lecturer and guest teacher NYU (New York University, MFA)
2011
Guest-speaker University Art Museum Santa Barbara (USA)
Guest-teacher Art School Const. Huygens, Zwolle (NL)
Guest-teacher Art School Utrecht (NL)
2010
Lecturer Art School St. Joost, Breda (NL)
Lecturer Art School Const. Huygens, Zwolle (NL)
Lecturer Art School Artez, Arnhem (NL)
2008
Guest-teacher, Frank Mohr Institute, Groningen (NL)
Guest-teacher, Royal Academy of Art, the Hague (NL)
Lecturer, Stroom, The Hague (NL)
2006
Workshop Stage Design, Universität der Künste, Berlin
Lecturer, 2YK-Galerie, Berlin
Lecturer, Architectural Association, London
2003—2005 Lecturer, Sculpture, ArtEZ, Arnhem (NL)
2003
Guest-teacher, University of California, Los Angeles
