Artists design the depot interior
The exterior of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen looks spectacular with its mirrored façade that reflects the entire city. The interior will be equally spectacular. For the interior design, Boijmans has teamed up with artists John Körmeling, Marieke van Diemen and Pipilotti Rist.
We have documented the entire creative process and the placement of the works in the depot in extensive video portraits of each artist and in photo albums. We visited the artists in their studio, accompanied Körmeling to BlonkStaal steel foundry, filmed the journey of showcase 7 and followed the artists right up to the installation of their works in the depot. We have also talked extensively with the museum’s director, Sjarel Ex, about why he has chosen to work with these artists in the depot: ‘For the interior, we were not so much looking for spectacle but for a beautiful way to experience the depot. We have chosen to work with artists on the interior because they have a unique vision and they always come up with something you could never have imagined yourself.’
John Körmeling
John Körmeling (b. 26 June 1951) studied architecture in Eindhoven, where he lives and works. He has extensive experience with large-scale projects, having created many commissioned public artworks and he has participated in numerous exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad. Körmeling has designed the interior of the entrance hall of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, including the lighting. In the entrance hall, he has designed a free-standing balcony that follows the curve of the building. John also designed the shop in the entrance hall.
Click hereThe creative process in images
Marieke van Diemen
Visual artist and collector Marieke van Diemen (b. 3 December 1959) studies the naturalness of observation in general and in the museum in particular. Her works play a subtle game with the conventions of ‘showing’, exploring how objects present themselves to us. The common themes in her work, including her commissioned work and photography, are independent looking and breaking with habitual ways of looking. Van Diemen lives and works in Amsterdam. Her design in the depot is The Maze: a three-dimensional labyrinth with floating display cases in which artworks and objects from the storage facilities are placed.
Visiting Marieke van Diemen's studio
Pipilotti Rist
Pipilotti Rist (b. 21 June 1962) is a Swiss artist who named herself after Pippi Longstocking. Like Pippi Longstocking, she sees herself as a woman who explores the world in a playful way. Since her graduation project, the video I’m Not the Girl Who Misses Much, she has achieved international fame for her immersive video installations, including À la belle étoile (Under the Sky), which was projected onto the ground of the piazza in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and The City Lounge, which she designed together with Carlos Martinez for St. Gallen in Switzerland. In addition to her work as a video artist, she is also a member of the pop group Les Reines Prochaines (The Next Queens). Her own singing and music can be heard in several of her works. She had a retrospective exhibition, entitled Elixir, at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in 2009. Her artwork for the depot is a mix of video and environmental art. It is planned as a video light installation that illuminates part of the public area around the depot from sunset to late at night.
Photoimpression video art Pipilotti Rist
