Sculpture being transported
31 July 2019
Human figures admitted to hospital
From 9 September, patients of and visitors to the Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) in Rotterdam will be able to enjoy five masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen’s sculpture collection.
Last week a secret selection of sculptures – all human figures – was transferred to the neighbouring hospital. The exhibition reflects the hospital’s primary focus: the human body. The exhibition 'Human Images - Strength & Vulnerability' celebrates the strength and vulnerability of the body.
Sixth in a series of eleven exhibitions 'Next Door'
While Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen undergoes a large-scale renovation and modernisation programme, part of the museum’s collection remains on view in neighbouring museums and institutions under the name ‘Boijmans Next Door’. The exhibition ‘Human Appearances – Strength & Vulnerability’ at the Erasmus MC is the sixth in a series of eleven exhibitions.
Four of the five human figures, all from the museum’s collection, will be sited in the hospital’s covered garden. The identity of the four sculptures will remain a secret until the opening. From today, the fifth sculpture, the iconic cast-iron giant ‘Grosse Geister (Figur Nr. 8)’ by artist Thomas Schütte, welcomes visitors at the RG 101H entrance (close to the atrium). In the hospital, where the human body is the primary concern, this exhibition celebrates the body’s strength and vulnerability. The museum’s collection of 154,000 works of art, three thousand of which are sculptures, will be shown in its entirety in 2021 in Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the world’s first publicly accessible art storage facility.
‘A good neighbour is better than a distant friend. When the museum sought our cooperation, the committee was immediately enthusiastic, mainly because the exhibition features powerful figures that exude emotions that fit well within the walls of our hospital. You will recognise that immediately when you see the sculptures. We hope our patients and staff appreciate the exhibition and will find comfort or distraction in it.’
Prof. Dr Jan van Saase, internist Erasmus MC and member of the hospital’s art committee
The exhibition ‘Human Appearances – Strength & Vulnerability’ can be seen at the Erasmus MC from 9 September 2019 to 28 May 2021.
Boijmans Next Door
Thanks to the Droom en Daad Foundation, part of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen’s collection will remain visible in Rotterdam during the museum’s extensive renovation and modernisation programme. As part of ‘Boijmans Next Door’, some five hundred masterpieces are featured in eleven exhibitions at eight neighbouring venues, where the works from Boijmans’ collection enter into a dialogue with those of the host locations, creating new and unexpected juxtapositions. This is the first time that so many of Rotterdam’s cultural institutions have entered into a long-term partnership to keep Boijmans’ collection visible. New exhibitions are planned at the Wereldmuseum, the Kunsthal, Museum Rotterdam, the Chabot Museum and the Maritime Museum in the second half of 2019 and in 2020.
View the current program at the neighbors on the website.
Boijmans bij de Buren