R E F L E C T I O N S
We see so many beautiful images passing by that we would like to exhibit them. What do you see or feel when you look at the Depot? An alien spaceship or a plant pot? Everyone’s interpretation is different. Several artists, including Susan Bijl and Ruben Hamelink, have already shared their reflections on the Depot. A selection of the submitted REFLECTIONS will be on view in the city centre of Rotterdam from 1 to 14 November.
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen: a reflection of Rotterdam’s art collection
A circular, mirrored building that could have come from Pyke Koch's painting Sleepwalker at Rest. Or further back in time, from a painting by Hieronymus Bosch. Or into the distant future, as if it were conceived by the makers of a science-fiction film.
The Depot looks more like a comet or a meteorite that has landed on Earth than anything from this planet. It is a building somewhere between science and fiction, defying the laws of nature and of architecture. It seems like a triumph of the imagination, of faith in what could be, but has not yet been achieved. But no, the Depot, made up of many thousands of tonnes of reinforced concrete and glass, is a reality. It stands next to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, where Surrealism in all its varied manifestations is a common thread in the collection. Rotterdam’s treasure house, where more than 151,000 objects are stored, managed and cared for.
Earlier reflections
The Depot and the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen elicit a range of emotions in Rotterdammers, from curiosity and surprise to pride and inspiration. Rotterdam-based word artist M. has written the text ‘Bouwgrond’ (Building Site) and filmmaker Ruben Hamelink has made an accompanying film with the same title in collaboration with the dance company Conny Janssen Danst. The Depot has inspired designer Susan Bijl’s Mirror & Agate edition of her New Shopping Bag and Alex Boogers’ poem ‘View on Rotterdam’.
R E F L E C T I O N S exhibition
In the outdoor exhibition R E F L E C T I O N S, two hundred entries will be exhibited in various places in Rotterdam. The reflections will be shown from 1-14 November in several vacant shops in the centre of Rotterdam, in the hall of Rotterdam Central Station and on poster frames scattered throughout the city centre. As a thank you, the two hundred makers will receive their submission as a poster that they can hang in their homes.
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is the world’s first publicly accessible art storage facility and is located in Rotterdam. 172 years of collecting – more than 151,000 objects housed together – arranged in fourteen storage compartments with five different climates. All the activities that go into preserving and managing a collection are on open view in the building. The Depot opens to the public on Saturday 6 November and ticket sales have already started.
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