Exhibition 'In 't diepe #4 | Into the deep end #4' in Koppelkerk - art & culture
For the fourth consecutive year, the Koppelkerk is hosting an exhibition featuring work by artists who graduated in the past year. From June 5 through August 23, the church hall will showcase works by Julia Koster, Linne Guldemond, Otso Prunnila, Anne Francien, Sandy Roele, and Rende Arends.
In the exhibition, the artists also reflect on questions about the nature of being an artist: is it something you’ve long aspired to? Do you feel pressure from society to shape your artistic identity, and to what extent do you meet your own expectations as an artist?
Spreading Their Wings
The annual exhibition “In het diepe” at the Koppelkerk can now be called a tradition after four years. The organizers select artists based on their final exam work. For the artists, this is an exciting moment: sometimes they are exhibiting outside the art academy for the first time. The young artists invited this year for “In het diepe #4” work in diverse disciplines. What unites them is a unique approach to their craft, a method they have developed in recent years, during a time that is fundamentally different from the era in which artists with long-standing careers first gained their knowledge and experience. In this exhibition, they may also invite the visitor to look at the world in a new way.
Theme
The title “In het diepe” refers to the infamous “black hole” that people sometimes fall into when they finish something. For years, you’ve been nourished by an education, and then it comes to an end. You look forward to it: you want to reach the finish line, you long for more personal space and autonomy, and once that moment arrives, once you’ve been thrown “into the deep end,” it can sometimes be a challenge to stay motivated. The title also refers to deeper layers. The moment visitors come face to face with a work of art, they are challenged not only to look at the surface of a piece but to go a step deeper. Every weekend, the Koppelkerk offers introductory tours. In this way, a visitor learns more about the artist’s work, but sometimes also about his or her own way of seeing.
State of Being
This summer, Theatergroep Smeedwerk presents a new play performed at various outdoor locations: “Ik, een held” tells the story of King Willem II, who struggled with his identity throughout his life—as a king, as a human being, as a friend, as a lover. Around the themes addressed in the site-specific theater, the Koppelkerk is organizing a number of activities. The artists of In het Diepe #4 were also asked a question that ties into these themes: Do society’s expectations of “the artist” align with your own interpretation of what it means to be an artist? Their answers can be found in the exhibition.
