The mystery nature
This is already the third exhibition in the NATURE MATTER(S) series, a series of visual art exhibitions in which Vrijhof Culture invites visual artists and designers who each engage with a form of interacting with nature in a specific, individual way; nature as an inspiration of beauty, ruggedness, the poetic, the indomitable. Nature to protect and to stand up for and give a voice to. Nature as a starting point for product design. The mystery nature.
This time it is all about nature mysticism and Vrijhof Culture has invited the two Enschede-based artists Ludmilla van der Spoel and Evelien Nijeboer.
Ludmilla and Evelien juxtaposed their work this year and their suspicion was correct: there is a deep kinship between their artworks. The interaction that occurs is magical. Ludmilla's witch figures seem to be ‘born’ from Evelien's atmospheric landscapes and vice versa. Like an alchemical reaction in which the mixing of substances produces an unexpectedly precious new substance.
Nature mysticism is the theme that plays a leading role in both their works. Ludmilla's figures and Evelien's landscapes seem to be each other's inside-out in this respect. they seem to complement each other in this way. That their work fits together is overwhelmingly obvious to both of them; they only have to put the images next to each other and it fits. Then it is not obvious to put words to it. But of course they are going to try:
"Nature mysticism is about seeking the experience of oneness with nature, with in it the presence of some kind of underlying creative power - something higher or deeper. A foreland or underlying consciousness that we may have once had or ever will have, in which the separation between body and mind, inside and outside, ourselves and the world is dissolved. A state of connected-ness, being one with ‘creation’ and at the same time being aware of it. Many of us struggle to seek that connection or suffer from the lack of it, despite being beings with natural bodies. But that is apparently not enough. As artists, we both try to shape that connection by depicting nature scenes that are actually images of an inner state, as a mirror for the soul."
Opening
The Exhibition starts on 19 December, but due to the holidays, the official opening will take place in the new year. On Thursday 9 January at 16.30, we will open the exhibition together with the artists and celebrate The Mystery Nature and the New Year!