View at the Paper Biennial at Museum Rijswijk 2020; in the foreground the winner of the Audience Award, a work by Marianne Lammersen
The 13th Paper Biennial at Museum Rijswijk, 12 June to 15 November 2020 in Rijswijk near The Hague
The theme chosen by the organisers for this year was “Home”: “When we established HOME as the theme for the Paper Biennial 2020, we could not know that it would become such an important item so soon. It was already topical, but the international lockdown that made us work at home, teach at home, entertain ourselves at home gave it a whole new dimension that has never been more discussed than now. HOME is a topic that everyone in the world is now occupied with, not just the homeless, the fugitives and the stateless. More than ever, everyone now needs a safe home.”
This is the first Paper Biennial not organised by curator Anne Kloosterboer, with her long years of experience running both the Paper and the Textile Biennial. It seems that the whole team has changed, as during my visit in July 2020 there was no one I knew from before. The present director of Museum Rijswijk says in a video statement that changes are to be expected: “More focus on fine art and less on techniques”! This means he has not grasped the work of Anne Kloosterboer, who never went in for techniques. She liked paper and textiles because of the lightness and playfulness they bring to fine art. That she should now be identified with “techniques” may be due to her love of textiles, which are often perceived as mere techniques. At any rate, this is no way for a museum to treat its former curators.
The new person in charge is Diana Wind, curator of contemporary art, who appears to have been the organiser responsible for the 2020 edition of the Biennial, the 13th Paper Biennial. I will say straight away that this was not the best of the 13. The general impression was that the paper scene is somewhat tired. There were no really great discoveries to make, except maybe for the cardboard portrait by Quentley Barbara of his family in Curaçao. He managed to display delicate expression in a very rough material.
I very much liked the works by Anna van Bohemen, Mardoe Painter and Marianne Lammersen (winner of the Audience Award), all from the Netherlands. Then I was really pleased to detect works by Josephine Tabbert from Germany and Mirjam Lodoño from Colombia who I have long admired.
Other writers commenting on this Biennial remarked that there was not that much paper in the exhibition, instead it included all kinds of materials like wood, rattan and cord as well as photos and works on paper. (Michael Hasted: “Perhaps paper itself isn´t quite as much in evidence as in previous years”).
At least half the participants were from the Netherlands, which also used to be the case when Anne Kloosterboer was still in charge. In my eyes this is not great for the international standing of the event. When targeting an international audience, you should really look beyond your own country.
However, this aspect may well be due to the pandemic: the Biennial opened in June 2020, a fantastic achievement in these difficult times.
The upcoming Textile Biennial is scheduled to open in June 2021 and will be themed Food for Thought. Unfortunately I found out about the deadline too late for publication, as I was under the impression it would stop altogether. The fact that the Textile Biennial, too, will continue is good news.
Marianne Lammersen/ NL, “Zachte Landing – Soft Landing”, 2020; this work won the Audience Award of the Paper Biennial to the theme of “Home”Marianne Lammersen/NL: Collage; in her collage work she combines photos with paper cut and other parts in order to find a balanceQuently Barbara/NL:Portrait of a family member in Curaçao, constructed in cardboard and silver gaffer tapeView at the Paper Biennial at Museum Rijswijk 2020; in front a work by Toos Nijssen/NLAnna van Bohemen: “Gottesauge – God Eye”, handmade paper, iron wire, acrylic paint, bee waxMardoe Painter/NL: “The Blue Bearded Men – Vicars and Villains”, 2020, each 16 x 22cm, yarn on cardboardSusanna Inglada/E: Installation with group of men and hands “I create dark scenes, characters, symbols, which together make a work of associations, fragmented in the space. Violence and cruelty are topics that intrigue me.”
Susanna Inglada/E:”Group of Men and Hands”, 2016; 50 x 70 cm; mixed technique on paperRonny Delrue/B: “Lost Memories”, photos from artist Sanjeev Marharjan´s Nepalese family, processed with a perforatorSenol Tatli /CH: Papercut, untitled; the enduring art of papercutting has definitely stood the test of time and found a secure place within the visual artsMarisa Rappard: “Brilliance Cascading” :Installation made from wood and paperSenol Tatli /CH: Paper sculpture, without title ; 300 x 152 cmMiriamLondoño/ Colombia: “Safe House” 2020, part of an installation made for the Rijswijk Paper Biennial; “This work was inspired by the iron bars that adorn many of the houses in my hometown, Medellín. It is a reflection on how the urban landscape of the city has changed over the years, as violence and insecurity have instilled fear and mistrust in the population.”MiriamLondoño/ Colombia: “Safe House” 2020, part of an installation made for the Rijswijk Paper Biennial; “This work was inspired by the iron bars that adorn many of the houses in my hometown, Medellín. It is a reflection on how the urban landscape of the city has changed over the years, as violence and insecurity have instilled fear and mistrust in the population.”Anna van Bohemen/NL:”Apotropaeon”; handmade paper, iron wire, acrylic paint, bee waxAnna van Bohemen/NL:”Apotropaeon”; detail, handmade paper, iron wire, acrylic paint, bee waxAnna van Bohemen/NL:”Refuse”, Installation consisting of two sets of wallhangings and an arrangement of baskets supposed on SticksPim Palsgraaf/ NL:”Ashes 06″, 98 x 55 cm; 2019 wood, stained wallpaper, cartonGianfranco Gentile / IT: “Vita di Cartone”; the recycled cardboard that drowns slowly but in a controlled manner reflects how many refugees find their death under the eye of policymakers.Gianfranco Gentile / IT: “Vita di Cartone” , detail; the recycled cardboard that drowns slowly but in a controlled manner reflects how many refugees find their death under the eye of policymakers.Josefine Tabbert/D:”Der schwarze Fluß”; Her work is about her personal flight story when she had to flee from Prussia for the Russians after the Second World War. Her work provides a perspective that is often forgotten and shows how universal the feeling of flight can be.View at the Paper Biennial at Museum Rijswijk 2020, with the work “Nest”, 2020 by Lenneke Van der Goot; to the left a work by Pim PalsgraafPim Palsgraaf/NL:”Traces of Existence”; wood, paper, paint, concreteView at the Paper Biennial at Museum Rijswijk 2020; the black work is made by Rosa Everts/NL, it is about homelessness
