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Watering the Moon
An exhibition by Madelon Verbeek
The title of this exhibition is derived from the old Dutch saying “pissing against the moon,” an previously known expression visualised by the painter Pieter Bruegel. It refers to wasting one’s time on a futile endeavour. In this context, it serves as a metaphor for the works themselves, reflecting attempts to nurture something that will not return, or to achieve something impossible, closely tied to experiences of grief.
Drawing stylistically on art-historical sources that depict situations and emotions of grief, both in twentieth-century Norwegian fresco painting and in medieval limestone murals, the works explore the chaos, fleetingness, and fragility of the mind, seeking to make sense of thoughts and behaviours.
Where
The Academy's room
Price
Free
About the artist
Madelon Verbeek (b. 1999 in the Netherlands, based in Oslo) mainly works with painting (fresco, limestonepaintings and gouache).I am interested in exploring fine lines between the public and the private, the personal and the political.
– I see my works as ‘diaristic patchworks’ existing out of social observations, personal interactions, daily news-intake, art-historical references and both rational and -irrational thoughts. These function as time capsules for me, to be able to remember a certain moment in time, whereas otherwise details float from my mind. I mostly use a figurative, narrative language influenced by my interest in fresco and -limestonepaintings. I am interested in using these ‘outdated' techniques to work with in a contemporary way and playing with the history of these mediums.
Verbeek holds an MA in Fine Arts from the National Academy of Arts in Oslo (KHiO), a BA from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and an undergraduate in Art History from the University of Amsterdam.
This exhibition marks the end of a year and a half of recidency at Kunstnernes Hus.
