HAARLEM.- This winter De Hallen Haarlem is presenting solo exhibitions by three Dutch artists who share a strong intrinsic relation: Daan van Golden, Marijn van Kreij and Annesas Appel. A predilection for graphic patterns and the use of repetition as a stylistic device are corresponding features in their work. These are the first large solo museum exhibitions for Van Kreij and Appel in the Netherlands. On the occasion of Daan van Golden’s solo exhibition the project En/Of will release an LP with music by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and a record-sleeve with photography by Van Golden. A selection from the En/Of editions can both be seen and heard.

Through these exhibitions De Hallen Haarlem wants to emphasise the importance of Daan van Golden (Rotterdam, 1936) and show in which way he inspires a younger generation of artists. Van Golden is a typical artist’s artist, whose artistic views have particularly met with response among his colleagues. In recent years the international recognition for his work has soared: the large retrospective Red or blue for example was shown in London, Geneva and Lisbon. The exhibition in De Hallen Haarlem comprises a selection of his paintings and photographs spanning a period of 50 years.

Daan van Golden
His relatively small but diverse body of work is characterized by an acute attention to detail. References to important works from art history, as well as to less exalted images from commerce, pop-music and daily life are important components of his work. Van Golden has never been too concerned about prevailing artistic trends and has always carved a path of his own. His art does not consist of large brushstrokes, but of a much more modest gesture: his paintings are the result of a labour-intensive process, whereby a visual motive is explored in a very careful and precise manner.

Marijn van Kreij
As is true for Daan van Golden, repetition and the reuse of existing motives are important visual elements for Marijn van Kreij (Middelrode, 1978) as well. For example both a picture of the band Nirvana and graphic patterns on the interiors of envelopes are recurring visual motives in his work. He likes to play with references to diverse sources of inspiration from the visual arts and pop culture, thereby dissolving the distinction between high and low culture. With great precision he can copy a page from an Ad Reinhardt catalogue as easily as he can draw a copy of a live-picture of a Nirvana concert, over and over again.

Van Kreij’s exhibition How to Look Out will show recent and older work including drawings, prints, sculptures and video. The exhibition consists of a site-specific installation that will incorporate works by other artists.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a lavishly illustrated publication with texts by Nickel van Duijvenboden and Xander Karskens (ISBN 978-94-90198-00-8, retail price 10 euro).

Annesas Appel
In Annesas Appel’s (Amsterdam, 1978) first solo museum exhibition, De Hallen Haarlem will offer an overview of her projects from the past five years. Annesas Appel systematically maps existing objects from her everyday surroundings and classifies their formal characteristics according to specific criteria.

In Colours_ a mathematical tale (2011) she gives a new visual interpretation of the book covers in her own bookcase. Appel has linked the colours of the covers to the CYMK-system that typifies colours by a specific percentage of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Subsequently she visualised these figures on a screen with four vertical planes, thereby creating a whole new image. Appel’s work moves on the edges of autonomous art and graphic design. As is the case for Van Kreij and Van Golden repetition plays an important role in her work. With Van Golden she also shares the acute attention to detail, that makes her output relatively low.

Special edition En/Of by Daan van Golden
En/Of is an initiative of curator and music publisher Robert Meijer (1977). Since 2001 he has been working on this project that brings together art and music. The idea behind En/Of is simple: Meijer asks both a musician and an artist to make a contribution that fits within the format of a double LP. Every edition consists of an LP and a work of art, limited to 100 copies. Up to now 45 different artworks and records have been produced, of which a selection can be seen and heard at De Hallen Haarlem. On the occasion of Daan van Golden’s solo exhibition, En/Of will release a special edition with photography by Van Golden and music by experimental musician Jefre Cantu-Ledesma.