ROTTERDAM.- Optic Mountaineering opened at TENT on Thursday 21 July. This group exhibition features work by thirteen artists as part of a long-term cultural exchange between Basel and Rotterdam. For fifteen years, Atelier Mondial in Basel and Kaus Australis artists’ initiative in Rotterdam have jointly organised residencies for talented artists. Independent curator Annina Zimmermann, who was also the exchange’s first resident, curates the exhibition.

Optic Mountaineering reflects on the experience of living and working in a new place, free from one's usual habits and duties. Residing in a new environment abroad provides artists with a sharpened awareness of the city, nature, and culture. Residences are not holidays but a period in which one gives consideration to their artistry, enabling new ideas and work to emerge. What impact does the different perspective of an unfamiliar environment and culture have on an artist's work and practice? The artworks in this exhibition were mostly created during a residency period or inspired by life abroad.

The works in the exhibition were mostly created during the residency period or inspired by life abroad. Edit Oderbolz shows a flapping piece of white cloth that intersects TENT's space like a chain of snowy mountains cutting through a cloud horizon. Babette Kleijn analyses and creates a landscape in a large wall drawing of collage and rope. Matthias Huber presents a new series of paintings, and Andreas von Ow shows large canvases covered with cherries, corn, and seashells collected in Rotterdam and which evoke the work of Dutch Masters.

Q.S. Serafijn – known in Rotterdam for his ambitious ideas about public space – spent his Basel residency making watercolours, which are shown at TENT. Karin Suter creates constructions of plaster, cord, and wood. In bizarre performances for the camera, Marco Schuler plays with the visitor, the studio, and his body. Jens Stickel paints yellow surfaces on facades, evoking the light of supernovas radiating into space. Bert Frings currently collaborates with Jacob under the name J&B and takes inspiration from the street, creating assemblages from garbage bags, protest signs, and pizza boxes. Quenton Miller shows hundreds of ink drawings revealing a humorous and profound look at the world around us. Dineke van Huizen, who coordinates the BaselRotterdam exchange, exhibits a comprehensive assembly of collected materials, and Mimi von Moos screens her recent video about the Rotterdam harbour. Florian Graf places a raft dedicated to Erasmus in TENT – the final destination of a long journey along the river connecting Basel and Rotterdam.

Artists: Bretz/Holliger, Matthias Huber, J&B, Babette Kleijn, Quenton Miller, Edit Oderbolz, Andreas von Ow, Marco Schuler, Q.S. Serafijn, Jens Stickel, Karin Suter. With a contribution from Kaus Australis, Dineke van Huizen, Florian Graf, and Mimi von Moos.

Curated by Annina Zimmermann.