A Day Trip to Rotterdam

Last week I hopped a ride with two Happy Famous Artists and traveled to Rotterdam where we visited Art Rotterdam, Re:Rotterdam and the studio of Stefan Gross.

It was a short and crowded trip. Here are some pictures and quick impressions.

We started off at Re:Rotterdam where it seemed like a magnet pulled us directly towards an installation by Niels Post titled Spamlish. Jeroen Jongeleen, at once elusive and ubiquitous in the Rotterdam Art scene was also promoted at this micro fair, which aimed to provide an outsiders view on the current art fair scene. Let’s face it- an Art Fair is neither an easy place to exhibit or view art and while I like a good youthful uprising, I’m fairly skeptical about the ambitions and motivations of new fairs even if the model can always use an upgrade. Visit an art fair and you’ll find more variety of color, shape, stimulus and consumers then you’re likely to find in your supermarket at rush hour, and galleries make large investments to be there meaning that they need to sell. For them it’s a high risk situation. For the audience, a trade show is a trade show is a trade show and it could be art or vacuum cleaners or cars. Seventy Galleries participated at the 12th annual Art Rotterdam and while you might recognize a brand or a friendly face, be drawn to a color, a form or a bit of empty space, throughout the diverse offerings there was the expected quality that Art Rotterdam has come to be known for. The supermarket sensation was minimal and easily overcome with a couple of glasses from the bar.

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