Marinus Boezem’s “The Absence of the Artist” features in the exhibition Black & White: Symboliek in Kunst & Design at the TextielMuseum in Tilburg, which runs from 23 March 2019 till 1 March 2020.

Black and White

Colors have their own symbolism in cultures, religions and history. Black and white are not strictly colors. Light and dark, however, play a major role in the visual arts and design and are related to various symbolic meanings. The exhibition "Black & White | Symbolism in Art and Design shows how contemporary artists and designers manipulate the symbolic meaning of black and white. Artist in the exhibition are Jorge Baldessari, Maria Roosen, Alet Pilon, Marinus Boezem, Jeroen Eisinga, Bart Hess, Célio Braga, Studio Formafantasma and Felieke van der Leest, among others.

The absence of the Artist

“In this artwork by Boezem, we see a pair of flashy dance shoes, which have been set on the floor in front of the white stained chair in such a way that is appears the artist is still sitting in the chair. Similar dance shoes with a white instep and black toes and heels occur in about the same positioning in Mount Everest, 1995. The motif of a pair of shoes as a token of the presence of the artist recur in the variants of Jump (1981), and in the Vanishing of the Artist and His Family (1983), and The Vanishing of the Artist (1983)” (Witteveen, 213 [99], Catalogue Raissoné)

Image: The Absence of the Artist, 1970-1995. Wood, cotton, embroidery silk, shoes. 80 x 120 x 80 cm. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij.

Publication date: 11 May '19