In his first large overview in Germany, Kunstraum Richard Sorge presents the intricate and highly personal drawings of Dutch artist currently living in Berlin, Gert-Jan Akerboom. The artist executed several large murals, turning the presentation into an immersive experience.
Eschewing easily interpretable statements in his work, Gert-Jan Akerboom prefers ambiguous signals, dreamlike in nature; they can be interpreted in myriad ways, none of them right or wrong. His drawings take their energy from this unfixed, shifting view of reality, synthesizing precise observation and associative speculation about alternative possibilities.
War architecture, heroism, the religious, nationalist and totalitarian sites of commemoration are some of the more sinister objects and themes that inspire Akerboom's intuitive work process.
Akerboom is interested in the stylized way war and destruction are presented in popular media, like comix and computer graphics/games, researching the "transaesthetization" of violence and remembrance.
Akerboom's drawings are filled with the objects and themes that trigger his "dreamwatching" state of mind: Architecture, archeology, ruins, mystic or religious sites and ritual. Collaging the possibilities and impossibilities of these inspirations, wedding them with fragments of popular culture, like Manga, computer graphics, photography and Street-art, the artist lets us witness candid, highly obsessive, painstakingly precise results that are proof of an unique sensibility and imagination.
Noted London based curator Ken Pratt has spoken of Akerboom's "deftness of skill":
"What Akerboom chooses to highlight -or place in shadow- with this most traditional of artistic crafts often makes a dramatic difference to what we actually see. What, in effect, could be fairly straightforward scenes are transformed into strange vistas with distorted perspective and areas of against-the-grain light and shade that change the normal into the mystical and ritualistic."
CV
Born 05-07-1978 in Gouda.
Lives and works in Berlin.
2009 - Asistant of U.S. American artist Julie Mehretu in her Berlin studio.
Education
1995 - 2000 Study of graphic design and illustration, Grafisch Lyceum, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
2000 - 2005 Bachelor in Fine Arts, Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Exhibitions
2009
"Bring Down Your Ruler" group show at Atelierhof Kreuzberg - Berlin, Germany.
"Anonymous Drawing" at Fruehsorge Contemporary Drawing, Berlin, Germany.
"No-tears" PDF Artmagazine (www.notearsmagazine.com)
2008
"BHC Kollektiv 3" group show at HBC - Berlin, Germany.
"Nomad Biennial of Tehran" at Newyorck in Bethanien - Berlin, Germany.
"Goodbye Hirofumi" group show at Waschhaus gallery - Berlin, Germany.
"2nd Bankok Triennale for Drawing and Print" - Bangkok, Thailand.
"Negative Party" one-man show at Waschhaus Gallery - Berlin, Germany.
"YES" group show at Showroom MAMA - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"13th Lindart" artist in residence - Lendava, Slovenia.
"Joint Custody Project" group show and project at Raab Gallery -Berlin, Germany.
"Dark sky" online magazine (www.darkskymagazine.com)
"Nomad Biennial" group show at Parkingallery - Istanbul, Turkey.
"Draw-in" group show at 00130 Gallery - Helsinki, Finland.
"Game Zone de Singel" group show at "de Singel"- Antwerp, Belgium.
2007
"Twilight Zone" group show at the Showroom MAMA booth at "Year07 Artfair" - London, UK.
"Ground Zero, Size Zero" group show at Vegas Gallery - London, UK.
"Lift-Off" group show at "Gogbot festival" - Enschede, Netherlands.
"Hilda" online magazine (www.hildamagazine.net)
"New collection" group show at CBK - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Low-Tek Arcade" at Motel Mozaique - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
2006
"Fantasy Island" group show at the Showroom MAMA booth at Preview Berlin - Berlin, Germany.
"Stick Figure" group show at Showroom MAMA - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Low Tek Projects" at Wereld van Witte de With - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Confuse EXE" group show at Electron Hal - Breda, Netherlands.
"R.I.P.(ped) solo at CBK Rechtsachter - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Low Tek Projects" at de Kunstsuper - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
2005
"Groupshow" at Blaak10 Gallery - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Graduation 2005" group show at TENT - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Work Presentation" at Schiekade 189 - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Beet" group show at Verbeten Kunst - Breda, Netherlands.
"exhibition" solo at Squat deluxe - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Tridium Sacrum" group show at de Doelen - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"work presentation" at WDKA Showroom - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
2003
"Under construction" group show at Showroom MAMA - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
"Bruut" group show at Showroom MAMA - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
2002
"Hottentotten" group show at Showroom MAMA - Rotterdam, Netherlands.
press release pdf - english
press release pdf - german
