Guillaume Bijl & Philip Akkerman

From Saturday 26 October, Guillaume Bijl and Philip Akkerman will exhibit at Torch Gallery . De opening plaats van 16:00 uur tot 19:00. This exhibition brings together a selection of recent paintings by Philip Akkerman alongside a series of installations by Guillaume Bijl.

“I am an admirer of the work of Guillaume Bijl.

Whenever I see an installation by Guillaume Bijl, an urge overtakes me to insert a painting of my own into it. When I asked Guillaume a year ago whether he would consider such a collaboration, he didn't ask any questions, but simply agreed to take part in the project. That delighted me, but at the same time I broke into a cold sweat. How was I going to explain this to people? Surely one cannot just hang a painting inside another artist's installation?

As far as I am concerned, there are no rules in art: ANYTHING GOES! But the art world demands an explanation, a statement. I don't have one—at least, not yet. Everything I have ever done as an artist was done intuitively, without intellectual justification. I simply did what I felt I had to do. Theoretical explanations and profound reflections invariably came years later. This project will be no different…”

– Philip Akkerman, 29 September 2024

About Guillaume Bijl

Guillaume Bijl (b. 1946, lives and works in Antwerpen) has been renowned since the 1970s for his large-scale installations incorporating found objects. In doing so, Bijl assumed a pioneering role in the reintroduction of the readymade. He confronts the viewer with various aspects of our Western 'civilisation' and consumer society. Drawing on stereotypes, he crafts an 'archaeology of our times' in a tragicomic, alienating manner. Guillaume is represented in the Netherlands by Lumen Travo Gallery.

About Philip Akkerman

Philip Akkerman (b. 1957, lives and works in Den Haag) has painted exclusively self-portraits since 1981. Thanks to this self-imposed constraint, he no longer needs to concern himself with subject matter. It gives him the freedom to experiment boldly with styles, colours, and forms. Drawing upon the rich tapestry of painting techniques and movements across art history, his resulting oil paintings range from the realistic to the abstract, from meticulous detail to deliberate naivety.