Escher – Other world

Gijs Van Vaerenbergh

Kunstmuseum The Hague

18/02/2023 – 10/09/2023

Fan of the artists

I’ve been a fan of M.C. Escher for a long time, but I am an even bigger fan of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, so when I heard that an exhibition with these artists was going to take place in The Hague, I had to go. I usually post articles about buildings, so that they are also interesting later on. This exhibition is so unique that I had to write an article about it (just like I did when there was an expo about Le Corbusier in the MAS).

Escher

In the first room of the exhibition you see a bust of Escher, designed by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh. Made entirely in small wood blocks, a very nice tribute. In 2023 it will be 125 years since Maurits Cornelis Escher was born. It is a year of celebration throughout The Hague. There are two museums in this municipality that are very important: Kunstmuseum The Hague and Escher in Het Paleis. The Kunstmuseum has the largest museum Escher collection in the world and the Palace contains a permanent exhibition about the Dutch graphic artist.

Gijs Van Vaerenbergh

Gijs Van Vaerenbergh was asked to design installations around Escher’s graphics. Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh are known for, among other things, the see-through church and the labyrinth on C-Mine. The artist duo spent a total of two years building on the expo. For each room they made an installation that has the same theme. Each time the whole space is involved, for example an infinite ring that goes from one corner of the room to the other.

The idea is that the visitor looks at Escher’s work in a new, refreshing way, who often played with mathematical principles, without repeating himself and by establishing new relationships.

There are six main rooms: Inverted Landscape, Possible Architecture, Two Curved Mirrors, Endless Line, Plane Fill Maze, and Impossible Architecture. My favorite are the seven cabinets next to the main halls. The large rooms are the day area (in white) and the cabinets are the night area (all walls are black).

It’s cliché, but it’s an exhibition you can’t miss.