In Double Act, contemporary video art and seventeenth-century paintings rub shoulders in an exhibition that investigates what it means to be human.
Two seemingly very different collections meet in Double Act: the monumental video installations by the American Kramlich family on the one hand, and the 17th-century paintings of Centraal Museum on the other. Contemporary greats like Bill Viola, Marina Abramović, Bruce Nauman and Steve McQueen rub shoulders with top pieces by the renowned Utrecht painters Abraham Bloemaert, Roeland Saverij, Jan van Scorel, Dirck van Baburen and Gerard van Honthorst. The combination works like a mirror for the soul; let yourself be immersed in the emotions in these old and new masterpieces.
Sleeping Mars by Hendrik ter Brugghen and a still from Richard Mosse’s The Enclave
An example of a ‘double act’ consists of Sleeping Mars by Hendrik ter Brugghen, which shows the god of war, peacefully asleep. There seems to be no danger. Or is there? His hand continues to clutch the sword. In juxtaposition, the dreamy and colorful ambiance of The Enclave also suggests a peaceful scene. But in this video, Richard Mosse plays with our perception. Actually, The Enclave is about the looming threat of violence during the civil war in East Congo.
Artists on display
The following artists are included in Double Act: Marina Abramović, Allora & Calzadilla, Dirck van Baburen, Jan van Bijlert, Abraham Bloemaert, Hendrick Bloemaert, Ambrosius Bosschaert de Jonge, Jan Gerritsz. van Bronchorst, Johan van Bronchorst, Hendrik ter Brugghen, Michiel de Bruyn van Berendrecht, Hendrick Goltzius, Gerard van Honthorst, Steve McQueen, Johannes Moreelse, Paulus Moreelse, Richard Mosse, Takashi Murata, Bruce Nauman, Pipilotti Rist, Roelant Saverij, Jan van Scorel, Johannes ten Stall, Adam van Vianen, Bill Viola, Cornelis Jansz. Van Weerdenborch.
About the Kramlich Collection
With more than 200 film, video and media installations from the 1960s to the present, the Kramlich collection is regarded as one of the best and most comprehensive private collections of media art in the world. Pam en Richard Kramlich belong to the first collectors to focus on ‘new’ media art by the late 80’s. The emphasis in collecting is on works that reflect on aesthetic, ethical and social contemporary issues. Artists from North American, European and Asian countries are represented in the collection. During Double Act, a part of this remarkable collection, which has never been displayed outside of America, in on show.