CITY SPHERES a painting project by Baukje Spaltro

.... discovering the Genius Loci if European cities...

COLOR C ARDS: ever y p lace has h i s own ‘ sense ’ , and un ique Genius Loc i. I visualize with urban details and local colours the urban Genius Loci of various city areas in Europe. Here the first ones.

CITY SPHERE DEN HELDER (NL)

CITY SPHERE BI JLMER (NL)

CITY SPHERE TURKU (F in land)

DEN NIEUWEN HELDER: CITY SPHERE DEN HELDER 2015

ar t i s t in res idency of 10 days at Kunstha l 45 , Den Helder (NL)

Den Nieuwen Helder, Atelier Westerdok, Amsterdam 2015

Garden Lion Monument Lion ‘in Vaderland getrouwe’

Couleur Locale Den Helder - Sea - White House (Prins Hendriklaan) - Boerenverdrietsbrug (Farmers Grief Bridge) - Red Boat - Sea Buoy

Willemsoord - Koningstraat (demolished cinema) - Lange Jaap (Lighthouse) - Pink Lion - Silent Courtains - - The Dyke - Party (Visbuurt)

Je maintiendrai Street Secrets

Beach

Kunsthal 45

Network Silent Curtains

Fort Erfprins

Flags and Wind (navy harbour)

Submarine (Maritiem Museum)

Marsdiep Napoleon’s Horse Stables

Start (Ferry station) Saskia van Kuik (cityblogger) Milly Scott (celebrity)

Leo Pinkhof (Jewish artist) - Dorus Rijker (sea hero)

H-LAB AIR CBK Zuidoost

CITY SPHERE B I JLMER

Civic Pride is the name of my second CITY SPHERE, and an impression of the city area Bijlmer, in the South East of Am-sterdam. In February 2016 I worked for 28 days in H-LAB, on invitation of CBK Zuidoost (www.cbkzuidoost.nl). In the Bijlmer I started out without any preparation. I had in mind to experience this unknown area and see what would hap-pen. Once it was a notorious and dangerous area, now it’s a multicultural and vibrant area. The Bijlmer was designed on the drawingtable and due to the lack of money the original design changed into a big impersonal district were the human mea-sure almost dissapeared. They built houses as buildings instead of a community.

Thanks to a major urban renewal the district reintroduced the human dimension. They build low-rise buildings and cultural organizations with many cultural activities came into the area. This brought the mix of diversity and cultures flourish. No-wadays there live more the 150 different nationalities. I was

pleasantly surprised and had a very inspiring time at H-LAB.The first two days I explored the neighborhood. The lay-out of the neighborhood is different than the one I knew. On the bike I made more than 1400 impulsive photographes. I clicked only when I looked twice at a detail or building. I selected and printed the one who triggered me. Then I made a local co-lorcard (couleur locale) of the energy I perceived in the area. With this colors I painted 29 city views and 7 local knights. The local knights are according to me important inhabitants or community builders, those persons who established the Bijlmer as community. The term knights derives from the book Knights of the Bijlmer. The total installation is around 2 to 6 meters big.

I gave the CITY SPHERE BIJLMER installation the title Civic Pride. A term used by the Indian architect and urbanist Ashok Bhalotra. His advice during the Bijlmer rennovation was to be more focused on the things we are proud of into a city. Because “Cities are not commodities: Cities are communities.”

AMSTERDAM

CIVIC PRIDE : CITY SPHERE BIJLMER (NL)

City Sphere Bijlmer : Civic Pride at CBK zuidoost, Amsterdam zuidoost (NL) 2016

The three thats sees everything Count the stars for them (the Bijlmer disaster monument)

Handle with Care, GeldershoofdTree Hogevecht

Anton de Kom

Mother Aisa

Marlyn (Imaging)

Colors (couleur locale Bijlmer)

Woman in Grey (Kraaiennest)

Heesterveld, first impression

Abcouderpad Overpass (colored columns) Overpass (basketball) Kraaiennest (market)

Bijlmer Parktheater

Bullewijk (metrostation)

Flags

Cavalcavia ()

Kraaiennest, Kempering Goodmorning Heesterveld

Sunday, Klieverink (Stefanie)

H-LAB doorbells

H-LAB entry

H-LAB tree

Traffic H-LAB streetlight Shrub (Heester) white buses

CITY SPHERE B I JLMER: CIVIC PRIDE

celebrities or community builders of the Bijlmer city area

THE KNIGHTS

Marco de Souza (founder Leerorkest)

Ashok Bhalotra (city planner)

Siegfried Nassuth (designer of Bijlmer)

Regina Mac Nack (founder Voedselbank)

Couler Locale Bijlmer

Keizer (rapper)

Esther Macharius (street corner works)

Noraly Beyer (celebrity)

city arms Bijlmer

A U R A : CITY SPHERE TURKU

A. I .R . in B-Gal ler ia , Turku, F in land 10.2016

Colors (couleur locale Turku, Finland) 18 x 24 cm

Putdeksel (street design) 25 x 30 cm

RUSKA (autumn light, leaves) 25 x 30 cm

Romantic walk 25 x 45 cm

Porthan 35 x 50 cm Castle 45 x 45 cm

Three Gates 35 x 35 cm Ruska leaves 13 x 13 cm Riverside 1 15 x 15 cm 7 layers of grey 15 x 15 cm

Aura fisherman 45 x 30 cm My shadow 25 x 35 cm Veranda Flat 20 x 35 cm

Aura shadows 30 x 45 cm Riverside 2 15 x 15 cm B-galleria 15 x 15 cm

Flat reflections, magic light 35 x 45 cm

Sidewalk, magic light 35 x 35 cm Overpass 20 x 35 cm

Tree shadow 30 x 30 cm Sidewalk shadow 3 30 x 20 cm

Aura Talk 15 x 25 cm ‘muurtje’ (little wall) 13 x 30 cm

Library 24 x 24 cm English Pub 20 x 20 cm

Balconies Flat 13x13 cm Flat signs 13 x 18 cm

Aura Ducks 25 x 15 cm

Classic Flat 30 x 15 cm

White wall Ruska 15 x 35 cm Bibliotheca Lion 13 x 25 cm Ceiling of freedom (library) 25 x 45 cm

Poetry Flag (City Hall) 18 x 24 cm Free Aleppo (Russian Ambassady) 25x25 cm

AURA : CITY SPHERE TURKU (FINLAND) panoramic view installation and photo impresion about the genius Loci of Turku

CITY SPHERES An art project about the Genius Loci of European city areas

City Spheres is my painting project about European urban identi-ties. As Dutch Italian artist I am interested in the relation between place and identity. What is the sense of a place? What are the local colors of a place? What do we sense in a place and what remains unveiled? According to the Romans every place a has an own ‘spirit’, they call this the Genius Loci. During a short stay in an unknown city area I paint this sence of a place into the installation City Sphere. This project is my plea for diversity, authenticity of European cities.

The identity of Europe changes constantly. As Europeans we have to reconsider our position and ‘society’. We should be more awa-re of the local identity of our place and redefine our local com-munity. Knowing our own local identity is crucial to understand and develop a more connected society (as social, political and cultural system). I challenge Europeans to reflect on the commu-nity we (want to) live in.

During one short artist-in-residency I explore the urban identity of a district and paint the Genius Loci of it into an unique City Sphere. At the start I am completely displaced in this new sur-rounding. Then I discover through friction and curiosity the Ge-nius Loci. I paint non-stop and in a flow. It’s the momentum self that pushes my creative process.I paint on the spot with the local daylight and discover the local

colors. In general I use strong, viberant, almost clashing colors.

I sense the Genius Loci of an urban area in objects and buildings people once have created to build their own community, home and identity. And especially in past times architecture. Those buil-dings are like longterm witnesses of different communities passing by. They radiate a special aura, an almost invisible energy, which I want to catch in my paintings. Communities are also reflected through the ‘local knights’: important inhabitants and community creators. They embody the spirit, hope and dreams of the local community.

The City sphere as installation will consist of small painted ‘witnes-ses’ of the urban heritage (history, monuments, culture, architec-ture) and of special inhabitants I call the ‘local knights’.In 2015 I started out in Den Helder. Then I visited in 2016 the Amsterdam Bijlmer (NL) and Turku (Fin). My next stops will be Milan (I), Berlin (D) and Brussels (B).

CITY SPHERES is inspired by the filosopher Peter Sloterdijk. “The question of WHERE we are is more meaningful than ever and more important than the question of WHAT we are. We need to focus on the place that people create to be who they are. This place I have given the name ATMOSPHERE. Spheres are space creations that act as an immune system.“

SPHERES : CITY SPHERE TURKU XL (FINLAND)

Spheres is a collaboration between choreographer Marjan Raar (NL/FIN) and ar-tist Baukje Spaltro (NL/I). The performance Sp-heres is a dialogue between three disciplines: dance, light design and painting. All defending their own sphere , identity and territorium. A dialogue about identity, diversity and the pro-ces of creating a choreography, painting and light design. At Barker Theater, Turku, Finland

www.marjanraar.comwww.spaltro.nlSpheres (short film) vimeo.com/191279852

First performance: layer 1of City Sphere Turku

Second performance: layer 2

Third performance: layer 3

Last performance: layer 4 = City Sphere Turku XL 150 x 550 cm acryl on paper

SPHERES team:Kaisa Koulu (dance) Linda Holmström (dance)Arttu Aarnio (light design)Marjan Raar (choreography+dance) Nina Renvall(own choreography) and Baukje Spaltro (painting)

Supported by:Arts promoton Centre FinlandArts Council Western FinlandSvenska KulturfondenTurku TownBarker TeatteriMC Foundation

baukje spaltro www.spaltro.nl info@spaltro.nl + 31619716114

Baukje Spaltro is rapresented by gallery BMB in Amsterdam. www.galeriebmb.nlCity Spheres is sposred by IDWIZW (NL) and Stiftung MC (CH).