travels and residencies 2010 Hans van Weeren

Introduction.

The year 2010 started with travelling to South East Asia. In January I went to Bangkok, Thailand. From there I traveled on through to Bali, Indonesia, Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and then all the way to Beijing, China, where I had a residency. This residency of two month was with the Red Gate

Gallery. I had been there twice before as an artist-in-residence, so I knew what to expect. But as they say in Asia: Same, Same, But Different. And so it is. There

are always new people, new things and new experiences. While my residency with the Ami Gallery in Hoi An, Vietnam was a first for this gallery, Red Gate has

many years of experience. In Hoi An I worked mostly on Vietnamese paper. This is a very delicate kind of paper that has to be treated correctly to get the best

results. While experimenting with this paper some fine artworks came to life. At the end of the month there was a nice exhibition in the Ami Gallery that was still

ongoing when I left Vietnam for Beijing. In Hoi An, I also started a video project that has continued in China and will be completed in Europe. In Beijing, I worked

on paintings, videos and photography. There was an exhibition of my works in Unit 1/Pickled Art Center in the famous 798 Art District.

Bali is a very small and interesting island

where you can find the most luxurious hotels

and resorts but also untouched little villages

without foreign influence.

After a trip along the island, I stayed in Ubud

and made some drawings in the Pranoto

Gallery. I also visited a couple of projects for

handicapped children. It was so good to see

how volunteers are working for the benefit

of these children.

Cambodia is a poor but wonderful country. It is

important to visit Angkor Wat while in Cambodia,

being one of the most famous temple complexes.

Afterwards I traveled across the country for three

weeks and gained a totally new perspective of this

wonderful country where the people are so friendly.

After all the tragedy of their history, they are still

smiling. Here, my focus was on special projects for the

children. I visited some villages where a Dutch

organization is doing all they can to give them a better

live. Water pumps are installed, schools are built and a

hospital is ready to operate. And all the volunteers

give their time and expertise for free! There are

childrens’ homes for those without parents or for those

so poor that they can’t feed their children. And so I

gave a lesson in this small school in this small village

in Cambodia.

In Vietnam, in Hoi An, I stayed for a residency

with the Ami Gallery. It was for one month and

the gallery has found a house with working space

within the city. It was quite nice when you can

bike everywhere. I decided to work traditionally

on the original Vietnamese “do” paper. This is all

handmade and I bought it in Ho Chi Min City.

Working in black and white with ink was a new

experience. After the opening of the show that I

had in the gallery, I also made some drawings

with views from the market. This was such a

lively experience, very difficult to catch in a

drawing. The results were really Vietnamese in

character, so they told me.

After the black and white I also

worked with some local bought

watercolors.

I had my name stamp made in

wood.

Ink drawings from Hoi An market on natural “do” paper

Beijing, with a great studio to live and work.

I also stayed a week in a downtown apartment

to see the old folks doing their tai-chi in the

morning and painting their calligraphy with

water on the streets. They also sing well-

known traditional songs.

Working on a found

mannequin. Cleaning (really

necessary), making angel wings,

(because the arms were missing)

and painting it gold. It was used

with the exhibition to attract

Chinese people who really love

to make photos of everything.

In Vietnam I had already started a video project:

I want you to be president. Everyone in the video is

telling the viewer that he or she wants you to be

president. I think that many people are capable of

becoming president, more then what everyone thinks:

president of a country, a football team or a hospital, it

doesn’t matter. I want people to start thinking about

their own qualities.

.

You start looking for someone to

make your frames and there is

always someone in the

neighborhood. You just order and

they will deliver to your studio.

There is one problem, you should

speak Chinese, but with hand and

body language you’ll manage

also. The same rule applies for

buying all your other materials.

And then you start working….

Unit 1/Pickled Art Center

is in the Beijing 798 Dashanzi Art

District. Hundreds of galleries, art

shops, cafeterias and some studios

are located in this old industrial

complex. The opening with a big

barbeque party was really well

attended.

And so there were parties, dinners, and fun and idea exchanges.

This is what makes a residency such a great experience, meeting

other artists, other disciplines, from around the world.

Hans van Weeren 1950 born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 1981 graduated from d’Witte Leli School of Art, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands Present lives and works in Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands and le Rialet, France Exhibitions: (solo) Pavillon Adélaïde, Burlats, France La Remise, Le Rialet, France Chambre de Commerce, Castres, France STAA gallery, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands Amcha gallery, Bennebroek, the Netherlands ING bank, Mijdrecht, the Netherlands Kunstgenootschap 't Reghthuys, Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands Gallery Blijvers, Hazerswoude Dorp, the Netherlands La Cave, Amsterdam, the Netherlands La Remise, Mazamet, France Gallery de Verleiding, Oudewater, the Netherlands Gallery RDH Kunstwerken, Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands Ami Gallery, Hoi An, Vietnam Unit1/Pickled Art Center, Beijing, China Exhibitions: (group) Staa gallery, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands Maison de Sidobre, Lacrouzette, France Portraits, Aussillon, France James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA Mixed Media, Print Gallery E.R., Kaunas, Lithuania 153 kinderkistjes, Roden, the Netherlands Salon des Artistes Indépendants du Tarn, Vénès, France Mixed Media, Gallery Kaire Desine, Vilnius, Lithuania Gallery des 30, Mazamet, France Gallery de Brugspin, Ter Aar, the Netherlands

STAA gallery, silkscreens, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands International Collage Exhibition, Vilnius, Lithuania Gallery Art Présent, Paris, France Salon d'Arts Plastiques, Graulhet, France Gallery Alizarine, Albi, France Salon d'automne d'Albi, Albi, France European Fine Arts Biennale, Brugge, Belgium Museum Fodor, Exhibition Amsterdam Artists, Amsterdam, the Netherlands La Cave, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Gallery Representation / work in stock: Gallery RDH Kunstwerken, Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands Atelier la Remise, le Rialet and Mazamet, France Gallery Lucas van Leyden, Boston, USA Ami Gallery, Hoi An, Vietnam Artist in Residency: 2008 Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China 2009 Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China 2010 Ami Gallery, Hoi An, Vietnam 2010 Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China Collections: Belgium, Germany, France, Romania, England, Egypt, Vietnam, China, USA and the Netherlands

Addresses

La Remise

81240 le Rialet, France

tel: 05 63 98 45 87

and

atelier la Remise

14, rue Victor Hugo

81200 Mazamet, France

copyrights 2010 - hans van weeren

Hans van Weeren

Stortenbekerstraat 49

2421 ET Nieuwkoop, the Netherlands

tel: 0172 575296

cell-phone: +31 6 1370 1616

Website: www.hans.vanweeren.com

E-mail: hans@vanweeren.com