Publicity

Preparing for Madrid to participate in The Hybrid Art Fair EX-MÊKH had secret participant Ben Faydherbe design a folder and a booklet for visitors. The booklet will be part of a growing series of small publications which EX-MÊKH uses during fairs and other exhibitions. The printing arrived yesterday and in the weekend we will leave for Spain.

The folder and booklet Ben designed
And these “New encounters are my part in the booklet!

Teaser

EX-MÊKH is preparing for the Hybrid Art Fair and experimenting with their materials. Here some try-outs by Kees Koomen who is looking for a interesting way to present his series of New Encounters The work is intended as an homage to the sketches Goya made in the streets of Madrid and elsewhere. Those drawings and etchings were my favourite artworks in art-school:

Francisco Goya: Este tiene muchos patientes y algunos racionales
I imagine them talking French inside
I imagine them talking French inside
Inti baladi…
Inti baladi…

Studio Playlist 2023

Like every year Ron van der Ende invited artists to send their favourite music or sounds they play during artistic work. These Studio Playlists are published on a site he runs, Art BBQ. I participated since 2006 (at least, that’s the oldest I can find) and it’s each time a pleasure to elaborate on the music I play during the year past.

click the image to play my list!

l’Anniversaire de l’art

Yesterday, art celebrated it’s 1.000.061st birthday at HOK Gallery and a number of other FLUXUS minded galleries all over the world. At HOK a new exhibition had just opened last week, but the festive make-over’s of single-sleeve’s have been naturally integrated in the present show: Long Bord Slaatje, bij Jesus Cinco and Rowan van As. I was able to take part in the anniversary project, and I chose Gilbert Becauds Toi, le musicien to elaborate on further.

Impression of the party atmosphere in the beginning
Kees Koomen: Moi, le musicien! – 2024

Het Grote Aanschouwboek

On saturday December 2 Het Grote Aanschouwboek (The Big Aanschouwbook) was presented, a survey of 22 years of De Aanschouw in the Witte de Withstreet in Rotterdam. De Aanschouw is the smallest art gallery in Rotterdam and in The Netherlands if I am not mistaken. It used to be a display case on the front of a café, De Schouw, which was situated opposite the building in which De Rotterdamse Courant had it’s offices. As soon as the newspaper went to the printer it was put in the display case and the editors went to De Schouw to have a beer and to discuss the contents of the new edition.

The presentation of Het Grote Aanschouwboek took place in a well filled auditorium in TENT, you can see an account of the happening here! The book shows all the exhibitions and artists, weekly changes and the Overschilderschilderijen (overpaintpaintings) of which documentation is still available. We are happy to say that very few is missing. Edo Dijksterhuis wrote a history of De Aanschouw and collected anecdotes can be found in the back of the book. The participation of EX-MÊKH can also be found including a poster of underground member Ben Faydherbe who is responsible for the design of our publicity. An overpaint-painting of EX-MÊKH member Kees Koomen can also be found in the book. The graphic Design of bureau 75B is special for a relatively small book with no less than 1150 pages. It developed into a brickstone-account of a period of art and friendship!

Presentation and auction large drawing RUW #6

Friday September 29 was the day RUW #6 was presented to the public. It happened during Hoogtij, the two-monthly open platforms evening in Den Haag. For the occasion HOK gallery was available and the editor decided that a large drawing was to be made by all participants in this edition of RUW. This drawing was going to be auctioned on sunday.

The presentation was a succes, many visitors came by to see the new RUW Magazine and not many magazines were left in the end. You can find an account of the opening here!

Selfie Monika Dahlberg during opening
My contribution to RUW #6: La hora santa (coloourpencil, oilstick, ashes)

Then sunday the auction of the large drawing took place. It did not draw a lot of attention but those who came were a motivated public. After some useless attempts of the auctioneer Geert Schriever to sell the drawing as a whole details of the drawing were offered for which two ladies showed the formats with wooden angles. This worked better and the afternoon ended with a positive amount of money on the account and everybody enjoying a glass of wine.

left part of the drawing
right part of the drawing
The text in charcoal on paint is my personal contribution
The auctioneer and his assistants

RUW

Equinox

Equinox was a succes with more then twenty performers on the Hof in Dordrecht. There were moments that the atmosphere was beautiful in slow movements with colour and sound.
My own performance existed of soundbytes that I spread out over the square by speaking them out to people, by writing them on little scraps of paper and hiding them on the square and by listening for sounds of the past on different places of the historic square. The soundbytes were pieces of conversation or cries that I noted during my project Walks to the Malieveld. You can find an account of the afternoon here! And a video by Steef van Lent can be found here!

I did also make two sketches of performers which you can see here:

A man pouring water (Frans van Lent)
A woman manipulating textiles (Marita Bulman)
Briefje met soundbyte

222lodge

Equinox

Equinox March 23 with Yvo van der Vat and Kathryn Wolkowicz

On March 23 in this year 222 lodge invited performance artists to gather in the Hof in Dordrecht in the Netherlands to celebrate the equinox, the moment the sun passes the equator in spring. There will be a second equinox on September 23. Consequently September 24 there will be another performancefestival in the Hof in Dordrecht. I was not able to attend in spring but this time I will participate with a performance after a new invitation by Frans van Lent.

The first Equinox took place in the rain, I hope this time the weather will be more cooperative. To get an impression of the first Equinox you can watch this!

The Diaries project page

Kees Koomen: Mascara – 1984 (From the Mexican diary)

In spring I started the project page on this website on which I show the source of a lot of my work. It shows the sketches I make next to my texts in my diaries. Lots of them are the inspiration for new paintings, installations or performances. I recently published sketches from my trip to the US and Mexico in 1984 which proved a change of focus from the USA and western culture to the more European background I grew up in. I realised that I admired the Spanish colonial heritage in Mexico and California and that I never traveled to Spain. My interest in Spanish culture and Mediterranean culture in general began to grow. Ezra Pound’s translation of French troubadour poetry and Spanish Renaissance poetry was also an inspiration.