Yellow Opening

d'Ouwe Kerke
Dorpsstraat 16
4525 AH Retranchement
The Netherlands

Solange Pessoa, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Sonia Gomes, Paulo Monteiro, Giangiacomo Rossetti, Michael Dean, Lucas Arruda, Antonio Obá and Paulo Nimer Pjota.

A wide array of works by Mendes Wood DM’s roster of international artists will be on display in a 17th-century church in the idyllic Dutch village of Retranchement, on the border with Belgium. Located just a short bicycle ride away from Knokke, Belgium’s famed beach resort in which galleries and institutions organise cultural events and exhibitions throughout the summer months, Yellow Opening offers a chance for visitors to discover the Mendes Wood DM universe. The exhibition takes its name from a monumental canvas work by the artist Matthew Lutz-Kinoy that visitors will find installed just in front of the altar. Facing this theatrical piece, on the other side of the church, is a second large-scale Lutz-Kinoy work, Pink Opening. Framed on both sides by these visually arresting and almost experiential canvases, an eclectic display of works by the gallery’s diverse range of artists takes over the walls and floor of this light-filled church.

Lucas Arruda’s meditative and introspective landscapes seem particularly well-suited to the silent but emotionally-charged atmosphere of a building once dedicated to religious worship. This silence will be visually challenged by the presence of a powerful new sculpture by the British artist Michael Dean, a reinforced concrete work that towers at more than 180cm in height. This work is in turn challenged by an even larger sculpture by Sonia Gomes, from her Raiz series, which is made instead with various fabrics, laces and wood.

Conversations and dichotomies can be traced throughout the exhibition. A new series of vibrantly colourful and delicate gouaches by the Brazilian artist Paulo Monteiro will create a stark contrast with Solange Pessoa’s bulbous and organic wall-sculptures, for example. Giangiacomo Rossetti’s small, gothic bronze sculptures, inspired by scenes from Hans Holbein’s book The Dance of Death, are far-removed from Paulo Nimer Pjota’s large and colourful works that reference both antiquity and contemporary street culture. Meanwhile, Antonio Obá’s magical and poetic figurative paintings, small portraits of children from his new Children of Paradise series, will be on view for the first time.