News — Aug 26, 2010

While work continues on the renovation and expansion of the Stedelijk
Museum, the museum hosts a unique and compelling program of
exhibitions, education programs and special events called The Temporary
Stedelijk at the Stedelijk Museum. Conceived by Stedelijk Museum
director Ann Goldstein, this special interim program is inspired by the
singular opportunity to utilize the unfinished historic building in this period
prior to the museum’s grand reopening.


The Temporary Stedelijk offers a preview of the stunning renovation of the
historical building by Benthem Crouwel Architects, as the galleries serve as a
stage for various temporary exhibitions before they are ultimately devoted to
the ongoing presentation of the museum’s renowned collection of modern and
contemporary art and design. The Temporary Stedelijk brings art, artists and the
public back into the museum with two major exhibition projects: Taking Place,
where specifically selected works of contemporary art are presented in spaces
throughout the building, and Monumentalism—History and National Identity
in Contemporary Art Proposal for Municipal Art Acquisitions 2010, as well as
a dynamic schedule of educational initiatives, screenings, performances and
special events.

Taking Place

Taking Place reintroduces the Stedelijk Museum by addressing its history,
the spatial and temporal conditions of the unfinished building and how artists
use, occupy and animate museum spaces. The historical, functional and
architectural conditions of the museum are both subject and material for this
special presentation of works by local, national and international contemporary
artists, who range from well-known and established figures to emerging artists.
Renovated gallery spaces on the ground and upper floors of the building
ultimately designated for the presentation works from of the museum’s
collection of 19th to 21st century painting, sculpture, photography, works on
paper and applied industrial and graphic design will for this occasion be used in
an innovative and experimental way that takes advantage of their current state.
Through newly commissioned site-specific works, historical reconstructions,
video projections, audio work, architectural interventions, performances and
graphic design, Taking Place addresses the distinctive conditions of the building
at this moment in time.

Another feature of The Temporary Stedelijk is an opportunity to directly
experience the luminous, gracefully proportioned gallery spaces themselves,
some of which will remain empty in strategic intervals between these room-size
installations.

The Stedelijk Museum’s historic building is also home to two permanent works
of art by Karel Appel: interior of the Appel Bar (1951) and the artist’s 1956
mural in the former museum restaurant. (Though the room is now a gallery, it
will be used as the café space for The Temporary Stedelijk.) Following extensive
restoration, these works, too, will be on display. The wall opposite Appel’s 1956
painting features a stunning, specially commissioned work by American artist
Lawrence Weiner (b. New York, 1942). The work is a recent gift to the museum
made by the Association of Friends of the Stedelijk Museum. This recent
acquisition joins 79 works by Weiner in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum,
including AN OBJECT MADE TO RESEMBLE ANOTHER BY THE ADDITION OF A
SUFFICIENT QUANTITY OF EXTERNAL QUALITIES (1988) on a bronze plaque
on the facade of the museum building.


Monumentalism—History and National Identity in Contemporary Art
Proposal for Municipal Art Acquisitions 2010

Another highlight of The Temporary Stedelijk is the exhibition
Monumentalism—History and National Identity in Contemporary Art:
Proposal for Municipal Art Acquisitions 2010, which occupies one half of
the ground floor galleries. The 2010 presentation of this highly anticipated
annual exhibition of works by artists living and/or working in The Netherlands
addresses the concepts of history and national identity. The large number of
diverse submissions—359 in all—demonstrates the particular significance
and relevance of the theme. Curated by Jelle Bouwhuis, head of the Stedelijk
Museum Bureau Amsterdam, the exhibition features the work of 19 artists,
including Yael Bartana, Hala Elkoussy, Iris Kensmil, Job Koelewijn, Gert Jan
Kocken, Renzo Martens, and Barbara Visser. Some works will be presented
at the Stedelijk Museum for the first time. As is traditional with this exhibition,
acquisitions for the collection are selected by the Stedelijk Museum’s director,
and during the course of the exhibition, Ann Goldstein will announce which of
the works are to be acquired.

Public Programs

The Temporary Stedelijk will be further distinguished by a dynamic public
program offering our visitors a warm welcome and introduction to the Stedelijk
Museum and its extraordinary resources as one of the most significant
museums devoted to modern and contemporary art and design in the world.
The Temporary Stedelijk offers a full program of events for visitors of all ages.
One gallery is devoted to the plans for the new building: the presentation
includes the architect’s model, technical drawings and other impressions of
the new Stedelijk Museum. In addition, two ground floor galleries are used for
workshops and other activities for school classes and families, and the former
auditorium space, now a gallery, will be used for a wide range of public events,
including lectures, screenings, performances, symposia and other special
events.


The Temporary Stedelijk is partially funded by
the City of Amsterdam and several private donors.