Harmen Brethouwer
From that moment onwards, I . . . decided to embrace art history in its entirety so that nothing would be impossible. I looked for forms capable of carrying every kind of artistic view, one standing freely in space, and one hanging on a wall.
Herman Brethouwer via NRC Handelsblad, 2008
The distinction between ritual, tradition and use is significant. Between these concepts moves a world in which meaning and meaninglessly slowly merge - the repeated word erodes, or the repeated action aggravates under an accretion of meanings and interpretations. The work of Harmen Brethouwer (1960, the Netherlands) also lives in this mobile world. Like an alchemist, he recreates and dissects our past through old stories, fragments, symbolism, archetypes, craft, precious materials, historical facts and idiosyncratic analysis.
