From Saturday 21 December, the audiovisual artist and composer Boris Acket will be working on an intervention in the Kunsthal building. His new site-specific work ‘Spaces Between Lines’ will be presented on the characteristic ramp that runs straight through the building and in HALL 6, the Kunsthal’s display window. For the very first time a designer has been commissioned to create a new work to be displayed both inside and outside of the Kunsthal building, with the Kunsthal architecture — designed by Rem Koolhaas of OMA — as its point of departure.
Acket was inspired by a conversation between the architect Rem Koolhaas and former Kunsthal director Wim van Krimpen, during which they described the hard lines of this ‘uncompromising building’ as follows: “It’s either black or white, there is no grey.” Contrastingly, Acket’s installation focuses on the spaces in between and connects the Kunsthal’s interior space with the exterior space of the publicly accessible ramp. For Spaces Between Lines, Acket uses textile, light, and air currents to make the invisible spaces between the lines of the building visible. The installation explores the balance between control and surrender and is part of his ‘Einder’ (Horizon) series.
Poetic interactions
In the Kunsthal’s striking HALL 6, a blade powered by a rail system causes swirling air currents that breathe life into the textile. Engineer Merijn Versnel developed this 28-metre-long, innovative control system in collaboration with Studio Boris Acket. The long and narrow canvas in HALL 6 serves as a platform for the blade-generated air currents and mesmerising patterns of movement and light. Outside, on the ramp, a second canvas is exclusively set in motion by the wind. As a result, the natural wind and the artificial air currents appear to be dancing with each other, blurring the distinction between interior and exterior. As day turns into night, soft shadows and flowing movements engage in poetic interactions that also change the experience of the spectator.
Kunsthal Inside/Out
The Kunsthal’s new programme Kunsthal Inside/Out presents artistic interventions in the Kunsthal architecture that pay special attention to the ramp traversing the building. These interventions emphasise the iconic character of Rem Koolhaas’ architecture, with the Kunsthal serving as a gateway to the Museumpark.
Kunsthal Inside/Out invites designers to create a site-specific work that can be experienced both inside and outside of the building. Makers are given the opportunity to express and challenge their creativity in an extraordinary way, specifically focusing on this unique part of the Kunsthal. The area consists of the 36.5-metre-long HALL 6 — also referred to as the Kunsthal’s ‘display window’ —, as well as the ramp alongside it, which is a public road running from Westzeedijk to Museumpark. Both Kunsthal visitors and passers-by are thus able to experience the art installations during opening hours.
Together, the exterior and interior space make up an exhibition space measuring no less than 440 square metres: 60 square metres on the inside and 380 square metres on the outside. The materials of the building itself — concrete, steel, corrugated iron, and large windows — enhance the interaction between the art installation and the architecture.
Press
