Between Past and Present by Francis Willemstijn
Exhibition
/
19 Apr 2014
-
31 May 2014
Published: 24.04.2014
Galerie Rob Koudijs
- Mail:
- info
galerierobkoudijs.nl
- Management:
- Rob Koudijs

Necklace: All My Garden
Silver, plywood, smokey quartz, leaves
Francis, Willemstijn
Necklace: All My Garden
Silver, plywood, smokey quartz, leaves
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

With this special exhibition, the artist celebrates the fact that she has been working as an artist for ten years. During all this time she had many idea's that were never carried out and the present show was the right occasion to catch up on them. Of course it didn't turn into a reassuring sentimental journey, conveniently following trodden paths: a decade of experience gave her wings and the necessary command and daring.
Artist list
Francis Willemstijn
With this special exhibition Francis Willemstijn celebrates the fact that she has been working as an artist for ten years. During all this time she had many idea's that were never carried out and the present show was the right occasion to catch up on them. Of course it didn't turn into a reassuring sentimental journey, conveniently following trodden paths: a decade of experience gave her wings and the necessary command and daring.
Willemstijn's connection with history manifests itself again by deploying the handwriting of the founder of the Dutch Republic William of Orange, and in excerpts from old maps of Amsterdam or the Netherlands. These references shouldn't be considered as a nostalgic longing for the past, as is made clear in the title of the brooch 'The streets we walked'. The present also exists in the fragments of plants and leaves from Willemstijns own garden. For notwithstanding the importance of art and tradition, it is essential that, to quote Candide, we must cultivate our garden.
In her execution Willemstijn is wayward and expressive as always. Archaic materials like bog wood and oak provide contexts, red coral glows, and jet and garnets contribute their dark glitter; traditional cloth from the Dutch island of Marken contribute a human angle, as does the incidental use of human hair. The associative power of all these elements enrich the eloquence of the shapes and citations that make up the work.
Francis Willemstijn breathed exciting new life into existing concepts, and achieved an atmosphere of rich tradition in her new designs. In this way she made herself a self portrait in touch with the past and rooted in the present.
Ward Schrijver
(© Galerie Rob Koudijs)
Willemstijn's connection with history manifests itself again by deploying the handwriting of the founder of the Dutch Republic William of Orange, and in excerpts from old maps of Amsterdam or the Netherlands. These references shouldn't be considered as a nostalgic longing for the past, as is made clear in the title of the brooch 'The streets we walked'. The present also exists in the fragments of plants and leaves from Willemstijns own garden. For notwithstanding the importance of art and tradition, it is essential that, to quote Candide, we must cultivate our garden.
In her execution Willemstijn is wayward and expressive as always. Archaic materials like bog wood and oak provide contexts, red coral glows, and jet and garnets contribute their dark glitter; traditional cloth from the Dutch island of Marken contribute a human angle, as does the incidental use of human hair. The associative power of all these elements enrich the eloquence of the shapes and citations that make up the work.
Francis Willemstijn breathed exciting new life into existing concepts, and achieved an atmosphere of rich tradition in her new designs. In this way she made herself a self portrait in touch with the past and rooted in the present.
Ward Schrijver
(© Galerie Rob Koudijs)
Necklace: Back to Black, 2014
Silver, onyx, bog oak
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Necklace: Tulips, 2014
Silver, new silver, onyx, bog oak
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Necklace: Mastkraal, 2014
New silver, garnets, jey pine, bog oak
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

Brooch: The Streets we Walked, 2014
New silver
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Necklace: The Streets we Walked, 2014
New silver, hematite
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Galerie Rob Koudijs
- Mail:
- info
galerierobkoudijs.nl
- Management:
- Rob Koudijs
-
Con-tacto. Centro de Diseño, Cine y Televisión. Degree Show 2020
24May2021 - 21Jun2021
Centro de Diseño, Cine y Televisión
Mexico City, Mexico -
Simply Brilliant. Artist Jewelers of the 1960s and 1970s
27Mar2021 - 27Jun2021
Pforzheim Jewellery Museum
Pforzheim, Germany -
Keramiek Triënnale 2021
07Mar2021 - 30May2021
CODA Museum
Apeldoorn, Netherlands -
Masterpieces in Miniature. Treasures from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection
05Mar2021 - 15Aug2021
DIVA. Antwerp Home of Diamonds
Antwerp, Belgium -
Poetic Ceramics by Judith Bloedjes
28Feb2021 - 20Jun2021
CODA Museum
Apeldoorn, Netherlands -
Freaks, Skulls and a Mad Family
27Jan2021 - 20Feb2021
Platina
Stockholm, Sweden -
Invisible Thread
22Jan2021 - 27Feb2021
Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein
Munich, Germany -
Preziosa Young 2020 in Barcelona
13Jan2021 - 03Feb2021
Hannah Gallery
Barcelona, Spain -
Like Silk
12Jan2021 - 12Feb2021
EASD València
Valencia, Spain -
HomeWork by Melanie Bilenker
08Jan2021 - 11Feb2021
Sienna Patti
Lenox, United States -
An Octopus's Garden of Silly Delights by Ulvi Haagensen x Morfosis by Ihan Toomik and Andreas Kivisild
06Jan2021 - 27Feb2021
A-Gallery
Tallinn, Estonia -
Fables for the Times. Presentation of Artist in Residence Program Revive in Ten
25Dec2020 - 05Jan2021
MEI-BO Art Museum
Shanghai, China -
Schmuckmelange. Die KunstModeDesign Herbststrasse. Degree Show 2020
21Dec2020 - 31Dec2020
Die KunstModeDesign Herbststrasse. Evening College JewelleryDesign
Vienna, Austria -
The Palace of Shattered Vessels: Light Catchers
19Dec2020 - 31Mar2021
FROOTS & Nogart
Shanghai, China -
See the Big from the Small
19Dec2020 - 03Jan2021
The Closer Gallery
Beijing, China