‘A tip: "Take your time. These are often large works that you can ‘see’ in an instant, but which give you goose bumps when you take the time to appreciate them."' Director Benno Tempel in See All This
Between a beginning and an end point
Open-Ended is fitting for the final months of the year: winter, a time of transition, is all about reflecting on the past and looking ahead. For centuries, in the dark days around the winter solstice (21 December), people have celebrated the slowly returning light. The artworks in Open-Ended form a passage between a beginning and an end point, or take you on a journey from A to B, such as in Airport, a sound installation by Chinese artist Zhou Tiehai (1966), which creates an imaginary airport. Further on, you walk through Topoestesia by Gianni Colombo (1937–1992), a dizzying passageway.
Featured: Bone Curtain by Marina Abramović / Ulay
The captivating work Bone Curtain is made of rattling bones and blood-red ropes. The curtain, created by artist duo Marina Abramović (1946) and Ulay (1943–2020), hangs from wall to wall; you have to pass through it. The artists thus compel you to cross a threshold. Bone Curtain represents the boundary between life and death. Whether you find it horrific or beautiful, walking through it will have an effect on you.
Featured: Clamp by Franz West
In the installation Clamp, by Franz West (1947–2012) invites you to call a stranger. The walls are covered with pages from the Otterlo telephone directory. Originally, Clamp also included a working landline. This referred to the moments when West, working in his studio, was interrupted by a phone call. After such an interruption, the artist was able to look at his work with fresh eyes again. You can still make calls in Clamp; who knows who you might reach...
Exhibition texts in large format
Download the exhibition texts in large-format letters here
Photos: Franz West, Clamp, 1995 (photo: Marjon Gemmeke) / Gianni Colombo, Topoestesia, 1980 (photo: Tom Haartsen) / Marina Abramović / Ulay, Bone Curtain (1985) detail (photo: Marjon Gemmeke) / Exhbition view Open-Ended with Suspended Stone Circle by Ken Unsworth and River Avon Mud Circles van Richard Long (photo: Marjon Gemmeke)