Theo van Doesburg; painter, poet, architect

Both exhibitions include key works by important contemporaries, such as Piet Mondriaan and Jean Arp. The walls are adorned with quotes and larger than life-sized photographs of Van Doesburg; thus the artist seems to be present. Van Straaten describes the exhibition in his opening remarks as ‘a multi-layered total experience. Light, as well as sound fragments from Dada texts and music, contribute to a ‘Doesburgian atmosphere’.

In the course of three years of preparation, curator Toos van Kooten ‘became captivated by Van Doesburg’. To her, it therefore seemed ‘unfair’ to focus solely on the highlights of his oeuvre. To do justice to Van Doesburg, his thought process and working method also had to be made visible. For that reason, the exhibition also includes letters, photographs, books with notes, and sketches by Van Doesburg. In collaboration with the designers Kossman and De Jong, who are responsible for the exhibition design in both Utrecht and Otterlo, the archive items are arranged thematically in custom-made showcases.

The oeuvre catalogue of Van Doesburg, by Els Hoek, is published simultaneously with the exhibition and there is a side programme with lectures and concerts.