Art piece of the month: Grip
Every month curator Virginia Hameleers chooses a work of art from the SCHUNCK Collection that inspires her, fascinates her or occupies her in another way. Art that is too beautiful not to share. In the month of February, it is Grip (2007) by Jan van der Ploeg.
The first choice exhibition at the newly opened Art Depot was curated by Emile Roemer, provincial governor of Limburg. He selected the works intuitively, focusing mainly on what he felt when studying them. It resulted in a small retrospective of works that remind him of "all the good things this province has to offer."
Graffiti in Heerlen
One of the selected artworks is Grip (2007) (Collection detail) by Jan van der Ploeg. It reminds Roemer of the graffiti and murals from Heerlen and its surroundings. Grip is a recurring module that Van der Ploeg uses, in both his murals and his small, intimate paintings. The 'Grip' takes the form of a horizontal, long rectangle with rounded corners, derived from the hand holes in cardboard boxes used in removals. Van der Ploeg's first 'Grips' appeared on the walls of buildings or backyards in Amsterdam in 1997. They had the same character as 'tags', the personalised signs used by graffiti artists to sign their work or mark their territory.
See this painting and the other works from Emile Roemer's selection until 21 April next at SCHUNCK's Art Depot.