25 Aug 2010

Sculpture International Rotterdam presents Erik van Lieshout's Shop

Erik van Lieshout’s Shop
Zuiderterras 130 @ Zuidplein
28 August - 21 September 2010
Opening: Saturday, 28 August 2010, 15:00 to 17:00

At the invitation of Sculpture International Rotterdam (SIR), Erik van Lieshout is opening a shop in the Zuidplein shopping centre. The shop serves as the basis for Van Lieshout’s takes for his film on Zuid (South Rotterdam). It is a large-scale film project including a public film set whereby he will be involving primarily residents of Zuid (South Rotterdam) and the shopping centre’s shopkeepers, including several regular �players’. Van Lieshout’s film project is the SIR’s kick-off for the long-term art plan for Zuidplein.

This will be a personal film document. I am looking for the abstract in Zuidplein, both in the architecture as well as the people, a new approach to social projects, the connection with the Ahoy arena. This will be my commentary on the political-social powerlessness of people and art. It will also be my quest for an actual home. Above all, it will be an attempt to get the heart of Zuid beating again.  (Erik van Lieshout, 2009)

THE SHOP
Van Lieshout may be found in the shop every day, where he is building a constantly changing installation for a large part of the shoots for the film on Zuid. The installation in the shop is a reflection of Van Lieshout’s research into the origins of the Zuidplein shopping centre, the relationship between former utopian starting points for Zuidplein; the relationship to the ideals of urban planners such as Rem Koolhaas, the visitors and the current public functions. In his shop, Erik has talked to many of the residents of Zuid, including the Zuidplein shopkeepers, and has also welcomed many visitors from the international art world there. The shoots for the film will be completed in late August. On Saturday afternoon, 28 August, a festive opening will be held for the shop. For this occasion, the shop will be transformed into an exhibition space, affording visitors a chance to see the results of two months’ work on this unique spatial installation.

ERIK VAN LIESHOUT
As an international artist, Erik van Lieshout (Deurne, 1968) has his roots in Zuid, and in spite of his international career and places of residence, he has permanently pledged his heart to South Rotterdam. Starting in 1993, Van Lieshout lived and worked in South Rotterdam for 14 years. Life in Zuid, with its exciting, moving and confrontational elements, is inextricably linked to his artwork. From recalcitrant paintings to social-political projects in which he involved the neighbourhood residents. These projects resulted in his international breakthrough in the plastic arts. Van Lieshout lives and works in Cologne (Germany) and Rotterdam. His works are displayed in numerous museums and at Biennales all over the world.

CONTEXT: ZUIDPLEIN
Commissioned by Pact op Zuid (�Pact for South’), the Borough of Charlois and the Borough of Feijenoord, SIR developed a plan for a long-term art project for Zuidplein. In the context of the upcoming major renovations to Zuidplein, the challenge is to initiate a cohesive whole of art projects which address the various layers of Zuidplein’s meaning over the years that plans are being made and construction will be carried out. In addition to Van Lieshout, the Chinese architect/artist Ai Weiwei, Ken Lum from Vancouver (Canada) and the Dutchman Jan Hunneman also developed works dedicated to Zuid.

This project was made possible by the generous support of the Borough of Charlois, the Borough of Feijenoord, project developer Grontmij Vastgoedmanagement and Hart van Zuid.


Sculpture International Rotterdam (SIR) is an advisory body to the Municipal Executive, and as such, it manages and develops the international artwork for major urban locations in Rotterdam, thereby supporting Rotterdam in the achievement of its international and cultural objectives. (SIR is affiliated with the Rotterdam Center for the Plastic Arts)
 
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SCULPTURE INTERNATIONAL ROTTERDAM
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