2000 Holland Horizons, Mueso de bellas Artes,  Buenos Aires, Argentina

2000 april - may: Interdisciplinary show of Dutch art and architecture at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina The Buenos Aires Herald: HOLLAND HORIZONS 2000   The National Museum of Fine Arts has self appointed itself as international cultural ambassador by inaugurating this year a trend consisting in showcasing, each month, the current artistic production of a different country. This month it is Holland’s turn to wow us with its insightful photography, iconoclastic paintings and slick, cutting edge architecture. A one way trip to the art and heart of the country which also gave us the best artists of them all – Hieronymus Bosch and Mr. Rembrandt As you enter this showroom of the National Museum of Fine Arts, you are welcomed by Rineke Dijkstra’s series of portraits, taken in several different beaches from 1992 to 1996, showing, with an almost anthropological poise, the amazing array of expressions conveyed by the body language of children and youngsters who come from such disparate countries as Ukraine, belgium or the US. These colour photographs by Rineke dijkstra, which have given her international celebrity (and have been recently showcased at the new york Museum of Modern Art), prove indeed to be an original form of artistic expression and a powerful cultural statement at the same time. On the section dedicated to the so called "post-modern realism", featuring painters Hugo Kaagman and Rob Scholte, we finally experience the rare feeling of discovering something unique and innovative in the horizon of the visual arts, not only in the Dutch context but also from an international point of view. Self-taught artist Hugo Kaagman, who started his career in the 70s as a graffiti artist in Amsterdam, is presenting here a series of paintings which remind us of the symmetric design and pattern selection (let alone the use of blue and white) in delft porcelain during the 17th and 18th century, combining in a whimsical yet meaningful way decorative layouts with such local traditional motives as the members of the royal family or Rembrandt himself. Participating from a similar playful yet more cynical sensibility, Rob Scholte appropiates for his personal vision the iconography of advertising, TV, Internet, and the street, in order to deconstruct under a rather disparaging light the sinful world we live in. Deeply influenced by Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel’s vibrant visual conception, Scholte is presenting at this show his series of works about capital sins which he will be placing at the vatican. As Kaagman, Scholte also combines symbols, icons, and motives but in such a jam packed way which is almost a prophecy about our imminently bursting reality. Besides Rineke Dijkstra’s photography, Hugo Kaagman and Rob Scholte’s paintings, and the innovative urban design by the Mecanoo group of architects (which has recently been exhibited at the Sao Paulo biennal), this interdisciplinary show includes a cycle of video art presentations and concerts.        By Pablo Baler for the Buenos Aires Herald. (may 2000).

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