Loading
Temporary exhibition that offers an overview of the trajectory of Jan Hendrix
- Rianne van Dijck, NRC 2019
“Artist Jan Hendrix translates unruly nature into sensual, cuddly canvas.”
In Tierra Firme (meaning 'mainland'), Hendrix refers to sighting the coastline; a mythical allusion to colonialism and to a revision of natural history. The exhibition thus gives a reflection of the role played by engravings and drawings in the representation of the first phase of globalisation.
Ever since his studies at the Jan van Eyck Academy, Jan Hendrix has felt drawn to the idea of the traveller, as seen in various engravings, books, photo albums and documentaries. His own experience as an immigrant has also influenced his relationship to graphic art and how it has contributed to the representation of the world.
Hendrix has worked intensively with various international writers in the production of special books in a limited edition. One of the books that can be seen in the exhibition is the book VI of the Aneid. Hendrix accompanied the bundle with screen prints. The screen prints show black surfaces that represent the landscape and silhouettes of cacti in Yagul (Mexico). The prints were eventually translated into a series of large monumental Jacquard tapestries, which can also be seen in the exhibition.
Visual artist Jan Hendrix was born in Maasbree (the Netherlands) in 1949. At the age of seventeen he started his education at the Art Academy in Den Bosch, which he had to interrupt prematurely. On the recommendation of the Japanese artist Shinkichi Tajiri, Hendrix began his studies in 1968 at the Ateliers 63 in Haarlem, a very progressive artist's workplace. Hendrix continued his master's degree from 1971 to 1975 at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht, where he focused on film, photography and graphic art. In 1975 he traveled to Mexico to study the Mexican landscape there. During the last 40 years, Hendrix has exhibited his work worldwide in museums and galleries.
DISCOVER COLLECTION
Jan Hendrix: Tierra Firme
Temporary exhibition that offers an overview of the trajectory of Jan Hendrix
Exhibition and publication
Tierra Firme is a collaboration between the MUAC in Mexico and the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht. It will be shown in the Bonnefantenmuseum from 26 November 2019 to 26 April 2020. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue entitled Jan Hendrix: Tierra Firme, which is available from the Bonnefantenmuseum.