Exhibition of works by Daphne van de Velde en Simone Albers

In the exhibition ‘Terra Incognita’, literally unknown territory, two apparently opposite worlds come together in the photography/works of Daphne van de Velde and the paintings of Simone Albers. While Daphne is concerned with the inner world and how this translates to the outside world, Simone is interested in that world outside and how we are connected to it. Both artists are attracted by processes that are hidden from the naked eye. In the search for connection with the other, whether the human or the extra-human, the question is whether the dichotomy between inside and outside can actually remain intact.

The work of Daphne van de Velde (1973) is characterized by crossovers between photography and other media. Making the skin tangible, the boundary of the body with the outside world and the other can be described as the visual language of her work. She visualizes the longing for contact and at the same time its destructiveness. A fight and an act of love. In her work it is never quite clear what the body is involved in. With her body she explores the border as a transition zone between inside and outside; the skin that meets, touches, physically reacts, protects and insulates. She experiments with different media, distorting the flat surface of the photo like a paper skin. She intervenes until a vulnerable, ruin-like sculpture is created.

Van de Velde graduated from ArtEZ School of the Arts and two years ago from the Photo Academy Amsterdam (cum laude). Her work can also be seen this year at UNSEEN, Amsterdam, and Gallery Vilnius, Lithuania. Last year her work was shown at Het Nieuwe Instituut, Photo IS:RAEL, Verzasca Fotofestival and Big Art. In 2020 her work was nominated for the Selection of Dutch Photography (DuPho) and she won the Photoworks+ (UK) Graduate award.

Simone Albers (1990) is fascinated by the evolution of the cosmos and the complexity of existence. She tries to understand the mechanisms hidden behind the directly observable world by delving into scientific research and philosophy. The questions that occupy her are philosophical in nature and often go beyond the limits of our cognition, often approached from a Romantic perspective. Her latest Omega & Alpha series focuses on the Earth and its smallest inhabitants: microbes. The series zooms in on microbes and their role within the ecological cycle. In the paintings, these themes are woven into a whole and it is precisely the minuscule that shows its grandeur.

Albers had a solo exhibition in o-68 in 2018. Her work has been shown in museum het Valkhof, at NN group, at the London Art Fair (2019, and at DRAW Art Fair London in the Saatchi Gallery. Her work has been included. in the collections of Menzis health insurance and HAN Nijmegen.In 2019 she was nominated for the Royal Award for Free Painting

For the creation of the new works, the artists received contributions from the Mondriaan Fund, Stroomversneller (Daphne van de Velde) and Groeispurt (Simone Albers).