Category: Project

Olphaert den Otter – Reality Check

gallery@droog presents Reality Check, a solo exhibition by visual artist Olphaert den Otter (Poortugaal, 1955). The exhibition features 28 paintings in egg tempera on paper and canvas/panel, from the series World Stress Painting, Home Made, and Postcode. Most of these have never been shown before. They form a bridge between classical landscape painting and contemporary subject matter. This exhibition shows how beauty and engagement can reinforce each other.

download here the text of the exhibition – in Dutch

Olphaert den Otter’s paintings are based on reality: a report or a photo in the newspaper, a spot in the woods, the meagre possessions of an unhoused person. Yet the works are not realistic. At will, Den Otter omits or adds details from the image. For instance, he consistently leaves out all the people: “There is no story. There is image.”

Den Otter paints landscapes, in which people left their traces, in which disastrous events took place, in which the natural environment underwent changes through the ages. His work expresses a deep commitment to the earth and the world. Since 2009, he has been making World Stress Paintings, an infinite series of works in which he visualises places that have turned into catastrophes due to human intervention. His Postcode series captures how homeless people make shelter through creative use of waste.

‘The earth’ is our planet, ‘the world’ is what it became because of what we made of it. There is a tension between earth and world, between humans and their environment. I see that tension and base my work on it.

Olphaert den Otter

Through his sense of composition, colour, and staging, he gives a soul to a newspaper photo or a seemingly insignificant place. Den Otter paints beauty, but it is a beauty without wellbeing. Because of their emphatic aesthetics, the paintings seem one-dimensional at first glance, but on closer inspection they prove to be very layered. It is precisely this aesthetic that heightens our perception. A wry beauty manifests itself in his work, which does not smooth away life but exposes it in all its painfulness.

Every Thursday, Den Otter posts an image of one of his paintings on Facebook with an accompanying text. These texts form an integral part of the exhibition. They are almost always written in retrospect, sometimes years after a painting has been completed. Text and image are both snapshots, from parallel worlds intersecting along the paths of Den Otter’s lasting preoccupations throughout the years. This makes them time and place specific as well as universal.

A special publication written by art critic Anna Tilroe will accompany Reality Check. She will also open the exhibition in the presence of the artist on Wednesday 9 November. The Reality Check exhibition is curated by Renny Ramakers.

 About the artist

Olphaert den Otter (born 1955, Poortugaal) studied at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. Den Otter’s career spans over 40 years as a visual artist, a painter, animator, and, in the past, teacher at various academies. His work is included in various museum collections including the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Museum Belvédère Heerenveen. Den Otter participated in group exhibitions in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Belgium, and Australia. Besides his practice as a visual artist, he is a countertenor in the Rhetorical Quartet and lectures on cultural-philosophical themes. Olphaert den Otter lives and works in Rotterdam.

The exhibition Olphaert den Otter ­– Reality Check is on view from 10 November 2022 to 9 January 2023. 

Read here the review of Het Parool – in Dutch

exhibition olphaert den otterDownload

photo’s by Thijs Wolzak

The wonder of weaving…Cacau

Photography by Dario Pequeno Paraiso

[acx_slideshow name=”weaving” width=”724px” height=”583px”]
The wonder of weaving. Separating white and blue threads is tedious work but makes it possible for the weavers of Cacau to develop the detailed patterns into a cohesive design. Droog designer Nikkie Wester is dedicated to helping the weavers work wonders.

Continuing with Cacau…

Photography by Dario Pequeno Paraiso

After Droog’s weaving workshop in July in Sao Tome, a group of passionate locals continue to use their newly acquired skills to weave a 90m long curtain. The curtain will offer their local cultural center, Cacau the possibility to divide and open the space according to their needs.
[acx_slideshow name=”Weavers 1″ width=”724px” height=”483px”]

For the Cacau project textile designer Nikkie Wester translated the traditional Gobrlin technique into a contemporary weaving method. Only weaving the outlines of the pattern.


Meet the weavers of Cacau.
From left to right: Engrácia Isabel, Gualter Martinho Henrique, Alzira Medeiros, Sonia Mendes, Luisa Monteiro, Guimarley Oliveira, Angelina Cabral Cuba, Silania Pascoal Domingas, Etelvina Monteiro, Fernanda Mendes Vaz da Silva, Nilza Piedade, Eusébio Dias Fernandes, Alaize Martins Vincente, Seli Soares Martins, Nilsa Elvira, Eula Fonseco Sousa Pontes, Irodina Almeida, Marlene Soares, Cremilda Vaz da Conceição Santana, Manuel do Espírito Santo Santana

 

[acx_slideshow name=”Weavers 2 olivia garden” width=”724px” height=”483px”]

This magical botanical garden belongs to São Tomé local, Olivia. Weavers of the 90m long curtain designed by Droog have been utilizing Olivia’s plants as natural dyes for the curtain’s fibers. We can’t wait to see the results!

[acx_slideshow name=”weavers 3 indige” width=”724px” height=”483px”]

The indigo plant is native to São Tomé however there were no current applications of indigo use as dying material on the island. The curtain will be made from local non-toxic dyes and materials found on the island of São Tomé such as banana fiber and pigments from plants and minerals.<Br><br>
[acx_slideshow name=”weavers 4 meet the weavers” width=”724px” height=”483px”]

The weavers brought their first visit to the cultural center, where eventually the curtain will hang and construction on the building’s interior will begin this winter.

 

House of furniture exhibition in the Serre

 

 

 

Make sure to come and check out the House of Furniture. On display for the first time in The Netherlands at Hôtel Droog.

House of furniture by Studio Makkink & Bey

Architecture, furniture and storage all in one. Studio Makkink & Bey took standard sheets of ply with CNC cutting, and created a miniature house to stand within larger interiors of offices, studios and lofts.
With walls of stool, bench and table parts that easily come out and assemble, the functionality and character of the house can be changed as more or less furniture is used. This custom designed house offers endless possibilities as furniture parts suit different functions. Easily adapting to the surroundings. Designed in 2009, and presented in Milan, the House of furniture has proven its relevance thought out the years. Efficiently produced while re-using materials.

 

 

At MADE 2016 Droog is awarded ‘Designer do Ano’ (Designer of the Year)

From Screw to City

At the 4th Mercado Arte Design (MADE) in São Paulo (Brazil), Droog presents ‘From Screw to City’, showcasing that Droog explores for more than 23 years all dimensions of human life – from the smallest detail to the bigger picture – from screw to city!

At MADE 2016 Droog is awarded ‘Designer do Ano’ (Designer of the Year)

Mercado Arte Design (MADE) in São Paulo (Brazil)

Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 13h – 21h
Saturday 12h – 21h
Sunday 12h – 20h

Location: Jockey Club de São Paulo – Av. Lineu de Paula Machado, 1.173 (vallet no numero 1.263) – Cidade Jardim, São Paulo, Brazil

Tuesday to Thursday
Free entrance

Friday to Sunday: R$ 20

For the elderly and students: R$ 10

Keeping up with CACAU

Droog has been commissioned to redesign the CACAU cultural center in São Tomé. The aim is to contribute to a sustainable socio-economic infrastructure for the island’s cultural center that celebrates art, music, fashion, film and food.

Throughout the project, Droog encourages the local community to participate in the project to further forge a community home. In the coming months, construction for the redesign of the interior of CACAU will take place. Droog is currently holding a workshop on the island to realise an important element for the new interior, a 90-meter long curtain designed specifically for the center’s new look.

Under guidance of textile designer Nikkie Wester, a community of around 25 men and women living on the island are being trained to weave the substantial textile. The newly learned skills and techniques hope to inject fresh economic activities into the community, as well as support the existing island-artisan activities.

The curtain offers CACAU the possibility to divide and/or open the space according to the needs of the center. It will ultimately represent the collective identity of the community, through the stitch of each individual.  The artwork is rich in personality and identity and combines visual references of São Tomé’s flora and fauna, made from local non-toxic dyes and materials found on the island (such as banana fiber and pigments from plants and minerals). A poem dear to São Tomé, written by Alda Espírito Santo will lace the bottom edge of the artwork, uniting the piece. The fundamental idea of the collaboration was to recycle and use as many local materials and waste items as possible to realize the project.

The process involves locally handmade tools and looms, with one-on-one weaving guidance by Nikkie. The men and women began with smaller looms for training, and will eventually move to 5 larger looms (working with 3 people per loom) in order to realise the full design.

The training period also involves comprehensive dying techniques, mainly using an ancient tint called indigovera tincture (Indigo). The indigo plant is native to São Tomé however there were no current applications of indigo use as a dying material. The group who will assist in dying process is made up of 5 people, from a small cooperative called Uê Tela based in São Tomé. Other colours used in the CACAU project are a very dark grey/green, green, light green, yellow and pink, which are already being produced by Uê Tela from all natural materials.

The mission of the CACAU center is to enhance and develop cultural enterprise in the community, where even the redesign intertwines this mission in the minutiae of its development. Though the completion of the build is a few months away yet, the spirit of the Center is still very much awake.

Our local man on the scene, Dário Pequeno Paraíso is providing his talents to document the process.  Keep up with Droog on social media to follow the process!

all images by Dário Pequeno Paraíso

Droog is commissioned to redesign the CACAU cultural center in São Tomé

Droog is commissioned to redesign the CACAU cultural center in São Tomé. The aim is to contribute to a sustainable socio-economic infrastructure. Therefore 25 local women and men under guidance of textile designer Nikkie Wester will be trained for 4 weeks to weave and dye banana fiber.

Together they make a huge textile for the interior. After completion, they can use their newly learned skills for their own economic actvities and other projects.

Dinner with refugees at Hôtel Droog

 

On 21 December 2015 Sarriel Taus and Renny Ramakers organized their first dinner with refugees at Hôtel Droog.  35 Dutch guests mingled with 35 refugees from Syria, Irak and Eritrea, christians and moslims.

It was a night full of hearth breaking stories about crossing the Sea in rubber boats, the transit through Turkey, Macedonia and so on, the continuously bombing in their home land – a hairdresser told us that his hair salon had been completely destroyed and while we were eating and drinking, my neighbour at the table received a text message from a friend saying that his house was in between two fires. They showed pictures of their family left behind and they told us about their life in the refugees shelters. For some if them it was the first time to meet Dutch citizens. Their biggest frustration is that they don’t have any money while not being permitted to do any work. They don’t want to keep their hand up. They just want to work, to start an enterprise, to start a new life. And now the only thing they can do is wait. Many of them were eager to learn Dutch and one guest hilariously practiced Dutch proverbs.The 35 refugees were all men.

On 15 February 2016 a second dinner was organized, this time with women only and a few gay men. The atmosphere was totally different. It was again evening full of shocking stories. But we also saw new friendships arise. Afterwards we got very positive feedback from the refugees aid organization. They told us that everyone was enthousiast and that the evening gave the refugees hope and trust.


 

Social City wins Peoples’ Choice Award at UABB 2015/2016

Social City wins Peoples’ Choice Award at UABB 2015/2016

We (Droog, OSCity, Jan Rothuizen) are happy to announce that our project Social City, which is part of the Design+Desires program, has won the Peoples’ Choice Award at the UABB 2015/2016. The jury stated: ““Symbiotic Village”, “City of Wind”, and “Social City” won public recognition for their creativity, sense of presence and visual presentation through a poll conducted at UABB venues, on the official website and platforms like WeChat, over a period of one month.”

Droog wins a Wallpaper* Design Award for the Construct Me! Hardware Collection.

 

The hardware collection is awarded in the Design:Details category, you can see further information here

About Construct Me!
Our screws, hinges, nuts, nails, brackets and other hardware are super functional – in some cases we even extended their function – but they also add value, character and a richer narrative. In our created collection, you will find nails that reduce the risk of hitting your finger, two way tie wraps, fancy hinges and screws that smile at you. They give flavour to simple DIY work, revive existing furniture and challenge the designer.

Droog invites you to share your dreams & desires for a new way of city-making on Socialcities.org

People all over the world are invited to express their desires via a virtual platform and quiz at
Socialcities.org.

People can create an avatar and see the city grow. Socialcities.org is also a think tank. Quizzes on a
variety of topics generate visual data maps, research, reflection and discussion.

The project is part of a broader research-and-do-program developed by Renny Ramakers
(Co-founder of Droog). The program examines the world’s city life starting from small scale to the
larger whole by acknowledging the passions and needs of people. Social City is the first exercise.
The average person intimately knows 50 people. These people probably met through a predestined
network – a network of people limited by nationality, income, school and work.

Next to this, the world is changing fast and it’s splintering. Mohammed in Africa probably has more
in common with David in the UK than he does with Ibrahim in his same-city friendship circle. Bringing
Mo and David together not only nurtures shared interests, but also individual diversity due to their
birthplace heritage.

Everything has changed around us. We embrace internet, technology, social media, globalization.
Yet, the way cities are designed is surprisingly similar to 50 years ago. Cities do not keep up with this
fast-paced status quo and its fragmenting diversity of lifestyles.

Imagine cities built like matchmaking sites, connecting like-minded people with shared dreams and
desires. Imagine our social circles not being designed by top-down decision making, but by our
mutual passions. Imagine desires designing our cities.

The online platform Socialcities.org addresses all of this by using play and techno culture to capture
the dreams and desires of ordinary citizens. This makes for a city that understands changing global
culture, a city without borders, or rules or top-down planning.

Socialcities.org is an exercise in individuality and explores how countless identities can make up a
diverse whole. It is a think tank based on the desires and dreams of citizens. The world has changed,
now it’s time for the city.

Socialcities.org is created by Renny Ramakers (Droog / Design+Desires) and Mark van der Net
(OSCity) in collaboration with Thonik (design). It is part of the broader Social City project at Shenzhen
Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB, 1/12/2015 – 1/3/2016), curated by Renny Ramakers.

For more information please contact:
[email protected]
www.socialcities.org
www.designdesires.org

Design + Desires reworks Dapperbuurt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A project by the Droog Foundation, Design+Desires examines how to link the dreams, passions, desires and needs of citizens to their virtual and real daily experiences. The latest investigation for D+D has been given the go-ahead by the city of Amsterdam, and visits the neighbourhood of Dapperbuurt.

From September to December 2015, we will examine the passions of Dapperbuurt residents through two key layers – conducting various data capture and responding to that data with design solutions to present alternative economy solutions to policy-makers. In the first layer, we will conduct a social quick-scan of Dapperbuurt with the help of a technological tool developed by Mark van der Net of OSCity. This tool will extract soft data information of Dapperbuurt citizens by tapping into content linked to personal activities and passions which citizens have posted on the web. This tool will be supported by IRL data capture through in-depth interviews with Dapperbuurt citizens, also focusing on their passions – conducted by public space designer Jan Konings and artist Jan Rothuizen.

By collating these desires we meet the second layer of the Dapperbuurt project. We will translate the collected data into innovative design solutions to solve local problems and explore new opportunities within Dapperbuurt. Using the qualities of design, we intend to find alternative economies (not a money economy) through the mechanisms of citizen passion and leisure time. Keep up to date on the project here: http://www.designdesires.org/projects/77.

Splendor in the Grass – Droog’s Kinesthetic Camping Ground sets the Museum of Sex on fire!

Droog presents their experiential sensorium Splendor in the Grass, produced under commission for the New York Museum of Sex’s  Kinesthesia award.

Flirting with the complexities of sexuality, the installation transforms the Museum into an immersive ‘erotic camping ground’. The work intoxicates and activates visitors’ visual, auditory and kinesthetic senses through the symphony of five interactive tents.

A surreal adult-playground invites guests to connect with the various phases of human sexuality. The tents are designed around our visceral relationship with nature and eroticism – ranging from a girl made from grass whispering in your ear; an ice-oven tent that warms as your basal body temperature rises; enticingly tactile gloryholes; to a steamy cloud-chamber filled with the fever of scent.

Edith Gruson of Droog explains the concept of the installation, “..here you will experience feelings which are intensified by memories of your body and nature. How does it feel to walk through wet grass, the water embracing your body…the sensation of warm and cool on your skin.”

The five camping tents are designed to seduce curiosity, prompting visitors to explore the exotic thrill of arousal. Mark Snyder, Director of Exhibitions at the Museum of Sex explains; “Through our Kinesthesia Art Commission award we hope to push the boundaries of traditional Museum-going experiences and encourage patrons to appreciate physical art..expect to use your entire body when you visit Splendor in the Grass.”

Whether the space harnesses movement or tactility, the physical or emotional, fantasy or reality – each contemporary bivouac will, in combination, weave together the diverse sum of sexuality.

About the Museum of Sex
The mission of the Museum of Sex (MoSex) is to preserve and present the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality. Since opening in 2002, the museum has collaborated with world-renown cultural institutions, artists, and academics to create more than 20 exhibitions and three interactive programs that explore the best in current scholarship in the arts, sciences and humanities. From fine art to historical ephemera, its permanent collection is comprised of more than 15,000 sexually significant artifacts.

For more information, please visit www.museumofsex.com.

About Studio Droog
Renny Ramakers founded Studio Droog in 2011. The studio creates concepts, spaces and products, all based on our key principles: respect for the existing, context/relevance, beauty and playfulness. Distilled to the simple idea of less+ more. The studio addresses client commissions as well as in house assignments.

The studio is committed to deliver design with a strong identity. We believe that utility and relevance do not have to come at the expense of beauty and fantasy. Every design starts with a radical re-think of a particular subject or product. Each outcome is unique and tells a story of its own.Droog brings beauty, simplicity, relevance and playfulness to everything they do, distilling each project down to the simple idea of less+ more.

For more information, please visit www.droog.com.

Location
New York Museum of Sex
233 Fifth Avenue (at 27th Street),
New York City.

Opening Hours
The Museum is open 7 days a week:
Sunday to Thursday from 10:00am to 8:00pm;
Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00am to 9:00pm.

The official launch of the exhibition will be on the 25th of June, 2015 and will run for approximately one (1) year.
Tickets may be purchased at the ticket counter or online at the website.

Note to press
For more information please contact:
Museum of Sex: Lisa Hanock-Jasie at [email protected], or 212.689 6337 Ext. 125
Droog: Lara Mikocki at [email protected], or +31 (0)20 523 50 58.

 

Droog’s Kinesthetic Camping Ground sets the Museum of Sex on fire


Splendor in the Grass
Droog’s Kinesthetic Camping Ground sets the Museum of Sex on fire

‘Splendor in the grass’ is the title of Droog’s latest exhibition commissioned by New York’s Museum of Sex (MoSEX) as part of the Kinesthesia Series. The exhibition explores the somewhat taboo, yet ubiquitous culture of sex through the means of a camping ground – presenting various camping tents to define and engage the multiplex concept of sex, human relationships and the senses.

A synergy of surrealism and the ‘great outdoors’ functions as a platform to seduce kinesthesia through various microcosms of sensorial activity. The exposé will analyze the identity of sex, connecting visitors to phases of stimulation and the thrill of arousal.

Whether the space harnesses movement or tactility, the physical or emotional, fantasy or reality – each contemporary bivouac will, in combination, weave together the diverse sum of sexuality.

The official launch of the exhibition will be on the 25th of June, 2015 and will run for approximately one (1) year.