THE RHETORICS OF WORK. RANDSTAD PHOTOCOLLECTION

From 28~01~04 to 28~03~04

Started in 1988, the photography collection Werk/Work belonging to the professional services company Randstad Nederland has grown to comprise more than 300 images by international artists, all dealing with a concept as abstract as work. The present exhibition concentrates on work by Dutch artists and includes 26 images by 11 internationally-known names, including Rineke Dijkstra, Inez van Lamsweerde and Carla van de Puttelaar.

The exhibition reveals the level of quality attained by Dutch photography, a phenomenon that has been labelled the ìDutch Renaissanceî. Curiosity for oneís surroundings, an interest in the everyday, attention to detail and a profound ability to describe characterise the work of a group of artists who seem to have picked up the mantel of the great 17th-century Dutch portrait painters.

This is photography with a markedly documentary character, which describes in a precise, detailed and objective way the personality of the sitter. As Frits Giertsberg noted in the exhibitionís catalogue: ìOften portraits of an individual have a symbolic meaning that goes beyond that person [...] It can also act as a mirror in which we see reflected both the luminosity and the weight of our own existenceî.

Rhetorics of Work includes examples of the different trends that form part of this resurgence of photography in Holland, such as photography of place (Erwin Olaf), the documentary image (Margriet Smulders), landscape (Renier Gerritsen), character portraits (Rineke Dijkstra), and the digitally-manipulated image (Inez van Lamsweerde).

The exhibition The Rhetorics of Work. Randstad Photocollection has enjoyed the support of the Dutch Embassy in Spain and Mondriaan Foundation.

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