New Gallery gCS in Amsterdam Opened on 21 April with Cultural Speech

Since 21 April, the Baarsjes in Amsterdam is one very original gallery better off with gCS. Gallery gCS will exhibit contemporary art that stimulates the viewer’s intellect through the intense and intriguing world of the artist.

The gallery’s opening exhibition Cultural Speech is a raw exploration of identity, with each exhibit illustrating the transience of culture in its own original way. The exhibition comprises video works Conversations wit de Churen V: As da Art World Might Turn and KK Queens Survey by Kalup Linzy (NYC), the photographic project Birdmen by Jacquie Maria Wessels (NL) and the sculptures Self Portrait II, Cocoons, Ongedierte (vermin) and Happy People by Wouter van Schaik (NL). We hope to surprise and astonish visitors with the intriguing work created by these artists.

Kalup Linzy’s videos and performances are reflections on American society and can be seen as an ironic allusion to many an American TV series. On closer inspection, however, videos such as Conversations wit de Churen V: As da Art World Might Turn and KK Queens Survey have a far deeper meaning. They create a feeling of alienation, in particular because Linzy himself does all the voice - overs and creates all the characters. His work is included in collections at the MoMA, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

For many years, the focus of Jacquie Maria Wessels work has been on examining highly diverse social and cultural relationships and subsequently expressing these in a refreshing yet divergent manner. Wessels’ recently published and highly successful photography book Cityscapes + Birdmen contains work from Surinam and the Netherlands.

Wouter van Schaik explores the feelings and needs so often suppressed in our everyday lives. Happiness, for example, often turns out to be no more than a mask. He attempts to fathom those feelings with his sculptures, many of which represent his own body. Van Schaik is a young and emerging artist whose achievements already include the Oostenwind Public Prize Amsterdam and a nomination for the Young Blood Award Enschede.

Cultural Speech will run from 21 April to 18 June.

For further information or press material, please contact Peggy Wessels-John +31 (0)6-41501833