Foam in Van Loon III, Daniëlle van Ark
12 October – 21 January 2012

Museum Van Loon, located across the Keizersgracht from Foam, graciously opened its rooms to Foam in 2005 and 2009. Because Foam is temporarily closing its doors in the autumn of 2012 to prepare for a major Diane Arbus retrospective, Foam invited Dutch photographer Daniëlle van Ark to let herself be inspired by the house of the Van Loon family. The result is an exceptional exhibition, Foam in Van Loon III, Daniëlle van Ark.

The outward display of social status, wealth, fame, mortality and transience are major themes in Van Ark’s work. Presented in Museum van Loon are several works that relate to these subjects, and also have a direct relationship to the surroundings in which they are presented. In the series For Art’s Sake (2005 – 2009), which first earned Van Ark recognition in 2006, she photographed art-goers at gallery openings. Everything Fell into the Right Hands (2009 – present) is a series of photos of the hands of wealthy women whose fingers are adorned with large gemstones and signet rings – the everlasting jewel versus the mortal hand. Transience (2011) shows the process of lavish flowers wilting on graves a few days following the burial.

In early 2012 Daniëlle van Ark, resident artist at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten [Royal Academy of Visual Arts] 2012 – 2013, first started working with other art forms besides the photography for which she has become known. In Museum Van Loon she combines her photographic work with installations and sculptures. She has altered the homely environment and replaced the family’s original objects with her own portraits, sculptures and neon texts – a statement on how she views her own work and how she relates to the history and the grandeur of the house.

Foam has been following Van Ark since her graduation and has supported her – she had her very first exhibition at Foam. Van Ark’s new direction in her art and taking leave of her old way of working has now also prompted Foam to present her work.

Daniëlle van Ark (1974) lives and works in Amsterdam and studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. She has been nominated for several awards, including the Steenbergen Stipendium, the Bouw in Beeld Prijs and, in 2011, the National Portrait Prize. Her series For Art’s Sake was exhibited in Foam in 2006.

The exhibition Foam in Van Loon III, Daniëlle van Ark can be seen 12 October 2012– 21 January 2013 in Museum Van Loon. Open daily from 11am - 5pm. Closed on Tuesday. Tickets: € 8,00.