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Like a composer who writes a piece of music, Claudy Jongstra composes with wool, which she uses to create new colourful compositions. Flowing like notes on a page, Atmosphaera, a solo exhibition from September 7th – October 26th, presents the artist’s new organically shaped works. Pervasive in their warm glow, the wool-felted artworks take on layered blue hues derived from woad, and the fresh harvest of Yellow Chamomile from Odin farm De Beersche Hoeve (Brabant) yields a vibrant yellow. The field of swaying flowers is swarming with buzzing insects. A harmony of sights and sounds, this is how Claudy Jongstra, her interns, and the farmers at De Beersche Hoeve encounter Yellow Chamomile, collectively harvesting the year's first pick of this biodynamically grown plant. Studio Claudy Jongstra has worked with the farm for many years; they share the same vision and communal spirit. The artist has been using the natural colours of dye plants for decades, forming a notable contribution to the aesthetic and environmentalism of Jongstra’s practice. 

Atmosphaera is a testament to the beauty of biodynamic farming through both the tangible and visual dynamics of these pulsating works. The artist considers spheres that express a state of mind. Jongstra poses the question, “Where are we now, and how can we relate to a safe, vital future?” Finding ourselves encapsulated by atmospheres in which we are seeking protection. Symmetry is drawn between the shell-like qualities of wool, examining the purpose of the material. The necessary fortification and resilience of the biotic community from which these pieces derive are manifest in these tapestries. The act of safeguarding is a narrative that has been strongly woven into each piece.
 

About the Artist
Claudy Jongstra is known worldwide for her monumental artworks and architectural installations, whose organic surfaces and nuanced tones reflect her masterful innovations in the ancient technique of making wool felt. Jongstra’s oeuvre is included in many international museums as well as private and corporate collections such as the MoMA, NYC; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, NYC; LACMA Museum, Los Angeles; Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden; Limburgs Museum, Venlo; TextielMuseum, Tilburg; Centraal Museum, Utrecht; RISD Museum, Providence; SFMoMA, San Francisco; Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede; Fries Museum, Leeuwarden; Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati; Triodos Bank Art Collection and Akzo Nobel Art Collection. Furthermore, her work has been exhibited at the 7th Architectural Biennale of Sao Paulo, Sao Paolo, Brazil; Museum De Lakenhal; TextielMuseum, Tilburg, NL; 13th Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy; and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, USA. 

In 2001, Jongstra established her studio in the rural North of The Netherlands, where she began a sweeping ecological experiment in the local landscape. Maintaining a flock of rare, indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep (the oldest breed in Northern Europe) and cultivating a specialized dyers' botanical collection garden, Jongstra creates a completely sustainable chain culminating in her artworks.​

 

Friday 6 September - Saturday 26 October 2024
 

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For an overview of the available works click HERE

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