Museum JAN in Amstelveen presents the first museum solo exhibition by artist Boris de Beijer (1986). De Beijer graduated from the Rietveld Academy as a jewellery designer. Since then, he has led an interdisciplinary practice in which his work manoeuvres between the functional and the autonomous. His main focus is on the craft. De Beijer likes mastering new techniques and working with various materials. Especially for Museum JAN, he created new work, partly in collaboration with glass blowers from Amsterdam's Van Tetterode Glass Studio.
The Ancient World serves as an important source of inspiration for De Beijer. In Artefactum 3000, he creates a world where elements of an ancient Roman city are recognizable, with a nod to a distant future.
Love for craftsmanship
A love of classical craftmanship forms the core of De Beijer's work. He wants to know everything about the materials he works with: how they behave in different treatments, how they relate to other materials, how to apply them. 'For many artists and designers, the craft element is one of the least glamorous aspects of their work. Rather, they talk about the grand and sometimes magical moment of a blow-in of an idea. The inspiration. But for me, this blow-in is not possible without first immersing myself in 'dirty' work. Ideas come to me by diving directly into the material,' says De Beijer. 'Craft unjustly has an underdog position in the art and design field, while in fact many great artists and designers, ancient and contemporary, are guided and inspired by craft. For me, this is an inescapable recurring theme.'
Experimenting with glass
De Beijer prefers to learn the ancient techniques from Greek and Roman civilisation, 'where everything began. My ideas emerge from that research into materials and techniques.' De Beijer plays with the idea of 'grandeur' by imitating works from antiquity in non-traditional materials. In recycling shops, for example, he finds (copies of) classical figurines that inspire him, or he makes his own (glass) version of an Etruscan vase with stamped studs, based on an image in a catalogue. 'Craftsmanship is a central focus for me but is both used and misused.' For the new works, De Beijer started experimenting with glass. Working with glass specialists Frederic Van Overschelde and Sander van der Wal of the Van Tetterode Glass Studio, he mastered the craft, resulting in beautiful glass objects.
Boris de Beijer
In 2011, Boris de Beijer graduated from the Jewellery - Linking Bodies department of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Nowadays, Boris de Beijer's work can be seen in (inter)national galleries and cultural institutions and is represented in museum collections of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the CODA in Apeldoorn and the MAD Museum in New York. He has also produced commissioned work for Jacquemus, Róhe Frames, Semaine, Cibone and Ace&Tate, among others.
With thanks to Stichting Modern Glas and the Van Tetterode Glass Studio.