Osterich Painter. Jan Hoving posthumously.
About this activity.
Solo exhibition with a lot of unknown work
The opening of the exhibition 'Ostrich Painter' with work by Jan Hoving will take place on 28 May at 5:00 PM. He had his last live exhibition in 2014 in Galerie Noord. Posthumously there will be an exhibition again at this place. There is much hitherto unknown work on display and for sale. The book Ostrich Painter is also published, about his work as a visual artist.
Jan Hoving (1938-2020) was born in the Mauritsdwarsstraat in Groningen. His father Wietse Hoving (1911-1999) was a member of the artist group De Ploeg. Jan Hoving worked as a window dresser until he was thirty-five, but he spent his free hours painting. He then made many portraits, elongated faces in which the influence of artists such as Modigliani can be seen. And also paintings with female figures.
In the early 1970s he focused entirely on his artistry. He joined Groep Nu, founded in 1959 as a spin-off of De Ploeg. His work was 'vaguely absurd', according to a reviewer for Nieuwsblad van het Noorden in 1972. His involvement with Groep Nu did not last long: it ended in 1973. Jan Hoving's work then took a clear turn. He started working in series, based on a fixed concept. He also conducted visual research into the concept of 'time'. He found inspiration in the art that could be seen at the gallery of farmer Waalkens in Finsterwolde, by artists such as Ger van Elk and Jan Dibbets.
In 1972 his work was shown in a group exhibition at the Groninger Museum and a year later in the exhibition 'Atelier 11' at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. His conceptual work was met with rave reviews. After exhibitions at home and abroad, the first museum solo exhibition followed in 1980, in the Groninger Museum. From the 1980s, Hoving became interested in the free and spontaneous movement. He worked in a figurative-expressionist style and mainly wanted to draw, also in large format. He found a solution in the use of oilsticks: oil paint in the form of thick chalks.
“Art is something to play with,” said Hoving when he exhibited at Galerie Niggendijker in 1990. The representations in his drawings and etchings arose spontaneously: dogs, birds, animals that are somewhere between a pig, dog or horse, still lifes in colorful, expressive shapes. We also see references to distant places that only existed in his imagination or images from his youth, such as the bombers flying over that he must have seen in the city center of Groningen during the Second World War.
He also regularly drew literally himself: self-portraits in his studio. He almost always worked in the dark, under the yellow light of a light bulb. He drew his eyes large, sometimes even double. There were many people around him at that time, artist friends, the people in the pubs, his family, his lovers. But only shadows can be seen in his drawings, of which it is unclear who they are supposed to represent.
Jan Hoving passed away in 2020. He left behind a large oeuvre. Work by Jan Hoving is in the collections of the Groninger Museum, the Cultural Heritage Agency and Kunstpunt Groningen. The exhibition 'Ostrich Painter' is an initiative of Harm Holtkamp, curated by Hoving's daughter Sarah Montsma and organized by Galerie Noord. The exhibition can be visited until 23 June.
Galerie Noord.
Galerie Noord is een expositieruimte in hartje Groningen. Vierwekelijks bieden we kunstenaars uit het Noorden de mogelijkheid recent werk te tonen, solo of in kleine groepen. Galerie Noord richt zich op autonoom, experimenteel en onderzoekend werk in vrijwel alle disciplines. We willen bezoekers verrassen door tentoonstellingen te bieden met een wisselend karakter.
Galerie Noord wordt volledig gerund door vrijwilligers. In 1997 werd de galerie opgericht als kunstenaarsinitiatief.
Location.
Galerie Noord
Nieuwstad 6
9711 JP Groningen
tel 050-3113322
www.galerienoord.nl