Grensverkenners/Trailblazers (2021)
Grensverkenners/Trailblazers: Celebrating 150 Years of the Royal Prize for Free Painting
This year marked the 150th anniversary of the Royal Prize for Free Painting, a prestigious award established by King Willem III in 1871, making it one of the oldest art prizes in the Netherlands. To celebrate this milestone, the Royal Palace Amsterdam hosted a jubilant exhibition titled "Grensverkenners/Trailblazers" this past summer. His Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix inaugurated the exhibition on Wednesday, July 14, reinforcing the tradition and continuity of royal support for the arts. Preceding the opening, the King presented the 2021 Royal Prize for Free Painting.
Grensverkenners/Trailblazers
The anniversary exhibition "Grensverkenners/Trailblazers" celebrated the audacity of groundbreaking participants in the Royal Prize for Free Painting over the past decades. It featured works by artists who have carved out distinctive places in the art world through their visionary approach, often spurred by the recognition and encouragement of the prize.
Curators Mirjam Westen and Richard Kofi carefully selected pieces from past winners and nominees. Westen and Kofi noted, "We sought out artworks that question, stretch, break, and rebuild boundaries. This exhibition showcased the influence of the Royal Prize for Free Painting and how it has inspired participating artists to push further in finding their own voices."
Interventions in the Palace Interior
The artworks were presented as interventions within the historic interiors and the Vierschaar of the Royal Palace, creating provocative visual contrasts and initiating a dialogue between the artworks, the building, and its extensive history.
Featured Artists
The exhibition predominantly featured recent works, with some artists creating new pieces specifically for the occasion, fostering an exciting relationship with the Palace's spaces. Participating artists included Ansuya Blom, Mattijs van den Bosch, Isabel Cordeiro, Suzan Drummen, Esiri Erheriene-Essi, Hadassah Emmerich, Melissa Gordon, Raquel van Haver, Niek Hendrix, Rabi Koria, Iris Kensmil, Natasja Kensmil, Kim van Norren, Navid Nuur, Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide), Helen Verhoeven, and Ina van Zyl.
"Borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them. A border is a dividing line, a narrow strip along a steep edge. A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary. It is in a constant state of transition. The prohibited and forbidden are its inhabitants."
― Gloria E. Anzaldúa, *Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza*
La Frontera
A border divides what could be a unified whole into two. This division enables us to define, judge, and rank what lies on either side. One is art, the other is not. One is rational, the other emotional. One embodies typical Dutch quality, the other is un-Dutch in its excellence. Somewhere along the way, both sides realize they are interconnected. We sought works that embodied this duality.
What is harder to define is the border itself, the area where the line, fence, or wall is placed. A space that belongs to neither side—a third space, a borderland full of things that fall between the cracks or teeter on the edge of the two areas for which the division was made. What exists on this edge creates discomfort, is often misunderstood, and becomes a symbol of potential disorder and imbalance. In addition to duality, we sought works that embodied this borderland.
“Bridges are thresholds to other realities, archetypal, primal symbols of shifting consciousness. They are passageways, conduits, and connectors that connote transitioning, crossing borders, and changing perspectives. Bridges span liminal spaces between worlds, spaces I call nepantla, a Nahuatl word meaning tierra entre medio.”
― Gloria E. Anzaldúa, *Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza*
Besides duality and borderlands, we sought abstract works that build bridges between different territories within the arts. This included the works of Melissa Gordon and Sara van der Heide.
Order and Disruption
We did not approach painting as a fixed territory where works either belong or do not. Instead, we sought art that questioned, stretched, broke, or presented something new in affirming order. This approach showcased the impact of the Royal Prize for Free Painting and how it has driven artists to further discover their voices.
The prize is not intended as a final destination. It is not a lifetime achievement award but a search for artists who challenge the status quo. It encourages those who make the centers of power in the art world reflect on how free free painting truly is. Special recognition was also given to artists who have long resided on the fringes of the scene, earning respect with their urgent work.
"Grensverkenners/Trailblazers" was a tribute to the transformative power of art that transcends boundaries, inviting us to reconsider what constitutes art and how it shapes our understanding of freedom and expression.
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