DutchCulture | Buitengaats: Small Universe, curated by Erik Kessels

The world renowned photography festival The Rencontres d'Arles takes place every summer in different art spaces, galleries, ateliers and parts of the city of Arles. From 7 July to 21 September 2014, you can visit the exhibition Small Universe at the Atelier de Chaudronnerie, curated by Erik Kessels and involving nine Dutch (visual) artists: Milou Abel, Sema Berkirovic, Melane Bonajo, Hans de Vries, Hans Eikelboom, Erik Fens, Jos Houweling, Hans van der Meer, and Maurice van Es.

On the website of the Rencontres d'Arles, the exhibition "Small Universe" is introduced as follows:

THE DUTCH NEED TO DOCUMENT
"The Dutch are among the tallest people in the world, yet they live in one of the world’s smallest countries. Cities in The Netherlands are crowded, houses are small and personal space is hard to find. People and other people’s stuff always surround the Dutch. They are hardly ever alone. In a place where horizons are limited, people make their own: creating new vistas based on their immediate surroundings. Obsessively zooming in on all the little details that make up their small universe. Because, of course, the more you zoom into the world at a micro level, the bigger it gets.

Taking these mundane details as a starting point, Dutch artists create works of surprisingly epic proportions. In “Small Universe,” we see a whole story based on the life of a geranium, a city ordered from a catalogue, a woman who stuffs a Paris catwalk’s worth of clothing into her tiny council apartment."

A presentation of each of the participating artists can be found on the website of the Rencontres d'Arles.