Contact
woutervenema {at} protonmail {dot} com
Instagram
Biography
Wouter Venema (1985, Groningen, NL) is a visual artist living and working in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. After completing his MA at the Sandberg Institute, he was a resident at the Rijksakademie voor beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. His work has been exhibited widely. He had several solo exhibitions, including the exhibition Façade at P//////AKT in Amsterdam and Mouth of the Sky at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Alongside his practice, he works as a teacher for various academies in The Netherlands and Belgium.
Statement
Wouter Venema considers his works not as a succession of separate projects, but as one work that is slowly expanding, like a web. Whenever he starts a new series, Venema uses a networked way of working. He broadly researches a particular subject: he looks for stories, myths, theories, and speculations linked to a particular image or object in order to find unexpected connections. He searches for parallels and patterns, and tries to make sense of them on a cultural-historical and linguistic level. This often leads to room-filling installations, including paper works based on drawing and printing techniques, tile tableaus, glass works, and (modified) objects. In the past, he also made films and realised book projects, adding another (temporal) layer to these configurations.
Conceptually and thematically, many of his series address the unstable barrier between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’. He explores these notions in the context of themes such as loss and regeneration, navigation, folklore, and identity. More recently, he is most interested in solastalgia: a form of emotional or existential distress caused by negatively perceived environmental change – a type of homesickness you can feel while still at home.
Thank you
I would like to thank the Mondriaan Fund for their support.
Selected Exhibitions
Upcoming:
2023:
Jan: Group exhibition, The Gelderland Biennale, Arnhem
2022:
May: Group exhibition, CODA Museum, Apeldoorn
2021:
Febr: Group exhibition, De Warande, Turnhout (BE)
June: Group exhibition, CODA, Apeldoorn
2020:
Sept: Group exhibition, Royal Award for Modern Painting, Amsterdam
Sept: Group exhibition, Meessen De Clerq, Brussels (BE)
2019
Febr: Art fair, ArtRotterdam (with Rianne Groen), Rotterdam (cat.)
May: Solo exhibition, Plaatsmaken, Arnhem
Sept: Group exhibition, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
Oct: Group exhibition, Bozar, Brussels (BE)
Nov: Group exhibition, A Tale Of A Tub, Rotterdam
2018
Oct: Duo exhibition with Lisa Reitmeier, Galerie Rianne Groen, Rotterdam
June: Group exhibition, Het Wilde Weten, Rotterdam
May: Group exhibition, Extrapool, Nijmegen
Febr: Group exhibition, Arti Et Amicitiae, Amsterdam
Jan: Solo exhibition, P/////AKT Amsterdam
2017
July: Duo exhibition and book presentation, Galerie Joghem, Amsterdam
June: Group exhibition, Solyanka Gallery, Moscow (RU)
Apr: Book presentation, Extrapool, Nijmegen
Jan: Solo exhibition, Galerie Rianne Groen, Rotterdam
2016
Oct: Book presentation, Knust in AGA Lab, Amsterdam
Oct: Screening, Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing (CN)
Oct: Performance w/ Red Brut, Extra City, Antwerp (BE)
Apr: Group exhibition, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Apr: Art fair, Poppositions, Brussels (BE)
Febr: Solo exhibition, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam
2015
Nov: Group exhibition, RijksakademieOpen 2015, Amsterdam (cat.)
Sept: Group exhibition, Buitenplaats Beeckestijn, Velsen Zuid
June: Group exhibition, Kunsthal, Rotterdam
May: Group exhibition curated by Henk Schut, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (cat.)
Febr: Art fair, ArtRotterdam (with Rianne Groen), Rotterdam (cat.)
Febr: Group exhibition curated by Eelco van der Lingen, TENT, Rotterdam
2014
Nov: Group exhibition, RijksakademieOPEN 2014, Amsterdam (cat.)
Nov: Screening, EYE, Amsterdam
Sept: Solo exhibition, Rianne Groen, Rotterdam
Sept: Group exhibition, Krets, Malmö (SE)
Febr: Group exhibition, Prospects & Concepts, Rotterdam (cat.)
Jan: Group exhibition curated by Fatos Üstek, X-ist, Istanbul (TR) (cat.)
Education
2008 - 2010
Sandberg Institute Amsterdam
2003 - 2007
Vrije Kunst at ArtEZ Arnhem
Residencies
2021
Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam
2020
Glaslab/Daglicht/Beeldenstorm, Den Bosch/Eindhoven
2017
AGA Amsterdam
Work Holiday Extrapool, Nijmegen
2014 - 2015
Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam
Other activities
2022
Initiator Altered Breath series, Plaatsmaken Arnhem
Lecture Drawing Centre, Diepenheim
Guest teacher Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam
Guest teacher Frank Mohr Institute, Groningen
2021
Exhibition text Derk Thijs Galerie Onrust, Amsterdam
Guest teacher Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam
2020
Guest teacher Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam
2019
Guest teacher ArtEZ, Zwolle
2017
Guest teacher Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam
Guest teacher Sint-Lucas, Gent (BE)
2015
Guest teacher Fine Art ArtEZ, Arnhem
Guest teacher Rotterdamse Academie van Bouwkunst, Rotterdam
2012
Guest teacher Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag
Prizes
2020
Nomination Royal Award for Modern Painting
2013
En Plein Public Short Film Competition
2011
One Minutes Award (Category Small History)
2007
Rene Coelho Prize
Collections
CODA Apeldoorn
Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties
Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation
Provincie Gelderland
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen
Private collections
Contact
woutervenema {at} protonmail {dot} com
Instagram
Biography
Wouter Venema (1985, Groningen, NL) is a visual artist living and working in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. After completing his MA at the Sandberg Institute, he was a resident at the Rijksakademie voor beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. His work has been exhibited widely. He had several solo exhibitions, including the exhibition Façade at P//////AKT in Amsterdam and Mouth of the Sky at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Alongside his practice, he works as a teacher for various academies in The Netherlands and Belgium.
Statement
Wouter Venema considers his works not as a succession of separate projects, but as one work that is slowly expanding, like a web. Whenever he starts a new series, Venema uses a networked way of working. He broadly researches a particular subject: he looks for stories, myths, theories, and speculations linked to a particular image or object in order to find unexpected connections. He searches for parallels and patterns, and tries to make sense of them on a cultural-historical and linguistic level. This often leads to room-filling installations, including paper works based on drawing and printing techniques, tile tableaus, glass works, and (modified) objects. In the past, he also made films and realised book projects, adding another (temporal) layer to these configurations.
Conceptually and thematically, many of his series address the unstable barrier between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’. He explores these notions in the context of themes such as loss and regeneration, navigation, folklore, and identity. More recently, he is most interested in solastalgia: a form of emotional or existential distress caused by negatively perceived environmental change – a type of homesickness you can feel while still at home.
Thank you
I would like to thank the Mondriaan Fund for their support.
Selected Exhibitions
Upcoming:
2023:
Jan: Group exhibition, The Gelderland Biennale, Arnhem
2022:
May: Group exhibition, CODA Museum, Apeldoorn
2021:
Febr: Group exhibition, De Warande, Turnhout (BE)
June: Group exhibition, CODA, Apeldoorn
2020:
Sept: Group exhibition, Royal Award for Modern Painting, Amsterdam
Sept: Group exhibition, Meessen De Clerq, Brussels (BE)
2019
Febr: Art fair, ArtRotterdam (with Rianne Groen), Rotterdam (cat.)
May: Solo exhibition, Plaatsmaken, Arnhem
Sept: Group exhibition, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
Oct: Group exhibition, Bozar, Brussels (BE)
Nov: Group exhibition, A Tale Of A Tub, Rotterdam
2018
Oct: Duo exhibition with Lisa Reitmeier, Galerie Rianne Groen, Rotterdam
June: Group exhibition, Het Wilde Weten, Rotterdam
May: Group exhibition, Extrapool, Nijmegen
Febr: Group exhibition, Arti Et Amicitiae, Amsterdam
Jan: Solo exhibition, P/////AKT Amsterdam
2017
July: Duo exhibition and book presentation, Galerie Joghem, Amsterdam
June: Group exhibition, Solyanka Gallery, Moscow (RU)
Apr: Book presentation, Extrapool, Nijmegen
Jan: Solo exhibition, Galerie Rianne Groen, Rotterdam
2016
Oct: Book presentation, Knust in AGA Lab, Amsterdam
Oct: Screening, Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing (CN)
Oct: Performance w/ Red Brut, Extra City, Antwerp (BE)
Apr: Group exhibition, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Apr: Art fair, Poppositions, Brussels (BE)
Febr: Solo exhibition, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam
2015
Nov: Group exhibition, RijksakademieOpen 2015, Amsterdam (cat.)
Sept: Group exhibition, Buitenplaats Beeckestijn, Velsen Zuid
June: Group exhibition, Kunsthal, Rotterdam
May: Group exhibition curated by Henk Schut, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (cat.)
Febr: Art fair, ArtRotterdam (with Rianne Groen), Rotterdam (cat.)
Febr: Group exhibition curated by Eelco van der Lingen, TENT, Rotterdam
2014
Nov: Group exhibition, RijksakademieOPEN 2014, Amsterdam (cat.)
Nov: Screening, EYE, Amsterdam
Sept: Solo exhibition, Rianne Groen, Rotterdam
Sept: Group exhibition, Krets, Malmö (SE)
Febr: Group exhibition, Prospects & Concepts, Rotterdam (cat.)
Jan: Group exhibition curated by Fatos Üstek, X-ist, Istanbul (TR) (cat.)
Education
2008 - 2010
Sandberg Institute Amsterdam
2003 - 2007
Vrije Kunst at ArtEZ Arnhem
Residencies
2021
Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam
2020
Glaslab/Daglicht/Beeldenstorm, Den Bosch/Eindhoven
2017
AGA Amsterdam
Work Holiday Extrapool, Nijmegen
2014 - 2015
Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam
Other activities
2022
Initiator Altered Breath series, Plaatsmaken Arnhem
Lecture Drawing Centre, Diepenheim
Guest teacher Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam
Guest teacher Frank Mohr Institute, Groningen
2021
Exhibition text Derk Thijs Galerie Onrust, Amsterdam
Guest teacher Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam
2020
Guest teacher Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam
2019
Guest teacher ArtEZ, Zwolle
2017
Guest teacher Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam
Guest teacher Sint-Lucas, Gent (BE)
2015
Guest teacher Fine Art ArtEZ, Arnhem
Guest teacher Rotterdamse Academie van Bouwkunst, Rotterdam
2012
Guest teacher Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag
Prizes
2020
Nomination Royal Award for Modern Painting
2013
En Plein Public Short Film Competition
2011
One Minutes Award (Category Small History)
2007
Rene Coelho Prize
Collections
CODA Apeldoorn
Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties
Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation
Provincie Gelderland
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen
Private collections