UPCOMING EVENT - DSM

DSM - Kantoor Sittard 

Poststraat 1: 6135 KR 

Bio Free, 

an exhibition by David Bade and Erik Habets

t/m 27 augustus

Parallel event to Manifesta 9  

DSM is exhibiting works by Dutch artists David Bade and Erik Habets in a parallel event to Manifesta 9, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art that is being held in Genk (Belgium). The centerpiece of the exhibition is the sculpture Bio Free, made from EcoPaXX™, a bio-based engineering plastic developed by DSM Engineering Plastics. This work was created in close collaboration between the two artists. The exhibition also features some of their other sculptures and a number of drawings

David Bade (Willemstad, Curaçao, 1970) is a Dutch sculptor, installation artist, painter and draughtsman. From 1987 to 1991 he studied at the Hogeschool Holland teacher-training institute and then went on to study art at De Ateliers ’63 in Haarlem (NL). Right after graduating from De Ateliers in 1993, David Bade won the Prix de Rome for his virtuoso story-telling drawings rich in hyperbole and caricature. He has also created ironic and critical installations from all kinds of (disposable) materials. In these works the perishable character of the materials used plays a key role. ‘Use and reuse’ is a recurring theme in Bade’s work.

Erik Habets (1978, Heerlen, NL) is a Dutch sculptor educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht and the training institute for primary school teachers in Heerlen (both in the Netherlands). Habets is fascinated by all the beautiful, special, laughable, foolish and sometimes vulgar, sad and ugly things that daily life has to offer. His art is a reflection of his own little surroundings; it is a projection of the world as he sees it. It is not a direct response to news events or social issues; it is a reaction to life itself. He makes small things big and important.

Manifesta 9

DSM Netherlands is sponsoring the ninth edition of Manifesta, the famous travelling European Biennial for contemporary art. Every two years, Manifesta visits a European region that is undergoing change. The idea is to use art as a tool to give these peripheral regions an extra boost. The result is a high-profile exhibition that invariably attracts a large international audience.

What makes this edition special is that it is the first to include not just contemporary art but also an impressive collection of works that are directly related to the region’s history of coal, mining and industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries. And finally, this edition includes a cultural-heritage exhibition on the theme of Mines and Miners. For this historical exhibition, the DSM Art Collection is giving Jan Toorop’s painting The Miner on loan.  

Previously, Manifesta visited South Tyrol – Trentino (Italy), Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Luxemburg and last year Murcia (Spain). Manifesta is an established name in the international world of contemporary art. It is in the top three of European art events, together with the Venice Biennial and dOCUMENTA. Every Manifesta edition generates a lot of media attention and attracts a large and diverse audience.

Manifesta 9 is being held from 2 June until 30 September 2012 in the former Waterschei coal mine in Genk (Belgium).