Rutger Brandt, Roger Katwijk, NL=US at VOLTA NY

From March 7 to 11 three Dutch galleries will be on display at VOLTA NY. These galleries will be represented by Enrico Freitag and Anna Bittersohl (Rutger Brandt), Daniel Bodner (Roger Katwijk), and Alexandra Rozen (NL=US).

Rutger Brandt

Enrico Freitag & Anna Bittersohl

During VOLTA NY Rutger Brandt Gallery will show two young German artists: Enrico Freitag and Anna Bittersohl. Both artists live and work in former East Germany where to this day the famous Leipziger Schule is a dominant factor in the artistic scene in the area. 

In the work of Enrico Freitag people play a leading role. He deals with the issues of the human being in relation to its working environment: feelings of alienation and fear of being absorbed by nameless masses in generic working places is the main theme in Freitag’s paintings and watercolors. In this recent series, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’, exhibited at VOLTA NY, Freitag explores the promise of free-market capitalism, depicting those consuming and working in pursuit of a false promise of happiness. The paintings reveal the struggle behind this search for prosperity, but also the mechanisms of higher powers (both political and economic) that drive the masses to this quest for presumed happiness.

In her paintings Anna Bittersohl mostly deals with questions of human existence and the truth, a hot topic these days. The effects that result from our observations and memories fascinate her. How we try to keep the memory of certain events alive; we add it to our internal database, we optimize it and try to avoid a constant loss of truth. But what happens when we look back? How much can we rely on this memory for being accurate?

Anna Bittersohl, SIE IRREN SICH, 2017, oil on panel, 25 x 25 cm

Enrico Freitag, LABORA 18-7, 2018, oil on canvas, 33 x 26 cm

Roger Katwijk

Daniel Bodner

Daniel Bodner (b. 1963) began painting in New York in the mid-1980s with a focus on the human figure. Following his move to Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1990, he explored space in relation to the figure, making unplanned and organic paintings from an interior dialogue. In 2005 his focus shifted to the depiction of light as it describes or sometimes obliterates space and figures. His paintings have formal qualities that recall decaying photographs or artifacts, and surface textures that reference mold and oxidization — qualities that are visual metaphors for the human experience, and refer to themes of solitude, alienation, memory and desire.

Daniel Bodner divides his time between New York, Amsterdam and Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Daniel Bodner, Franklin Street, 2018, oil on linen, 61 x 48 cm

NL=US

Alexandra Roozen

Alexandra Roozen (*1971, Purmerend, Netherlands) graduated with honors from the Art Academy St. Joost in Breda. Her work speaks of experiment, but is also deeply indebted to the tradition of drawing. The artist’s keen awareness of its history, combined with her well-honed technique, leads her to further explore drawing’s possibilities and boundaries. Although her work is based on analysis, her drawings possess a multilayered perspective, juxtaposing alluring and estranging qualities. The beauty of Roozen’s works is revealed by her technique of questioning — almost demanding — that the viewer looks at the works in different ways. The exhibition features various pencil-on-paper works from her “To Bend” series and will be on view at Booth E10, Pier 90

Alexandra Roozen, Installation View, 2017

VOLTA NY

VOLTA NY is a contemporary art fair comprised of solo projects by leading and emerging international artists. The American incarnation of the original Basel VOLTA show, VOLTA NY has since its 2008 debut operated as a beacon for creative discovery and social engagement during Armory Arts Week.

Led by Amanda Coulson, VOLTA’s longtime Artistic Director, VOLTA NY showcases contemporary art positions in an approachable way accessible to younger art-lovers and seasoned collectors alike. By spotlighting artists through solo projects, VOLTA NY promotes their galleries’ exhibition styles “at home” while refocusing the fair-going experience back to its most fundamental point: the artists and their works.