Currents #6: Good Intentions

Elena Aya Bundurakis, Pavel Balta, Jonas Brinker, Liesel Burisch, Sjoerd Houben, Nimrod Karmi, Susanne Khalil Yusef, Yorgos Maraziotis, Kim Nuijen, Eric Patel, Pati Petrykowska, Constance Proux, Anna Rubbens, Alexey Shlyk, Bert Snaterse, Nasrin Tork and Joris Verleg.

Currents #6 presents the work of 17 emerging artists who recently graduated from Belgian, Dutch and German academies. This year’s theme Good Intentions, brings together personal stories and political statements dealing with identity, youth and cultural traditions. From twerking to vlogging children, from the French Revolution to drone warfare and from pickling chestnuts to selling your soul for ice cream: Good Intentions has it all. The exhibition is curated by Marian Cousijn, Anne Ruygt and Bertan Selim.

Many of the selected artists moved to the Euregion from different parts of the world. Through their work they reflect on society and contemplate belonging in today’s established socio-political order. The artists treat subjects ranging from happiness to alienation; from controversial histories to the perversity of the internet. Their works question morality and focus on the tension that occurs between cultural appropriation, conformism and individualism. Good Intentions combines photography, video, installation, performance, print and sculpture. Centering on the artists’ personal perspectives and experiences, the exhibition illustrates the complexity of self-definition in today’s world.

Currents Currents #6: Good Intentions is the sixth edition of the series titled Currents. For this edition Z33 Hasselt joins Marres Maastricht as a structural partner. With Currents they act as a platform for up-and-coming artists and curators to contribute to an international infrastructure for talent development.

Support The exhibition is a co-production of Marres and Z33. Good Intentions is made possible with the support of Grensverleggers, FLACC and Mondriaan Fund—the public cultural funding organization focusing on visual arts and cultural heritage.

Marres receives structural support from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Municipality of Maastricht and the Province of Limburg.

CURATORIAL TEAM

Marian Cousijn
Marian Cousijn (1987) studied art history at the University of Amsterdam, followed by a Master’s degree curating art and cultures and a traineeship at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. After graduating she worked as a gallery manager at Upstream Gallery, a project assistant at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and as an art editor for the Dutch online platform The Correspondent, where she presented the talk show Artfest. Last year Marian worked as a Mondriaan Fund Curatorial Fellow at Tate Modern, where she contributed to the exhibitions Giacometti and Modigliani.

Bertan Selim
Bertan Selim (1980) is a manager, editor and consultant in the arts, specialized in international grant making, photography and visual arts. His work in the past has centered on educational/mentorship-based programs related to documentary photography and visual arts ranging from the Middle East and North Africa to Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. In 2017 he curated his first solo exhibition Humanness (Sexyland, Amsterdam). Bertan currently works as head of Grants and Collaborations at the Prince Claus Fund in Amsterdam.

Anne Ruygt
Anne Ruygt (1988) is an art historian and curator. Between 2010 and 2016 she was part of the curatorial team at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. She curated various collection displays with modernist icons such as Erwin Blumenfeld and Man Ray and contemporary artists including Rineke Dijkstra and Wolfgang Tillmans. In 2016 she published an anthology of Dutch photography criticism, in collaboration with Frits Gierstberg and nai010 publishers. Last year she analyzed the collection policies of Tate and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and worked as interim curator at FOMU, Antwerp. Currently, she works on Ad van Denderen’s latest documentary project with producer Paradox, she hosts a talk show on photography and writes for art magazines including Metropolis M and EXTRA.