Kamiel Verschuren (born 27 September 1968 in Dordrecht) is a Dutch conceptual interdisciplinary

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

, living and working in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

.Kamiel Verschuren; male / Dutch; conceptual artist, installation artist, draftsman, designer, author, photographer
at rkd.nl. Last modification on: 2017-03-30.

Biography

Verschuren was born in Dordrecht as son of Kees Verschuren, an artist from The Hague and art teacher at a local school. The next year the family moved back to The Haque where he grew up and attended the Haags Montessori Lyceum. From 1987 to 1992 Verschuren attended the

Willem de Kooning Academy The Willem de Kooning Academy ( nl, Willem de Kooning Academie) is a Dutch academy of media, art, design, leisure and education based in Rotterdam. It was named after one of its most famous alumni, Dutch fine artist Willem de Kooning. Overvie ...

in Rotterdam. In those days, in 1989, he was one of the founders of the Stichting B.A.D. art collective in southern Rotterdam in

Charlois Charlois () is a neighbourhood of the Dutch city of Rotterdam. It is located on the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas The Nieuwe Maas (; "New Meuse") is a distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch ...

with Karin Arink and others.Kamiel Verschuren
rotterdamsekunstenaars.nl. Last updated 2019. In the early 1990s, Verschuren came into prominence with exhibitions in Zoetermeer in 1994, and in Rotterdam in gallery Phoebus in 1995. In 1996 he took part in the artist initiative NEsTWORK with Karin Arink,

Jeanne van Heeswijk Jeanne van Heeswijk (born 1965) is a Dutch visual artist and curator. Her work often focuses on social practice art, or the relationship between space, geography and urban renewal. She lives and works in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. From 1983-19 ...

Ruud Welten Ruud and Rud are surnames of Norwegian origin. Both are also Norwegian place names of numerous farmsteads named Rud or Ruud from Old Norse ''ruð'' meaning clearing. Ruud is also a Dutch masculine given name meaning "famous wolf" although it is also ...

and others, who participated in the first

Manifesta Manifesta, also known as the European Nomadic Biennial, is a European pan-regional contemporary cultural biennale. History Manifesta was founded in 1994 by Dutch art historian Hedwig Fijen. The first edition took place in Rotterdam. One of t ...

exhibition in Rotterdam. In 2000 he held a solo exhibition in the RAM Foundation in Rotterdam. To mainly work outside the context of the art world, museum and galleries, the activities of Verschuren resulted in collaborations with other artists, organizations and the establishment of several foundations and artist initiatives. He is active in several long-term collaborations with a.o. FSKE-Studio Galleria, S-Air (Sapporo Artists in Residence), artists’ initiative La Source du Lion in Morocco, East Street Arts in Leeds (GB), and

doual’art doual'art is a non profit cultural organisation and art centre founded in 1991 in Douala, Cameroon and focussed on new urban practices of African cities. History doual'art was registered as a non profit organization in 1992 and it was establish ...

in Cameroon.

Work

Kamiel Verschuren is working in a broad international practice with a special interest for the public domain and the artist's position in society from different positions; as a drawer, (spatial) designer, designer of public space, organizer, initiator, social activist, observer, teacher, urban advisor, landscape artist, producer and publicist; working individually and within divers partnerships with other artists and organizations. For Verschuren art is an open critical platform to engage with others, a global conversation, happening simultaneously at different places in which one can take part and sometimes join or even become the subject.

Leitmotiv in early and later work

Until 1998, Verschuren studied and worked on understanding and expending the concept of space and the idea of

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

, often resulting in literary works (sound-text-video): installations, conceptual art, drawings, photo works and writings. He skilled himself to work in all media and techniques, except painting, as he believes there is no better or worse context for art. In 1998, he decided to shift directions and started to work within realism and participation; within the context of daily life, in which art has to create its own context to be meaningful and in which artists have to re-find their role as part of society. Verschuren: "True meaning can only be found in the encounter with others through working together and by participating".

Larger public commissions, public art projects and manifestations

In 1996–2005, he completed several larger public commissions often re-setting the original assignment to realize art as public space and creating examples for policy makers to extend their practice and policies. Since 1998, he is closely involved with the urban and social development of Rotterdam South, where he works and lives. Starting in 2000, he initialized and realized over 60 public art projects and manifestations, such as: * Several public commissions ranging from ''The Shadow of the Image'' (1996), the ''MaastunnelMonument NL'' (2003) and the Penitentiary in Breda (2004–06) to more recently ''De Schouwplaats'' (2014). * First four editions of the ''Open Studios Charloi''s (2001–2004) * International art manifestations ''Something over Charlois'' (2001–2003) * Sound installation for Poetry International (2006) * MoreLakeCity-X (2006) * Moving in Free Zones (2007) * Overview exhibitions OnSouth#1 and OnSouth#2 (2010) * Sculpture garden De Schouwplaats In the late 2010s, with foundation Stedelinks010, Verschuren has been investing in the social and physical infrastructure of Rotterdam South, organizing an independent ferry boat to connect the south to the north of the city and a neighborhood pop-up restaurant (foundation Charlois aan het Water). The aim of these projects and initiatives is to create public life in the south area of Rotterdam, to connect and empower people, question authority and to create freedom by taking on responsibility.Twee nieuwe kunstenaars in Paviljoen aan het Water
at ''cbkrotterdam.nl,'' 2016/12/09. Accessed 29-11-2019.

References

External links