Laatste Ronde

Laatste Ronde is a solo exhibition by Arthur Cordier, presenting the latest development of his works on used truck-tarpaulin. 

The title evokes the generosity* of a bartender announcing the last round of drinks as much as it resonates to a late night-out and the ending of the cafe’s economic cycle, before closing. Yet the title casts a shadow on the ecological frenzy we live in […] and the hangover to come. It also speaks of cycles, similar to the known meme: and yet a trace of the true self exists in the false self.

Arthur Cordier (Belgium, 1993) grew up on an island. Currently his practice entails that of a curator and artist working between The Netherlands and Belgium. With a background in communication studies and urban space, his practice involves the study and tactical reassembly of commercial, production and advertising strategies, especially when these operate in urban contexts. The amplitude of his proposals allow him to work around the aesthetics and politics of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, and efficiency, which at times results in self-reflective exercises traversing the economic conditions of being an artist. 

Arthur received a Master’s degree in Artistic Research from the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in 2019. He has had solo exhibitions at IKOB Museum of Contemporary Art (Eupen), Hgtomi Rosa (The Hague), as well as group exhibitions at Galerie Maurits van de Laar (The Hague), TORCH Gallery (Amsterdam), Bregenz Biennale (Austria), Cas-Co (Leuven) a.o. In 2022 and 2023, he was awarded the Kunstenaar START grant by the Mondriaan Fonds, as well as the PRO Invest stipend from Stroom Den Haag. Alongside his role as a curator at The Balcony, Arthur contributes to Art Au Centre (Liège), further establishing exchanges between The Netherlands and Belgium.

Alicja Melzacka (Poland, 1993) is an independent curator, based between Belgium and the Netherlands. In 2019, she completed a postgraduate in Curatorial Studies at KASK, Gent. Before that, she studied art history, heritage studies, and applied linguistics. Language in its various forms and contexts, especially in relation to art and exhibition-making, continues to be her main interest. Her texts were published in various artists’ books, exhibition catalogues, and art magazines. Recently, she curated and produced Hypertext Hotel at SB34 in Brussels, which conceived of an exhibition as a collective work of interactive fiction.

Yannik Güldner (Germany, 1996) is an independent curator and programmer based in The Hague, investigating the intersections of contemporary and popular culture, aiming to question structures of power and society at large through the eyes of upcoming and renewed artists within their multidisciplinary practices. He is interested in creating narratives across disciplines with art, science and academia. Currently he is in charge of programs at iii – instrument inventors initiative in The Hague, is a founding partner of the transdisciplinary festival for waste ecologies WASTELAND and is curator of the artist-run space of TRIXIE.

An exhibition by Arthur Cordier,
curated by Yannik Güldner and text by Alicja Melzacka.

PREVIEW
Thursday OCT.12, 18:00 – 21:00 

ON VIEW
Friday, Saturday, Sunday
From 13:00 – 18:00
OCT.13 – NOV.05.2023

The exhibition is kindly supported by the Mondriaan Fonds, Stroom Den Haag and TRIXIE.