The Wood for the Trees
Past exhibition
The exhibition The Wood for the Trees features artworks by four artists who examine the relationship between humans and nature in different ways in their work. Andy Holden watches and listens to birds, Eija-Liisa Ahtila enters into conversation with nature, Julian Charrière explores the role of the landscape in art and Hans Op de Beeck discusses climate change. The Wood for the Trees is a multifaceted exhibition, which is thought provoking and will leave you with fresh notions and ideas.
Naturally at the Kröller-Müller Museum
No museum in the Netherlands is as intertwined with nature as the Kröller-Müller Museum. Our founder Helene Kröller-Müller believed that it is much easier to concentrate on and enjoy art in the tranquillity of nature, rather than the hustle and bustle of the city. Today you can still experience outstanding art here, amidst the peace and quiet of nature.
Andy Holden Oologist Record, 2019 (detail)
The wood for the trees
The climatic crises are enormous and complex. A simple answer does not exist. What’s more, in the labyrinth of opinions, solutions and discussions, we often cannot see the wood for the trees. Where to start? How do you organize your (own) life to ‘act responsibly’? And how can you best listen? Who are you actually talking to? The Wood for the Trees raises these questions and invites you to reflect on your own role in the midst of the beautiful nature that surrounds the Kröller-Müller Museum.
The four artists
Eija-Liisa Ahtila
In the work of Eija-Liisa Ahtila (1959, Hämeenlinna) the healing effect of being in nature often plays a leading role. At the same time, Ahtila's multimedia installations pose the question of how the magnificence of nature can be depicted and captured. Moreover, she wants nature to be a fully-fledged interlocutor.
Julian Charrière, Limen 16.68° - WNW, 2021
Julian Charrière
In his photographic series Limen, Julian Charrière (1987, Morges) explores the way in which the representation of landscape in art shapes the human view of ‘real nature’. He questions the extent to which the image of nature has long since been distorted by its representation in art over the centuries.
Andy Holden
In Natural Selection, Andy Holden (1982, Bedford) is watching birds. They often prove to be very early harbingers of doom: the extinction of species and the deterioration of nature. His work revolves around treating nature with respect and taking responsibility by literally and figuratively listening to birds. Sometimes it is even a call to act on the ominous signs.
Hans Op de Beeck, The Settlement (Indoor), 2016
Hans Op de Beeck
The Settlement by Hans Op de Beeck (1969, Turnhout) looks like a film image of an idyllic village in south-east Asia, which westerners often know ‘well’ from their holiday trips. But all the colour has disappeared from it; everything is the same shade of grey. The idyll is the everyday reality for the (imaginary) inhabitants of the village. Living on the water is a dire necessity to be able to earn a living and at the same time, it is a perilous environment due to the rising sea level caused by climate change.
Artists about the exhibition 'The Wood for the Trees'
Read the exhibition texts
Activities programme
With an extensive programme of activities, you will be challenged to look at nature with fresh eyes. Enjoy, for example, the walking route The Sculpture Garden for the Trees! During this disruptive walk, the body, nature and art engage in a dialogue.
