About "Things That Take Time"

Opening: Saturday, 24 June 16:00 - 19:00

With 'Things That Take Time', TORCH Gallery celebrates the bright future of art through a carefully curated selection of eight emerging artists. The group exhibition captures a specific moment in their creative journey. Despite their youth and engagement with a fast-paced world, these artists create decidedly ‘slow art'. They subtly guide us towards fragments, details and ordinary scenes that they believe deserve our undivided attention. The exhibition showcases the beauty of everyday occurrences, spanning from architecture and design to landscapes and natural elements.

Each artist responds to society's demands in their own way. Some try to escape it. Others attempt to understand our changing world by slowing down the passage of time. Luke McCowan's paintings remind us of the beauty in things that take time, as opposed to the quick fixes we have grown accustomed to. Waiting for ripples to form in a pond can be rewarding. Sunwoo Jung challenges our obsession with efficiency by turning a very functional object, the chair, into something useless. At times, she regards herself as equally dysfunctional, seeking a place to hide from reality.

Elise van Staveren paints tranquil scenes inspired by personal experiences, evoking universal feelings of nostalgia. We all know the act of gazing out of a car window, whether out of boredom or anticipation. Krijn Kroes' partly abstract paintings take time and attention to fully grasp. He captures a romantic yearning for the quiet of nature while incorporating references to art history and the qualities of painting itself.

The only figures we encounter in the exhibition, in works by Diana Gheorghiu, are computer-generated people playing out an everyday scene. In one piece, Diana presents a hand, resting yet always ready to reach for a phone - an ordinary and recognisable gesture transformed into something iconic.

Melle Aussems' works reveal only glimpses of recognisable elements drawn from domains known for their efficiency, such as logistics and technology. On closer inspection, we discover that he paints on truck canvas and refers to x-ray images. Daan Russcher, through his architectural sculptures that serve no practical purpose, underscores the beauty of objects created solely for functionality. He highlights the allure of banal and overlooked surroundings on the fringes of the city. Arthur Cordier takes his inspiration from advertising, but stays far away from its attention-grabbing nature. Instead, he deconstructs advertising's rules and bureaucratic order to create something more quietly appealing.

TORCH Gallery is excited to introduce these promising artists, almost all of whom are new to the gallery. They graduated from Dutch art academies in recent years and are in the process of making their mark on the art world. TORCH selected them from The Pool, a platform that facilitates artists in showcasing their work, exchanging ideas, and connecting with other artists and professionals in the art field.