• 1999 – 2003 – Sirens & Leda – The early beginnings of her career and floral still lives

• 2005 – 2009 – Get Drunk & Amor Omnia Vincit & Bloody Hell  A deeply personal period surrounding her open-heart surgery

• 2010 – 2013 – Come to me & This gives life to me The time of her mother’s passing and the transition to digital photography

• 2014 – 2016 – It shines it whispers & when the hurly-burly’s done – Her inspiring move and journey to Indonesia

• 2017 – 2020 – Life size nature – The start of her work with biological flowers and use of more different flowers

• 2020 – 2024 – Rococo & Secret Garden – A celebration of life and 25 years as a still life photographer

The central subject in Smulders’ photos are flowers. Margriet, who is named after a flower herself, has been fascinated by flowers and plants since childhood. These are always present in her art; sometimes incorporated as an element in a performance or space, sometimes – as in the works exhibited here – in all their glory. For the artist, flowers symbolize the course of life and the beauty of existence.

The flowers in Smulders’ work have another meaning. She makes her photos and series from a strong feminist perspective. From the Family / Maternité series from the period 1987-1995 to the photo series Uit de cocoon (1999) made in India for ICCO and WORK (1998) commissioned by Randstad, reflection on the position of women is central. This perspective is also present in her recent work. Initially, Smulders depicted abstracted feminine forms in her photographic flower still lifes with the flowers themselves. Over the years, this reference has become less direct and femininity lies mainly in the beauty, sensuality and fragility of the flower.

Smulders’ work can also be placed within a long tradition that uses flowers as a subject. In the seventeenth century, a period from which Smulders draws a lot of inspiration, the flower still life flourished as a popular theme in painting. Examples include the beautiful flower still lifes by Rachel Ruysch (1664–1750) and

In the three series, FLUX, MIGRATION and INDIGO, which are central to the exhibition ‘Vocal Motifs’, Ali harks back to personal experiences. Textile, the common thread in these, is a material with a lot of meaning for her.

As the daughter of a Yemeni father and Bosnian mother, Alia Ali (1985) grew up between different languages ​​and cultures, but without a permanent home. Even today, traveling and migrating are part of her existence. Being constantly on the road contributes to Ali’s choice to express herself through a universal visual language, namely her works of art.

Ali’s multimedia work, in which textiles have an important position, fits in with a number of important developments in art history that started in the last century. By bringing together materials, colours and patterns and by letting go of the two-dimensional, Ali expresses her view on themes such as language, culture and religion in her photographs in her own unique way. In this way, Ali takes her own innovative position within the existing traditions.

Opacities can coexist and converge, weaving fabrics. To understand these truly one must focus on the texture of the weave and not on the nature of its components. For the time being, perhaps, give up this old obsession with discovering what lies at the bottom of natures. […] This—here is the weave, and it weaves no boundaries.

—Édouard Glissant

INIDIGO

MIGRATION

Migration is an appeal to all travellers not to let their future be determined by the rigid, one-dimensional rules that prevail at their destination.

The series shines a spotlight on the ability to rethink and reshape your idea of ​​the future with all the multidimensional knowledge you carry, rather than settling for the present as your final destination.

In addition to Rotterdam, Ruben Dario Kleimeer now also abstracts the cities of Amsterdam and Brussels in the series Imaginary Perspectives. From his imagination  he photographs cities in Europe.

Through the cut-out and choice of images, the love for architecture and skateboarding come together. Ruben approaches his work with an almost dogmatic slant. Balanced, tight and abstracted from the environment. In an intriguing way, he focuses on special forms in the periphery of the city.

OPEN

OCTOBER 8 –

13 NOVEMBER

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