Jean Attali, Wouter Davidts, Charles Esche, Mary Jane Jacob, Arno van Roosmalen, Sven Lütticken, Jan Verwoert

Bik Van der Pol
With Love from the Kitchen

Design: Irma Boom, Illustrated (colour and b/w), paperback, sewn, 224 pages, 17 x 24 cm
Text in English, ISBN 90-5662-418-0 / 978-90-5662-418-7, € 30.00 OUT OF PRINT

With the support of the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (Fonds BKVB), the Mondriaan Foundation, the Rotterdam Art Foundation and the Netherlands Architecture Fund

The Rotterdam artists Liesbeth Bik and Jos van der Pol have been making work together for ten years. Proceeding from their engagement with the immediate surroundings they create installations, often architecturally inspired, which they fill with a specific programme. They thus confront the public with a specific place and force people to think about the history and future of that place, but also about the city in general.
In their projects they also focus attention on the functionality and usefulness of art in a specific situation or place.

As mediators they deliberately attempt to influence the cultural climate and transform it in a constructive manner, by ameliorating situations, adding what is lacking, illuminating things that wallow in obscurity, and opening up issues or making them public.

This publication is the first overview of projects by Bik Van der Pol over the last decade. Seven essays by leading authors draw attention to the breadth and significance of their methodology. The projects are thus placed within a critical framework and can serve as a source of inspiration for artists, architects, designers and theorists.

The ideas that Bik Van der Pol call into question in their work can make an important contribution to ongoing discussions about collections of contemporary art in museums and their social relevance, about historical appreciation, and about public participation and engagement in art.