Skin: Curated by Jochem Rotteveel

Galerie Bart presents Skin, a group exhibition curated by Jochem Rotteveel in which the boundaries of material and surface are explored. The title refers to the skin:  that protects, connects, and at the same time exposes. In this exhibition, the skin is approached not only literally, in terms of material use, but also as a metaphor for how artworks relate to us, as something we can see, but also feel and experience. 

The artists in Skin share an interest in letting go of traditional approaches to materials. They investigate how materials can transform and how processes become visible within the work. Jochem invites the visitor to look beyond the surface and reflect on what lies beneath. 

Nikki Krul breathes new life  into  textile  waste  by  transforming it into hand-tufted wall hangings. Her  work  demonstrates how  seemingly  discarded  materials  can  acquire new aesthetic and emotional significance. Iris Bouwmeester creates sensory installations inspired by nature, in  which  everyday  materials  are  transformed into  organic, almost landscape-like forms. 

For Willem Boel, Sander Reijgers, and Nomin Zezegmaa, time plays a central role. Willem makes time visible through repetition: simple actions accumulate to form a work. Sander, in contrast, works on a single painting over an extended period, where layers of paint form a kind of visual diary. In both practices, the creative process itself becomes part of the outcome. Nomin investigates the relationship between matter, history, and deep time. Inspired by Mongolian cosmology, she approaches matter as something living and interconnected. Her work, ranging from sculpture to installations, brings tactility, form and movement together into sensory experiences. 

The relationship between humans and nature recurs in various ways. Akihiro Boujoh explores this through personal experience: his  childhood spent close to the mountains,  where humans, nature, and environment come together as a sensitive, ever-changing whole. Lawrence James Bailey  presents the body as a  vulnerable  boundary  between  body and environment; his textile work functions as a second skin,  experiencing  real  wear  and  repair,  embodying the fragility it examines. 

Material is also central to the work of Tim Mastik, Barbara Helmer,  and  Paco Dalmau. They explore how paint,light, and texture  affect  our  perception. Their  work  oscillates  between painting and object, demandig attention and  time  from the viewer. 

Skin does not offer straightforward answers but poses questions. What do we see when we look? Where does the surface end and depth begin? The exhibition invites a slowing down and close attention. A way of seeing in which the surface is only the beginning.