After a successful first edition of Rembrandt Open Studio in 2020, with artists Iriée Zamblé (1995, Amsterdam) and Timothy Voges (1993, Curacao), and this summer’s temporary tattoo studio which was run by Henk Schiffmacher (1952, Harderwijk) and Tycho Veldhoen, two contemporary artists will again work at Rembrandt’s home this autumn. Abul Hisham (1987) and Guy Vording (1985) will work in a studio in the Rembrandt House Museum for a month and a half. Hisham and Vording, just like Rembrandt himself, have their own styles and idiosyncratic views of the world. They also share Rembrandt’s talent for telling stories, managing to capture a memory, social criticism, situation, or character sketch all in a single image.
With its Rembrandt Open Studio initiative, The Rembrandt House Museum repeats its own history. Rembrandt’s house was already a creative hub back in the seventeenth century, a place where Rembrandt and his students created art every day. Now, 400 years later, artists once again have the opportunity to work in Rembrandt’s house. The studio is inside the museum: it gives visitors an opportunity to see the process of creating contemporary art up close and meet a new generation of talented makers.
Rembrandt Open Studio with Abul Hisham and Guy Vording will take place from 1 October to 15 November 2023 in The Rembrandt House Museum.
Abul Hisham:
‘Being given the opportunity to interact more with the visitors will be a new experience for me, one that I look forward to: I like to meet and talk to people and I’m happy that I’ll be able to show them my practice personally.’
Guy Vording:
‘I really believe that a residency in the Rembrandt House, immersed in its history, its residents and the public, will enhance Rembrandts’ influence on my work. I’m looking forward to this game, this interaction, like a student guided by the master.’
Abul Hisham (1987) Hisham mainly works with pastels and raw pigments on wood. In this respect, he considers Rembrandt to be a great example: Rembrandt’s method of preparation and application of paint inspires Hisham in his own artistic practice. Many of Hisham’s artworks form a series; together, they reveal a bigger picture that deals with desires, death, religion and socio-political systems. His personal memories of his life and family in India often find their way into his art. Even so, he does not reveal everything; viewers are given the freedom to personally unravel and interpret the layers of symbols and meanings. Hisham completed his master’s degree in Hyderabad, India in 2012, and has been working as a visual artist ever since. In 2021, he moved to the Netherlands to follow a study programme at the Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts), which he completed this year.
Abul Hisham, Portrait of a Lawyer, 2022
Hisham: ‘As a painter I feel a great kinship with Rembrandt’s works. I still remember how I used Rembrandt’s famous painting of Belsshazar’s Feast as a reference. I have always been fascinated by his use of colour and texture, his experiments and his compositions. It is a rare experience to be working so close to his own studio, printmaking space and the collection of his etchings. I feel that through this residency I can continue my practice, research and experiment in Rembrandt’s footsteps. Being given the opportunity to interact more with the visitors will be a new experience for me, one that I look forward to: I like to meet and talk to people and I’m happy that I’ll be able to show them my practice personally.’
Website: Rijksakademie – Abul Hisham
Guy Vording (1985) Vording is a real disciple of Rembrandt when it comes to knowing what to leave out and what to draw attention to in order to successfully convey a story. His artwork starts with American magazine articles from the 1940s, which he has been collecting in albums for years. After choosing a suitable page, Vording first decides which part of the illustration and text he wants to keep, then fills in the rest with pencil. What remains is a surprising, new visual story, which often deals with people’s inner lives versus social expectations or assumptions. Vording graduated from the HKU (University of the Arts Utrecht) in 2013, and has been working as a visual artist ever since.
Guy Vording, Black Pages: Vanavond niet (Black Pages: Not Tonight), 2020.
Vording: ‘Although it’s in my nature to cling to my own familiar studio, in recent months I’ve started to explore places outside of it. The fact that I now have the opportunity to work in the same house as Rembrandt is a real honour, and couldn’t have come at a better time. Rembrandt’s etchings have always attracted me, and consciously and unconsciously influenced my work, especially in my Black Pages series. I recognise the fine lines that he has placed in a controlled manner and the play of light and shadow. For this reason, I believe that a residency in the Rembrandt House, immersed in its history, its residents and the public, will enhance Rembrandts’ influence on my work. I’m looking forward to this game, this interaction, like a student guided by the master.’
Website: Kunstenaar | Guy Vording | Amsterdam
