The Flatland Gallery in Utrecht has opened it's latest exhibition, "Exotica", until December 21st 2007, a chance for the public to discover the works of contemporary artists, such as Ruud van Empel, Erwin Olaf, Cornelie Tollens, Barbara Broekman, Giovanni Dalessi, Frans Franciscus, Janpeter Muilwijk, Carolein Smit. Their artworks are an expression of one of Europe's oldest obsessional desires : to capture the charm, vitality and mistery of the exotic countries and spaces. The exotic world, especially today, appears as a primitive territory of harmony and freedom, where the human being could be itself, as long as it does not harm the others. But also the exotic world is a symbol of the longing for forbidden things and a place where the landscape becomes both eary and fantastic.
If over the course of art history this interest has been disregarded or caused an uproar in the Conservative ones, nowadays the interest in exotic art is stronger than ever. The show at the Flatland Gallery proves that this influence is still surprisingly strong.
2007-11-07
