Constant Dutch, 1920-2005
191.5 x 202.1 cm including frame
Ref: 'Constant' by Linda Boersma, BOMB 91/Spring 2005/ART
Description Kunstmuseum The Hague: The composition depicts an interior space subdivided into multiple open zones, defined by lines, grids and painterly marks suggesting scaffolding, walls and floors, interconnected by long ladders. Shadowy human figures animate the labyrinthine space, conveying a sense of intense collective activity. Depth is rendered through converging perspective lines and the diminishing scale of spaces, figures and ladders. The work is characteristic of Constant's New Babylon series (1956–1974), in which he envisioned a nomadic, post-revolutionary city designed for unrestrained creative play.
Provenance
The artistCollection Fondation Constant. On long term loan to the Kunstmuseum, The Hague since 1974
Tentoonstellingen
1974, Constant. New Babylon, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (15 June – 1 September 1974)1976, Constant. Det Ny Babylon, Århus Kunstbygning, Aarhus, Denmark (1 August – 15 October 1976)
1978, Constant. Schilderijen 1969–77, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (17 March – 7 May 1978)
1980, Constant. Schilderijen 1940–1980, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (27 September – 23 November 1980)
1982, '60–'80 Attitudes / Concepts / Images. A Selection from Twenty Years of Visual Arts, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (9 April – 11 July 1982)
1983, Das Prinzip Hoffnung. Aspekte der Utopie in der Kunst und Kultur des 20. Jahrhunderts, Museum Bochum, Bochum (23 October 1983 – 15 January 1984)
1986, Constant 1945–1983, Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn(17 January – 2 March 1986)
1989, Sur le passage de quelques personnes à travers une assez courte unité de temps. À propos de l'Internationale Situationniste 1957–1972, travelling exhibition, Centre Pompidou, Paris; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; Institute of Contemporary Arts, Boston (21 February – 9 April 1989)
1995, Constant. Schilderijen / Paintings 1948–1995, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (25 November 1995 – 21 January 1996)
1996, Situacionistas: Arte, Política, Urbanismo / Situationists. Art, Politics, Urbanism, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona (13 November 1996 – 6 January 1997)
1998, Constant's New Babylon. The Hyper-Architecture of Desire, Witte de With, Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam (21 November 1998 – 10 January 1999)
2005, Ode aan Constant, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (3 December 2005 – 26 February 2006)
2006, In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni – The Situationist International (1957–1972), Centraal Museum, Utrecht (14 December 2006 – 11 March 2007)
2007, In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni – The Situationist International (1957–1972), Museum Tinguely, Basel (4 April – 5 August 2007)
2008, Constant. In het atelier, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Schiedam (13 December 2008 – 22 March 2009)
2015, Constant. Nueva Babilonia / Constant. New Babylon, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (20 October 2015 – 29 February 2016)
2016, Constant. New Babylon. Aan ons de vrijheid / Constant. New Babylon. To us Liberty, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague (28 May – 25 September 2016)
2016, Politiques de l’art. Du surréalisme à l’internationale situationniste / Un nouveau parcours de visite du musée retour sur la façon dont les artistes ont répondu au “problème” politique, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (29 September 2016 - 3 April 2017)
2023, Wir ist Zukunft. Visionen neuer Gemeinschaften / We Is Future. Visions of New Communities, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany (24 November 2023 – 17 March 2024)
Literatuur
Andreotti, Libero & Xavier Costa, eds., Situacionistes: Art, Politics, Urbanism, Barcelona (Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona) 1996, p. 106 (ill.)
Arian, Max, "Constant in opstand", De Groene Amsterdammer, 17 January 1996 (ill.)
Borja-Villel, Manuel, et al., Constant. New Babylon, exh.cat. Madrid (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía) 2015, p. 255 (ill.)
Careri, Francesco, Constant. New Babylon. Una città nomade, Turin (Testo & Immagine) 2001, p. 89 (ill.)
Fréchuret, Maurice, et al., Constant – une rétrospective, exh.cat. Antibes (Musée Picasso) 2001, p. 104, cat.no. 48 (ill.)
Herlemann, Rebecca & Antonina Krezdorn, eds., We Is Future. Visions of New Communities, exh.cat. Essen (Museum Folkwang) 2024, p. 195 (ill.)
Heynen, Hilde, "New Babylon of de antinomieën van de utopie", Oase. Tijdschrift voor architectuur 43, Nijmegen (SUN) 1995, pp. 37–49 (ill.)
Honnef, Klaus, Constant & Gabriele Ülsberg, Constant 1945–1983, exh.cat. Bonn (Rheinisches Landesmuseum) 1986, p. 59, cat.no. 40 (ill.)
Horst, Trudy van der, Constant. De late periode. Tegen de stroom in naar essentie. Une peinture nouvelle, Nijmegen (BnM uitgevers) 2008, p. 198, cat.no. 189 (ill.)
Hummelink, Marcel & Constant, Constant. Schilderijen / Paintings 1948–1995, exh.cat. Amsterdam (Stedelijk Museum) 1995, p. 41, cat.no. 31 (ill.)
Jakobsen, Kristian & Constant, Det Ny Babylon, exh.cat. Aarhus (Århus Kunstbygning) 1976, p. 5, cat.no. 17 (ill.)
Jorn, Asger, G.E. Debord & Martin Reyss, eds., Sur le passage de quelques personnes à travers une assez courte unité de temps. À propos de l'Internationale Situationniste 1957–1972, exh.cat. Paris (Éditions du Centre Pompidou) 1989
Kelk, Fanny & Constant, Constant. Schilderijen 1969–77, exh.cat. Amsterdam (Stedelijk Museum) 1978, cat.no. 1, p. 1 (ill.)
Lambert, Jean-Clarence, Constant. L'Atelier d'Amsterdam, Paris (Éditions Cercle d'Art) 2000, p. 29, cat.no. 1 (ill.)
Lambert, Jean-Clarence, Constant. Les Trois Espaces, Paris (Éditions Cercle d'Art) 1992, p. 111, cat.no. 81 (ill.)
Lambert, Jean-Clarence, "De Cobra au situationisme (et après)", in: Face à l'histoire 1933–1996, Paris (Éditions du Centre Pompidou) 1996, p. 256 (ill.)
Locher, J.L., "De schilderkunst van Constant", in: Constant. Schilderijen 1940–1980, exh.cat. The Hague (Haags Gemeentemuseum) 1980, p. 99, cat.no. 76 (ill.)
Pro, Juan & Constant Nieuwenhuys, Nueva Babilonia. La utopía de la ciudad ideal en el siglo XX, Madrid (Ediciones Cátedra) n.d., p. 86, cat.no. 26 (ill.)
Rappolt, Mark, Constant & Jean-Clarence Lambert, "Constant after New Babylon" / "Constant: The Amsterdam Studio", AA Files 44, London (Architectural Association) 2001, pp. 21–37 (ill.)
Sadler, Simon, The Situationist City, Cambridge, MA (The MIT Press) 1998 (ill.)
Schaik, Martin van & Otakar Mácel, eds., Exit Utopia. Architectural Provocations 1956–76, Munich/Berlin/London/New York (Prestel Verlag) 2005, p. 228, cat.no. 78 (ill.)
Spielmann, Pieter, ed., Das Prinzip Hoffnung. Aspekte der Utopie in der Kunst und Kultur des 20. Jahrhunderts, exh.cat. Bochum (Museum Bochum) 1983 (ill.)
Stillemans, Jean, et al., eds., La Part de l'Oeil. Dossier: L'architecture et son lieu, Brussels (La Part de l'Oeil) 1997
Tempel, Benno, et al., Constant. New Babylon. To us Liberty, exh.cat. The Hague (Kunstmuseum Den Haag) 2016, p. 192 (ill.)
Wigley, Mark, Constant & Bartomeu Marí, Constant's New Babylon. The Hyper-Architecture of Desire, exh.cat. Rotterdam (Witte de With / 010 Publishers) 1998, p. 198, cat.no. 1 (ill.)
Wilde, Edy de, et al., '60–'80 Attitudes / Concepts / Images, exh.cat. Amsterdam (Stedelijk Museum) 1982, p. 102, cat.no. 4 (ill.)
Wollen, Peter, et al., eds., On the Passage of a Few People through a Rather Brief Moment in Time. The Situationist International, exh.cat. Paris/London/Boston (Centre Pompidou / ICA) 1989
Zweifel, Stefan, Juri Steiner & Heinz Stahlhut, eds., In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni – The Situationist International (1957–1972), exh.cat. Utrecht/Basel (Centraal Museum / Museum Tinguely) 2006, cat.nos. 037–040
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