Remy Jungerman Exhibition: awe

Remy Jungerman creates sculptural relief works which bring to mind modernist architecture, beams, window lintels, tracks and building blocks. Jungerman's strong linear compositions, punctuated by lines and blocks of color conjure the paintings of Piet Mondrian and the De Stijl movement in Dutch Modernist design and architecture which was characterized by pure abstraction, simplified colors and compositions. These constructions are rooted in the modern Western World, and Amsterdam in particular the City where Jungerman now lives.

However the surface of his works reveal layers of personal history, overlapping of cultures, a global view. The outermost layer of Jungerman's work is a slip of kaolin porcelain clay painted on with his hand and then delicately scratched away to create an incised grid. This highly refined clay creates a luminous, chalky, skin like layer. Underneath the slip layer we discover a pattern of woven fabric, the grid, again. The surface of these works transports us to his homeland Surinam and the ritual practices of Winti the Afro-Surinamese traditional religion. The fabrics are those used in the rituals and worn by participants in. The kaolin clay is also used to decorate the skin of those participating in Winti rituals.

Jungerman's work portrays his global citizenship his deep roots in both his Homeland and adopted country.

Remy Jungerman was born in Moengo, Suriname and has lived in Amsterdam since 1990. He first studied art at the Academy for Higher Arts and Cultural Studies, Paramaribo, Suriname. After moving to Amsterdam in 1990 he studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.