are you comfortable?

March 27th - August 21st, 2022

On The Inside is proud to present a selection of artworks by seven international artists that examine various aspects of 'discomfort' both visually and conceptually. Are you comfortable? illustrates how discomfort manifests itself in different ways: in the mind, in the tension of material or object, in the vulnerability of the body, politics, technology and time. In line with this, the discomfort of humanity and our constructed society is examined. Opening March 27th, Are you comfortable? will be on view until July 31st, 2022. The exhibition features artworks by seven artists, including Jose Dávila, Alicia Framis, Aernout Mik, Melanie Smith, Henk Stallinga, William Kentridge and Johan Tahon. This marks On The Inside’s 4th major exhibition in Amsterdam since opening in 2020.

Participating artists

Melanie Smith (b. 1965, United Kingdom) is a British multi-disciplinary artist who currently lives and works in Mexico City since 1989. Smith incorporates a variety of media, such as performances and paintings, to explore the notions of modernity. She graduated in 1984, with a BA in Fine Arts from Reading University in England. She has been exhibiting her works since 1989, from Mexico, South Africa, the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. She has had several solo exhibitions in recent years, such as ‘Farce and Artifice’, at the MACBA, Barcelona (2018), and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2014). Her work is also featured in the Tate, London as well as the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Most notably, she represented Mexico at the 54th Biennale in Italy (2011).

Jose Dávila (b. 1974, Mexico) is a multi-disciplinary artist currently based in Guadalajara, Mexico. He first studied sculpture at the Fine Arts Academy in San Miguel de Allende before attending the Architecture School ITESO and graduating in 1998. His artworks are held within world-renowned collections including Centre Pompidou, Paris, Museo Nacional De Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, and Stifung für die Hamburger Kunstsammlungen, Hamburg. Most recently, his artworks were exhibited in Centro Internazionale di Scultura, Peccia (2021) Sean Kelly Gallery, New York (2021), and Forum Cultural Guanajuato, Leon (2020).

Aernout Mik (b. 1962, Netherlands) is a video artist living and working in Amsterdam. He attended the Academie Minerva in Groningen and the Ateliers '63, graduating from both institutions in 1988. In 1997, he represented the Netherlands, and once more in 2007 at the 52nd Venice Biennale. He has also participated in the Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Berlin, Venice, Nagoya and Gwangju Biennales.  His works are held in permanent collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt. His most recent solo exhibitions have taken place at carlier | gebauer, Berlin (2018), Centre Pasquart, Biel (2016), and Art Sonje Center, Seoul (2015).

Henk Stallinga (b. 1962, Netherlands) is a Dutch multidisciplinary artist living and working in Amsterdam. In 1993, he graduated from the Rietveld Academy and established Studio Stallinga. His works are found in the world-renowned permanent collections of museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris. Recently his work has been exhibited at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (2020) and Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort (2019).

Johan Tahon (b. 1965, Belgium) is a Belgian sculptor who lives and works between Menen, Belgium, and Istanbul, Turkey. He studied sculpture at the Ghent Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium. His works are part of numerous international collections, including but not limited to; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, and Centre de la Gravure et de L'Image Imprimée, La Louviere. As of late, he has established exhibitions in Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht (2018), Nationaal KeramiekMuseum Princessehof, Leeuwarden (2017), and Galerie Dukan, Leipzig (2017). Most recently, Tahon had a solo, large-scale exhibition featured at the Museum Oudenaarde and the Flemish Ardennes, Belgium (2021).

Alicia Framis (b. 1967, Spain) is a multi-disciplinary artist who uses performance work, fashion, and architecture to address societal issues. Framis graduated from both the University of Barcelona and the École de Beaux-Arts in Paris. From here, she went on to acquire two master's degrees, one from the Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (1996-97), and the second degree from the Institut des Hautes Etudes in Paris. She currently resides between Barcelona and Amsterdam. She has been in very notable international exhibitions, receiving well-merited awards. Significant exhibitions include, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2017), Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem (2013), and Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2002). She has received the Prix Lleida Contemporary Art, Spain (2000) and the Prix de Rome, Italy (1997). Framis was also given the honour to represent the Netherlands in the Dutch Pavilion at the 50th Venice Biennale (2003).

William Kentridge (b. 1955, South Africa) is a South African multimedia artist living and working in Johannesburg. In 1976, he graduated from the University of the Witwatersand. He then attended the Art Foundation until 1978, both institutions located in Johannesburg. Later in 1981, Kentridge went to study theatre and mime, in Paris at L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. His work has been exhibited internationally at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Sydney Biennale, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His work is in public collections, notably at the Tate Britain, London, Essl Museum, Austria, MOCA, Los Angeles, and the MoMa in New York. In 2021, he was featured in an exhibition at the Centre de Cultura Contemporàina de Barcelona, where his latest film, City Deep was featured for the first time in Europe.  

Curated by Annemarie Galani.

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