Jochem Mestriner

In his painting practice, Jochem Mestriner focuses on life and death. Inspired by texts such as Songs of Innocence and of Experience by the English writer William Blake and Les Fleurs du Mal by the French poet Charles Baudelaire, he paints scenes on canvas in which life forms merge and transform. After graduating from the University of the Arts Utrecht in 2021, Mestriner focuses on both Christian mythology and scientific theories in his artistic practice. This results in works that are rooted in nature, and a fascination for the organising structure of life. He juxtaposes evolution and metamorphosis with complex esoteric and scientific ideas. Thus, Mestriner is inspired by the Sottobosco still life that was popular

in the seventeenth century. This artistic genre of forest still lifes depicted animals and organisms that lived close to the dark forest soil, such as insects, fungi and species of moss. These Sottobosco still lifes are related to the idea of spontaneous generation, a scientific hypothesis that in the past suggested that living organisms could emerge from lifeless matter, and the theory of miasma, a medical theory that was used to explain illnesses before microbiology had been developed. According to this theory, illnesses such as cholera, malaria and other infectious diseases were caused by ‘miasmas’: poisonous vapours or air pollution that accumulate in certain areas. Mestriner depicts his fascination for these kinds of old magical-scientific theories that try to imagine the invisible, such as illnesses and cell division, in three paintings that are shown in the exhibition. In these paintings, life forms have been painted that transform and evolve on his canvas, as part of a greater whole and connected to each other.

Nest ruimte voor kunst
ExhibitionsEvents
Nest

Cycle, Portal, Path

–
Cycle Portal Path - Lotte van Uittert 001.jpg
All images
Artists

This fall, Nest presents Cycle, Portal, Path: an exhibition that examines how the traces left by the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) affect contemporary art 100 years later. Af Klint lived in a time full of developments and scientific turmoil. Scientists studied nature and dealt with phenomena such as atomic fission and X-rays; discoveries that shaped the world and made the invisible visible.

Cycle, Portal, Path shows that Af Klint’s exploration of the relationship between science, nature and spiritual life is as urgent now as it was in her time. The artists in the exhibition relate directly or indirectly to Af Klint and her views and supplement them with contemporary or futuristic ideas. Through meditative drawings and video installations, abstract paintings and AI-generated images, the artists reflect on new technologies, spiritual movements, ecology and the connection between then, now and future generations.

Cycle, Portal, Path was created in conversation with Kunstmuseum Den Haag and KM21, where the exhibitions Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondriaan: Forms of Life and Tai Shani – Our Hieromantic Objects of Love will be on view simultaneously. A diverse context program has been developed for the three exhibitions. Keep an eye on our website for updates.

Made possible by
  • MFO_LOGO_RGB_ZWART_SMALL.png
  • DH_black.png
  • iona-logo-cmyk_png.png
  • Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds - horizontaal - zwart.png
  • stroom_100pt_zw.png
Related events
Related to “Cycle, Portal, Path”
Press