Ten years after Atelier Van Lieshout was named ‘‘the signature artist’’ for art’otel in Amsterdam, we have created new works in dialogue with their collection’s theme: ‘The Course of Life. These new works refer to the forces that control and shape human life: the urge to explore, curiosity, ideology, the interplay between personal and collective needs.

Atelier Van Lieshout sculptures are like a treasure hunt installed throughout the entire art’otel. So whether you book a room, have a lovely dinner in the restaurant or enjoy a cocktail inspired by one of our artworks, art is always around the corner.

Photo: Puck van Veen

art’otel
Prins Hendrikkade 33
1012 TM Amsterdam

20 June 2024 – 28 September 2024

MASA is delighted to present an exhibition of works by artists and designers, all of whom have in profound, reverberating ways been critical to the existence of MASA since the inaugural exhibition in Mexico City in February 2019, when MASA first opened as a nomadic exhibition platform. In this gathering of works is the renewal of investigations of material and use, and new groupings and dynamics among artists. But, perhaps most importantly, the exhibition in MASA’s permanent gallery space is also a treasured moment of celebration and deep gratitude — looking forward as we look back on the ongoing dynamism of contemporary design in Mexico, of which we have been so inordinately fortunate to play some part. The exhibition will take place in three main gallery spaces, the hallways, as well as in the red room.

Disco Inferno is an industrial monster of grinding, pulverizing, producing machines, linked together by a spaghetti of tubes, hoses, cables, tanks and pumps. Every detail here has been carefully thought out and sculpted by Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL). Each welding seam, nut or bolt is a conscious choice. These machines run on almost anything – cooking oil, lard, or homemade pyrolysis oil.

The only useful purpose of this complex installation is that it keeps itself in motion, while the excess heat of giant diesel engines that power all the machines and generators is recycled to supply heat for the project’s ultimate destination ‘the happy end of everything spa’.

In an investigation that moves between fascination, aversion and an urge for more, Van Lieshout tests the limits of power, material and greed. “ As long as we have oil or waste plastic, we can keep dancing  on the edge of the volcano” This installation is an open-ended work. It is not a static snapshot of a moment, it will transform with time.

On view at BRUTUS
Thursday – Sunday: 12:00 – 18:00h

Farming followed hunting and gathering. What started with the cultivation of small parcels of land ended with the rise of large, professional companies that have found a balance between seasons and systems. Once run by parent, child and helper- today’s farm is high-tech and increasingly run as a business rather than a `family affair’. The helper is still there, but the child more often follows a path that is removed from farm life. Instead, robots now play a central role in farming and Lely is the forerunner in helping to bridge this transition.

Atelier van Lieshout’s De Opvolger (The Successor) pays tribute to the farming family of yesterday, today and tomorrow. This bronze sculpture seems to grow out of the earth and has a robust posture. The figures in this ensemble represent today’s farming family, they are ready to solve any opposition or problem and support their livestock by any means or invention imaginable. The concrete plinth refers to a mound, the oldest architectural tool to secure the early Dutch farmland from the sea.

De Opvolger is permanently placed in front of the new Lely Campus, realized by architect Machiel Hopman of Converse Architects – a destination for innovation and farming of the future. This work is about an evolving craft within the profession, while offering cows the right to choose and live “freely”.

“With this new technology cows get a spa treatment and milk on their own body clock, this is the most humane use of technology, maximum animal rights for all the cows we love . “Joep van Lieshout

Photo made by Nico Alsemgeest

24 May 2023 – 22 July 2023

Atelier Van Lieshout presents a new body of work at Nosbaum Reding Gallery under the title ‘Arena’

Art history is filled with dying warriors, from the felled fighter on the battle fields of Ancient Greece to Henry Moore’s Warrior with Shield  breathing his last breath. They sacrificed themselves for the people, fatherland or ideology. These heroes know that fighting might end in dying, sometimes even by their own sword to uphold the honor.

The Fallen Warrior series of Atelier Van Lieshout is part of this tradition, with the difference that these sculptures have no fixed top or bottom. They can be placed and read in various ways, representing warriors who won’t stop fighting even when their worldview flips.

Nosbaum Reding
Rue de la Concorde 60
1050 Bruxelles, Belgium

Opening hours
Wednesday – Satuday | 11:00 – 18:00

02 April 2023 – 25 June 2023

We live in the Anthropocene, the age of man. Never before has a single species had such a powerful impact on the environment. Meanwhile, we have become entangled in our own waste and enslaved by our own equipment, and, as a result, our senses have been dulled. We threaten to destroy the planet, but may lose ourselves, our humanity, well before then.

In ‘Through Bone And Marrow’ nearly 20 (international) artists present new, alternative connections between man, nature and technology. They go beyond existing contradictions between organic and inorganic, plant and animal, living and dead. This is led by a new aesthetic that offers space for discomfort, imperfection and the beauty of decay.  Together they form an exhibition that gets under visitors’ skin and down to their bones. Curator Maarten Spruyt forces visitors to take a good look at themselves as well as imagining a different interrelationship with nature and technology.

10 February 2023 – 12 March 2023

Our Steam Hammer House is on the move again, currently on show at the first edition of Sculptura Festival in the beautiful location of Gare Maritime, Tour & Taxis, Brussels.

The steam hammer was invented in Manchester around 1837 and gave a huge boost to the industrial revolution. Once an example of technological achievement, ‘Steam Hammer House’ is now a clear reminder of obsolescence. The interior contains the elements for a home, with a kitchen, an office, a bathroom and toilet in the legs, and a bar, which serves as a hub for social gatherings. It is a workplace where man and machine become one.

5 November 2022 – 10 April 2023

The American writer Ray Bradbury said: “Science fiction is the art of the possible.” Under the guise of anticipating the future, it speaks to us of the present. It is a laboratory of hypotheses that manipulate and extrapolate the repressive norms and dogmas of today’s world, its ambitions, social afflictions, opportunities and perils. A Gateway To Possible Worlds exhibition brings together over 200 works from the late 1960s to the present day. It puts the spotlight on the bonds between imaginary worlds and our reality with the help of artists, authors, architects and film directors. It builds on current demands for 21st century utopias to spark debate, inspiration and a form of hope.

Atelier Van Lieshout shows a selection of works from ‘Slave City’: Wall Decoration, Urban Plan Slave City, Minimal Steel Red Lights and Board Room Crockery.

22 September 2022 –13 November 2022

Fifty years after the publication of the Club of Rome report, the 10th edition of the Architecture Biennale Rotterdam is taking stock. The exhibition brings historical research (from 1972 onward), inspiring practical examples (in 2022) and future scenarios (towards 2072) together. This overview paints a picture that is both worrisome and hopeful.

IT’S ABOUT TIME hints at the ever-mounting time pressure under which we are trying to counteract the effects of climate change and connect them to other social challenges. The title also zooms in on time and speed as crucial factors in architecture and spatial design processes and appeals to the profession to work effectively to resolve socioecological urgencies.

Atelier Van Lieshout shows the installation ‘The Clock Which Will Solve Every Problem in the World’, including Pendulum.

24 August 2022 – 18 September 2022

Harmonious Contradiction is the third and final summer exhibition at Sotheby’s East Hampton Gallery and the first collaboration between MASA and Sotheby’s.

Harmonious Contradiction is a group exhibition presenting eight contemporary artists producing polished bronze and brass floor works by Mexico City-based MASA Galeria, in conversation with a selection of post-war and contemporary works curated by Sotheby’s.

Atelier Van Lieshout presents a polished bronze work of two abstract figures that are in the process of taking care of a third person. Caretaker Side Table is part of a series of works representing the different human feelings of love, compassion, sorrow, charity, enjoyment and relaxation.

Sotheby’s Gallery
66 Newtown Lane
East Hampton, NY, USA

Open Tuesday – Sunday: 11am – 5pm

13 July – 28 August 2022

Borrowing its title from a work of the same name, “Utopia” is a sculpture exhibition consisting of 10 works by Atelier Van Lieshout at Château Saint-Maur in Saint Tropez. Visitors are invited to journey to a place with neither noise nor news, but perhaps a bit of wine.

An ongoing theme in Van Lieshout’s work, “Utopia” has been expressed in seminal and legendary works such as “Autocrat”, “Women on Waves”, “AVL-Ville”, “Domestikator” and most recently at
documenta fifteen with “Mama-Werner”. In “Utopia” the journey is the destination. In this context, the exhibition satiates that which we may all crave: a different time, space or tempo. This constellation of sculptures perfectly punctuates a promenade or ‘balade’, seducing us with an idyllic escape.

Open daily, 11.00 AM – 7.00 PM
Free access

24 June  – 11 September 2022

‘Le Voyage’ is about a journey to a better world, a place beyond the horizon where the grass is always greener. The fictional pioneers follow their hearts and the flimsiest of gameplans: anything goes and let’s see what happens. They have no clue where they are going, but they are going, roaming in search of paradise or the next utopia, ready for anything. Their expedition gear take all-purpose and all-inclusive to the next level. Why make a selection when you can bring absolutely everything, from questionable toolkits, an overly large cooking station to a shrine and prosthetics. Luxury is found in abundance, not in quality: the packs are made with suboptimal materials and assembled in a happily chaotic manner.

Click here for more info.

18 June 2022 – 25 September 2022

At Documenta 15, Más Arte Más Acción (MAMA) reflects on climate change and deforestation, connecting knowledge and experiences gained in Colombian rainforests to the forests of Germany. During Documenta’s 100 day duration, artists, activists and people from MAMA’s ecosystem will reflect on how monoculture and climate change have resulted in mass bark beetle infestations in central Europe. Most of the programme will take place in and around the MAMA Werner, a mobile platform for social interaction created by Atelier Van Lieshout and adapted specifically for this occasion.

AVL’s contribution to Documenta 15 is a caravan headed by the MAMA Werner, a powerful vehicle with a trailer that functions as a documentation centre and library. An attached tent provides space for workshops, screenings and other public activities. A 14-metre diameter table will be used for debates and communal gatherings. Behind the trailer sits a pyrolyser, that transforms waste plastics into diesel using thermal decomposition. The installation is completed with the Excrementus Megalomanus, a composting machine that turns human excrement and other bodily fluids into fertilizer. It is outfitted with a toilet and specially designed receptacles for vomit, urine and semen.

Click here for the full program.

Supported by the Mondriaan Fonds.

11 June 2022 – 28 August 2022

OPEN HOUSE is an exhibition that showcases innovative and original forms of habitat through projects from the fields of art, architecture, design and humanitarian aid in the beautiful Parc Lullin in Genthod on the lakefront, 15 minutes from Geneva.

Drop Hammer House represents destruction, recycling and production in a circular economy. It celebrates senseless destruction by violently smashing things. The resulting debris is used to make new sculptures. On top of the ruthless wrecking machine sits the Venus Room, named after the goddess of love, who stands at the beginning of all creation.

16 June 2022 – 19 June 2022

Bosch Parade 2022 is the 9th edition of this extraordinary art manifestation on the water with Hieronymus Bosch as its inspiration. This year’s theme is ‘seduction’. From 16 to 19 June, it promises once again to be an inspiring cruise of the absurd through the historic centre of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, with nineteen idiosyncratic works of art in and on the water.

Atelier Van Lieshout has built an enormous Hammer, which smashes through the water with a compelling heartbeat. With thunderous blows, the hammer, like a floating rat catcher, lures Bosch Parade to follow it. From 26 May.  Atelier van Lieshout will also be exhibiting a number of impressive artworks and sculptural installations, such as the Wellness Skull, Le Foot, Invisible Hand and House of Transition, in the Garden of Earthly Delights, the breeding ground at the Citadel where the artists are working on their objects for the Bosch Parade.

Le Foot at the Garden of Earthly Delights. Photo and credits: Kleurstof

09 June 2022 – 27 August 2022

We live in dark times, with war raging on the EU’s border, more refugees than aid organizations can handle, the smouldering threat of Covid returning in a different guise and the climate crisis looming over us. Joep van Lieshout of Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL) provides some light as the torchbearer of radical change. As a participant in the current documenta exhibition in Kassel, AVL presents a mobile platform for communal action and critical interaction. The exhibition ‘Light in the Darkness’ fulfils Van Lieshout’s mission to enlighten more literally by presenting a wide selection of lamps.

To celebrate its sixtieth anniversary, the University of Twente unveiled a special work of art on Thursday, 19 May: The Head. This 10-metre tall creation by artist Joep van Lieshout has been given a prominent place at the entrance to the university grounds.

Visitors can not only see the work of art from the outside, but can also climb into it. A narrow staircase takes you to a platform on top of the head, where you have a view over the campus on the one hand and the Kennispark on the other.

The Head marks the possibilities and dilemmas on the eve of the fourth industrial revolution, when the boundaries between the physical, digital and biological worlds are blurred. The sculpture is a monument to the waning of human dominance. A totem that marks the crossroads where we are now and a lookout to the future.

Visit The Head at:
Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede

13 May 2022 – 14 August 2022

From 13 May to 14 August the Park of  Paleis Soestdijk will be open for the public to visit the contemporary art exhibition VOORLOPERS (PIONEERS).  Contemporary artists, renowned and new pioneering talents, will address within the exhibition topcial issues such as bio-technology & bio-design, sustainability & recycling, but also the changing view on heritage.

Atelier Van Lieshout’s Darwin will be shown at Paleis Soestdijk. This extremely enlarged purple sperm cell represents the drive for survival, both biologically and socially. Inside is a bed and a small desk, suggesting a think tank to hatch a strategy to remain the fittest and stay on top. The architectural sculpture is part of an exhibition presenting a select group of Dutch pioneer artists.

Tuesday – Friday: 11.00–17.00
Saturday and Sunday: 12.00–17.00

Get your tickets here.

3 June 2022 – 2 September 2022
Le Havre Beach, Le Havre (FR)

As a prefiguration of A SUMMER IN LE HAVRE, AVL has chosen to create a great sperm whale, at the request of the Grand Casino du Havre inspired by Herman Melville’s philosophical novel, Moby-Dick.

AVL strives to present the sea as the true theatre of the human comedy: suffering, evil, pride, madness, tyranny—feelings that Melville personified in the character of Captain Ahab, who saught revenge on the giant white whale that had robbed him of his leg in the past.

This monumental installation is also a manifesto on the power of nature that Jonah had also experienced. The Biblical character had angered God by his disobedience and, as punishment, was swallowed by a whale (literally a great fish) in which he remained for 3 days and 3 nights.

The Whale illustrates both Ahab’s nemesis and Jonah’s imprisonment. Made of steel, a metal created and welded by man, this whale is not slaughtered for its whale oil, as of old, but rests on beach pebbles like a careened ship. A seated man can be seen through the portholes. Is it the artist, Jonah praying for his salvation or captain Ahab questioning his behaviour. Thus presented, the work embodies both human ingenuity and unconquered nature. This is where all its ambiguity lies.

Atelier Van Lieshout artwork on display: The Whale (2022)
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Get your ass on your own Atelier Van Lieshout!

Rules and regulations are wasted on Joep van Lieshout. Ever since becoming a professional artist in the 1980s, he has attacked the art world’s conventions. Alongside unique, non-functional, authentic works, he has produced architecture, furniture and machines.

Some of the furniture is not only beautiful and meaningful, but also very functional. It’s a democratic form of art, accessible to all, yet fulfilling domestic functions. You can have a mind-blowing vision right in your living room and sit on it. And now the furniture is internationally available through this webshop.

Go to www.ateliervanlieshoutshop.com and look for yourself!

Atelier Van Lieshout has transformed Galerie Ron Mandos into a surrealist parallel universe. Makeability – as an ideal – reaches its apex here, overachievement resulting in perverse hyperbole. It’s a confrontation with life itself: the failure, the triumph and the inevitable collateral damage.

EHBO feels like a cross between a field hospital, labyrinth and sculpture garden in which religious iconography gets mixed up with all too human and post-human images. This installation is not for the impassive viewer, here the audience must wander amongst every level of human experience

Galerie Ron Mandos
Prinsengracht 282
1016 HJ
Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Open Wednesday – Saturday | 12:00 – 18:00
Sunday | 12:00 – 17:00

Book your timeslot here.