Henk Heideveld - 50 Years of Artistry

A selective retrospective into 50 years of career of Zwolle postmodernist visual artist Henk Heideveld.

Most Zwolle residents remember Heideveld as the man who walked across the arch of the IJssel Bridge, and who went out with a suitcase full of money to hand out free banknotes or the man who whitewashed the railway to Germany, in one of his many performances to draw attention to the Holocaust. Less well known is his life as a visual mystic and postmodern devotee as he calls himself.

This exhibition will highlight the versatility of Heideveld's oeuvre, from to video and performances, to drawings, paintings , installations, writing and text work and photography throughout five decades. Starting from the beginning of his career as a conceptual artist in 1975 to the present, the selection of works showcases the artist's obsessive and profound quest to understand the world-  along with humanity's role in shaping it or concurring to its lost. He does that by exploring the relationship between art and God. In that quest, history and what it has of the most characteristic, time, holds an important place. This is what he did through years of exploration of the holocaust which he regards as the darkest chapter of European history—one rooted in both modern societal structures and two thousand years of Christian intolerance. 

Henk Heideveld (b. 1950, Winterswijk, The Netherlands) is an artist, performer, and writer who lives and works in Zwolle, The Netherlands. His practice combines video, performance, photomontage, drawing, and painting. Since the mid-1970s, Heideveld has explored philosophical and historical themes, particularly the concept of 'god' as articulated by Spinoza in Deus sive Natura (God or Nature).

Since 2010, Heideveld’s art and writing have increasingly engaged with quantum mechanics, incorporating scientific theory into his creative process.

Among others, Heideveld’s solo and duo exhibitions include Stedelijk Museum Zwolle, The Netherlands (2015); Museum voor Valse Kunst, Vledder, The Netherlands (2017); Openbare ruimte Kreis-Lippe, Lünen, Germany (2021); and Cultureel Centrum 'Siamsa Tíre,' Tralee, Ireland (2021). His work has also been featured in group exhibitions at Galerie Monte Video, Amsterdam (1980); Städtische Galerie Lenbachhaus, Munich (1982); Dutch Festival, Athens (1983); Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, The Netherlands (1985); and Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede (1989).

'_{Between comedy and tragedy', Henk Heideveld 1981}

_{Header image: 'No title', Henk Heideveld 1985}

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