When Foam opened in 2001, the very first exhibition was a group show with an art-historical theme, showcasing several Dutch photographers. For its tenth anniversary Foam again presents work by Dutch photographers, this time with a modern take on the classical genre of still lifes.
Over the last decade, Foam has followed Dutch photography from close by and has concluded that the most striking and innovative developments in the medium are found mainly in the world of autonomous photography. As a theme, still life remains as relevant as ever in today's climate. For a wide group of contemporary (autonomous) photographers, still life continues to inspire, although the concept has been modernised and updated.
Fruit, 2008 © Krista van der Niet
Foam is supported by the BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, City of Amsterdam, Delta Lloyd, Olympus and the VandenEnde Foundation.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The show forms a survey of the talent that Foam has discovered, followed and presented from 2001-2011: Melanie Bonajo, Kim Boske, Blommers & Schumm, Elspeth Diederix, Fleur van Dodewaard, Uta Eisenreich, Peggy Franck, Marnix Goossens, Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, Paul Kooiker, Anouk Kruithof, Yvonne Lacet, Lernert & Sander, Charlott Markus, Katja Mater, Krista van der Niet, Jaap Scheeren & Hans Gremmen, Scheltens & Abbenes, Diana Scherer, Johannes Schwartz, Ingmar Swalue, Marianne Vierø, Anne de Vries and Qiu Yang.
Still/Life presents various forms of contemporary still life. The show also charts developments relating to photography as a medium and presents an overview of the current climate in autonomous photography. Some have used photography to produce tranquil images, others have used the tranquillity of the subject to demonstrate the flexibility of the medium. With Still/Life Foam challenges today's young generation of photographers to produce surprising new interpretations of a classic theme.