Nynke Koster Exhibition at Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives

Through November 13, Dutch artist Nynke Koster will present her imagnitive sculptures during the “past/forward” exhibition at the Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives in Orangeburg, NY.  

With “past/forward,” the Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives invites the viewer to consider what is old in a new way. The show will expose the visitor to bits and pieces of the past, preserved, protected, reimagined. Among other focal points, the museum conserves and exhibits Dutch American history and heritage. Preserving the past never gets old; it allows for a continuity of place. It opens the door to the future. 

The exhibition will present imaginative interpretive sculpture by Nynke Koster that takes inspiration from classical architectural detail. Koster’s work balances on the border between design and autonomous work. Re-appropriating the history of architecture, she reconfigeres ornaments to a physical, tangible presence in space. Her ambition is to create pieces of “furniture” which simultaneously serve as a functional object and a new autonomous work of art.

If one considers that “old” equals “opportunity,” the Town of Orangetown can look back on a history of achievement as well as some significant losses. Interpreting the past requires a kind of literary imagination. A beautiful vintage object can contain a magical presence all its own. The architecture and attributes of the past can serve as inspiration for contemporary artists. Living with the past enriches our lives immeasurably.

Additionally, the museum will also show the riveting documentary film ‘This Place Matters’ by local filmmaker Tina Traster.

About Nynke Koster

Nynke Koster graduated from the Royal Academy of arts in The Hage (KABK) in July 2013. After studying interior architecture she chose to devote her efforts to the combination of furniture design and visual art. Her graduation project invold making casts of the building the academy is housed in. In 2014 she exhibited this collection, “Coexist,” during the Milan design week. She was awarded the D’SIGN award for lifestyle design in 2014 as well

When does an object become furniture, and when can furniture be seen as a work of art? And what are the consequences of this question of definitions on the interaction between object and spectator? To find the answers to these questions Koster creates synthetic casts of architectural fragments, spaces and bodies. One of the most striking examples of Koster’s work is her version of the “Porta del Paradiso” by Lorenzo Ghilberti (1378-1455). To realise this challenging project she used a technique for rubber casting developped by Oscar Paanen. From this cast Koster created a stand-alone, horizontal and treadable reproduction.

Her ambition is to use this technique to rediscover architectural history worldwide. Koster’s latest body of work, elements in time, is a continuation of these ideas. For it, she created playful rubber stools that take on the iconic shapes from the history of ornamentation.  

About the Historical Orangetown Museum & Archives

The Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives was founded in 1992 in order to acquire, preserve and exhibit objects which reflect primarily the history of the Town of Orangetown. The Museum’s additional but not lesser mission is to document, research, promote and publicize the rich historical heritage of the town for its people. Administered by the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, the museum is housed in two distinct buildings bearing Dutch sandstone features indicative of the area. The historic Salyer House at 213 Blue Hill Road in Pearl River, NY is the Museum’s first home and since 2003 has been listed on the register of Historic Places.