Asya Geisberg Gallery in New York presents Sorry for the Damage by Marjolijn de Wit. In this solo-exhibition, De Wit reflects on the startling disconnect between the advertising and the editorial content of National Geographic magazines from the 1970’s and 80’s.
About “Sorry for the Damage”
Seen from the vantage point of our time, the articles and imagery that promote the wonders and diversity of the earth are negated by a lifestyle bent on our planet’s ruination. Extraction of gems, minerals, or fossil fuels, luxury underpinned by unseen carbon footprints; food delivered from every corner in every season at an environmental cost; these issues have grown more prominent today.
Each painting begins with a landscape background, romanticized and abstracted beyond easy recognition. Objects and fragments in the foreground leap in scale and reference point. De Wit uses techniques familiar from past work: mirroring, fragmentation, using a Neo Rauch-like shorthand for illustration and commercial photography, or making an image within an image – chocolates shaped like seashells or accessories as cheap pastiche.
Having immersed herself in the specific time frame of fifty years ago, De Wit recognizes the “plus ça change” aspect – we have gotten no closer to ameliorating our distraction amid the earth’s destruction. Similarly, while print has lost its shine over the last half century, the advertising and content oxymorons persist. De Wit has a knack for making even the familiar seem “off,” askew, or elusive. Layers merge, imagery beckons but plays hard to get. The cascade builds, and it’s clear the project will march onward, so that we might reconsider and slow down our march towards indifference and oblivion.
Marjolijn de Wit, Fizz, oil on canvas, 2022.
About the Artist
Marjolijn de Wit was born in the Netherlands, and lives and works in Amsterdam. She graduated from the Academy of Art and Design St. Joost in Breda and was a resident at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and Sundaymorning@EKWC. Her museum exhibitions include Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA, Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, DE, CODA Museum Apeldoorn, NL, the De Pont Museum, Tillburg, NL, the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, NL She has exhibited widely in the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. Solo exhibitions include Gerhard Hofland, Amsterdam, NL, Art Rotterdam, NL, Galerie Houg, Paris, FR, Otto Zoo Gallery, Milan, IT, Rotterdam Art Fair, NL, and Spinnerei, Leipzig, DE. She earned the 2013 PULSE Prize, a jury-awarded grant, and has been the recipient of the Modriaan Fund, and Amsterdam Fonds Voor de Kunst developing stipend. Her work has been reviewed by Artinfo, HetParool, Dutch Culture USA, Collector Daily, and Feature Shoot, among others. She will be a resident at Mothership NYC in Brooklyn this October.
Marjolijn de Wit, “Where the Oceans End,” oil on canvas, 2022.