Rineke Dijkstra’s “Night Watching” at the Timken Museum

Wed, Mar 1 - Sun, Jun 4  2023

Timken Museum of Art - San Francisco Consulate Region

The Timken Museum of Art in San Diego is happy to present ‘Night Watching by Rineke Dijkstra’ – a Three Channel Video Installation with Sound Based on Rembrandt’s The Night Watch. The project features 14 groups of visitors who are looking at the Dutch masterpiece painting.

About the Installation

Acclaimed Dutch photographer, Rineke Dijkstra, creates a unique experience designed to stimulate and elicit thought-provoking audience reactions.The experience of visiting Amsterdam’s renowned Rijksmuseum will be transported to San Diego, California when the three-channel video installation, Night Watching, based on Rembrandt’s celebrated and iconic Dutch masterpiece, The Night Watch (1642) comes to the  Timken Museum of Art located in Balboa Park, San Diego’s arts and cultural district, March 1- June 4, 2023.

On six consecutive evenings, Dijkstra filmed 14 groups standing or sitting directly in front of The Night Watch. Her project took place after the museum was closed to the public, encouraging the most private, intimate encounters with the large painting. The Timken’s presentation of Night Watching represents the first time that this complex project has been seen on the West Coast. Dijkstra’s work inaugurates a new curatorial series at the Timken entitled Reconsidering Rembrandt.

Event: Curator Conversations with Rineke Dijkstra

Monday, February 27, 2023, 10 AM.

Join Rineke Dijkstra for a conversation with director of curatorial affairs, Derrick Cartwright as they dive deep into the world of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch (1642) the inspiration for Rineke’s Night Watching, a monumental, three-channel video installation currently on view at the Timken. Register for the event here.

Still from Rineke’s Dijkstra’s Night Watching installation, courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery

Night Watch Hall at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, photo by Erik Smits, courtesy of the Rijksmuseum.