Nieuws Archives - Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst

Due to installing exhibitions temporarily closed until 1 June

Temporarily closed until 1 June

Deel:

The museum is temporarily closed due to the installment of three new exhibitions. On 2 June, the museum will reopen its doors. Full of new art and unique stories.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1982, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam c/o Pictoright 2023

Freedom without Borders. From Appel to Basquiat
This exhibition is the highlight of the anniversary year in which we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the international Cobra movement (1948 – 1951)! A must-see for anyone interested in modern art and a unique opportunity to see these revolutionary and inspiring works up close.

Pablo Picasso, Mains tenant un Poisson A.R.214, 1953, Collectie Serra, Mallorca, c/o Pictoright 2022

The other Picasso. Back to the origin
The year 2023 also marks the 50th anniversary of the death of one of the most famous artists of the 20th century and this will be widely commemorated in France and Spain. The Cobra Museum is also dedicating a special exhibition to Picasso.

Toverfee valt coronavirus aan, Whanzi (5 jaar), 2020

All children are artists
Jeroen Krabbé and Annefie van Itterzon present children’s drawings at the Cobra Museum. This exhibition fits seamlessly into our programme of summer exhibitions: Freedom without Borders and The Other Picasso, which are on show at the Cobra Museum at the same time.

Free admission for Amstelveen residents

Free on Wednesdays

Deel:

From left to right: Rosalie Bouwman (PvdA), Femke Lagerveld (VVD), Jet SMit (VVD), Stefan van Raay (director Cobra Museum), Herbert Raat (alderman), Pieter E. Monkelbaan (BBA), Michel Becker (AvA), photo Matthijs Immink

On Wednesdays, all Amstelveen residents have free admission to the museum. In collaboration with the municipality of Amstelveen, the Cobra Museum presents: the Cobra Pass Amstelveen. This pass gives Amstelveeners free admission to the museum on Wednesdays.

Please find more information here.

See you at the museum!

New edition of Cobra Magazine

now available

Deel:

Look ahead with us to the anniversary year of the Cobra movement. We will celebrate this anniversary with a special programme of exhibitions and activities. Read all about it in the new Cobra Magazine. Available free of charge at the museum.

75 years of Cobra

in 2023

Deel:

The Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen celebrates 75 years of Cobra (1948-1951) with an extensive programme in 2023 featuring many international loans. The museum’s programming is based on the ideas of the Cobra movement and focuses on experimentation, free thinking and polyphony.

We Kiss the Earth
Danish modern art 1934-1948
Exhibition
27 January – 14 May 2023

The anniversary year of Cobra 75 kicks off with a triptych of Danish modern art. The Danish artists who founded Cobra in 1948 had a great influence on the much younger Dutch and Belgian Cobra members. Developments in Danish modern art from the 1930s and 1940s take centre stage with themes such as sexual freedom, politics, provocation, experimentation and spontaneity. These developments would later have such a profound influence on Cobra. This is the first large survey outside Denmark that presents around 100 masterpieces by more than 25 artists.

Egill Jacobsen, Rød maske, 1943, olieverf op doek, 85 x 65 cm, collectie Cobra Museum voor Moderne Kunst Amstelveen, c/o Pictoright 2022

Je est un autre
Ernest Mancoba & Sonja Ferlov
Exhibition
27 January – 14 May 2023

A presentation on the artist couple Sonja Ferlov (Denmark) and Ernest Mancoba (South Africa) complements this retrospective. Both were involved in founding the Cobra movement in Denmark. Their interracial relationship was unique at the time. They each had their own international artistic practice. In 2019, Centre Pompidou presented two major retrospectives of their oeuvre; a selection will be exhibited in Amstelveen.

Becoming Ovartaci
Exhibition
27 January – 14 May 2023

Ovartaci’s intriguing work forms the final part of the Danish triptych. Ovartaci – born Louis Marcussen – spent most of her life in a psychiatric hospital. Transformation is the central theme in her life and work. The exhibition of paintings, drawings and sculptures is an ode to the imagination and inspiration of this Danish artist who died in 1985 at the age of 91.

Freedom without Borders
From Appel to Picasso
Exhibition
2 June – 8 October 2023

In 2023, the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the international Cobra movement (1948 – 1951) by bringing together the work of Appel, Constant, Corneille and Jorn with that of Picasso, Beckmann, Basquiat, Munch and contemporary artists such as Jonathan Meese and Cecily Brown.

It shows the universal character of Cobra and its close kinship with the free, expressive working methods of artists throughout the years. With around 150 paintings, sculptures, works on paper, photographs and ceramics, the public is invited to compare the work of a large number of Cobra artists and find connections with related earlier, contemporaneous or later artists.

Karel Appel, Le Regard, 1950, loan Collection ABN AMRO ©Pictoright 2022

The Other Picasso
Back to the Origin
Exhibition
2 June – 17 September 2023

The year 2023 also marks the 50th anniversary of the death of one of the most famous artists of the 20th century and this will be widely commemorated in France and Spain. The Cobra Museum is also dedicating a special exhibition to Picasso. In his career, Picasso always returned to his childhood and his cultural background, in which dance and theatre played a major role. Moreover, he was a source of inspiration for many Cobra artists. “Every child is an artist” is one of his most famous statements. This careful selection of drawings, ceramics and etchings shows the hand of the master who was never afraid to experiment.

Special thanks to
The anniversary programme Cobra 75 was made possible by our partners and generous donors. We would particularly like to thank the City of Amstelveen, VriendenLoterij, Trebbe, BPD, Rabobank and the Cobra Business Club.

The Other Story

Livestream Opening

Deel:

During the livestream we will talk about a number of themes in the exhibition by means of expert guest speakers.

Host Myriam Sahraoui of DutchCulture and Stefan van Raay, director of the Cobra Museum, will receive, among others, writer and guest curator Abdelkader Benali, ambassador for International Cultural Cooperation Dewi van de Weerd, writer Khalid Mourigh, Mehdi Qotbi, director of the Fondation Nationale des Musées du Maroc and artist, and museum director Abdelaziz El Idrissi of the Museum Mohammed VI of modern and contemporary art in Rabat.

You will also get a glimpse of Moroccan cuisine, our activity programme and the show will be complemented by atmospheric music!

Experience ‘The Other Story’ and register for the livestream

14 April 2022 19:30

Deel:

Because of the Ramadan, the soft opening of the exhibition will take place from April 14 from 19:30 – 20:30 with an inspiring online talk show.
During a table conversation, host Myriam Sahraoui of DutchCulture, author and guest curator Abdelkader Benali and Stefan van Raay, director of the Cobra Museum, will discuss the origin of modern and contemporary Moroccan art.

We are proud to have at the table, among others, ambassador for International Cultural Cooperation Dewi van de Weerd, author Khalid Mourigh, Mehdi Qotbi director of the Fondation Nationale des Musées du Maroc, as well as artist, and museum director Abdelaziz El Idrissi of the Museum Mohammed VI of modern and contemporary art in Rabat, who will join in on the conversation.

Some of the themes in the exhibition will be referred to, such as ‘The Years of Lead’; Who owns the body?; Border crossers and New stories, old characters.

SIGN UP HERE FOR THE ONLINE TALKSHOW

Duration: 60 minutes

Language: Dutch

Subtitles: The talk show will shortly be on view with English subtitles

Sign up now for the online livestream The Other Story: Moroccan Modernism, which is on show now in the Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen.

Symposium: Identity and Activism

donderdag 1 jan 1970 t/m donderdag 1 jan 1970

Thursday 23 december

Deel:

Feminism, (queer) identities, and gender in contemporary art

On Friday, 17 september 2021, the museum invited contemporary artists, thinkers and activists for a panel discussion about their art and social engagement. During the symposium, the role of women in contemporary art practice is discussed, as well as the question whether art can still be art or is it only about social engagement? With moderator Cathelijne Blok and panelists Aynouk Tan, Naomie Pieter, AiRich and Frida Kahlo, co-founder of the Guerilla Girls, who was presenting online.

Cobra Magazine #5 Korda

Monday 13 December

Deel:

First celebration of the 26th of July after the triumph of the Revolution. Havana, 26 July 1959 © Korda Estate

This spring, the Cobra Museum of Modern Art is pleased to present Korda: Cuba, Che, Glamour, a major retrospective exhibition that celebrates the masterful work of the renowned Cuban photographer Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, commonly known as Korda. The exhibition is made possible with the courtesy of Terra Esplêndida and The Estate of Alberto Korda, which is run by his daughter Diana Diaz, and is curated by Cuban art critic and curator Cristina Vives.

Read the full article about Korda that has been published in Cobra Magazine #5 here.

Cobra Magazine #5 Constant 101

Wednesday 7 December

Deel:

From left to right: Zippora Elders, Antonio José Guzman, Antonis Pittas en Kim van der Horst.

In the exhibition Constant 101: The Future Can Be Humance, 40 works by Constant are shown together with new works by Antonio José Guzamn and a new installation by Antonis Pittas. The exhibition is part of the year-long programme Constant 101, in which young and contemporary makers, thinkers and partners from all over the Netherlands respond to Constant’s work and ideas with new work and projects.

Director of Fondation Constant, Kim van der Horst, spoke with Zippora Elders; curator-at-large, artists Antonis Pittas and Antonio José Guzman about the recently opened exhibition at the Cobra Museum.

You can read the full interview here.

100 b/w photographs by 60 famous photographers

On view this Autumn

Deel:

Clandestine – Photography collection by Pedro Slim
15 October 2021 to 27 March 2022
Exhibition

The Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen brings together some 100 black-and-white photographs by roughly 60 famous photographers in the exhibition Clandestine. The theme of all the works is the human body, and they are part of the collection of photographer and collector Pedro Slim (Beirut, Lebanon, 1950). This is the first time that this collection is being shown in the Netherlands. The photographs show an explicit love for the (naked) human body in all its manifestations: woman and man, perfect and imperfect, elegant, erotic or vulnerable.

Arlene Gottfried, Angel and Woman on Boardwalk, 1976. Vintage gelatin silver print, 27.9 x 35.5 cm. Copyright Arlene Gottfried, Courtesey Galerie Bene Taschen.

The exhibition is curated by guest curator Sylvia Navarrete Bouzard (former director of Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, 1961). The exhibition presents original and contemporary prints (including silver on gelatine, photogravure), collages and photomontages by artists such as George Hoyningen-Huene, Horst P. Horst, George Platt Lynes, George Dureau, Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, Graciela Iturbide, Antonio Garduño, Pierre Molinier, Allen Frame, Larry Clark, Peter Hujar, Amos Badertscher, Man Ray and Arlene Gottfried.

Ode
The uncompromising self-expression of the people in the photos from Pedro Slim’s collection is especially relevant today. His photos are an ode to diversity in terms of sexuality, gender and beauty. With this exhibition, the Cobra Museum hopes to contribute to the discussion on stereotypes and prejudices surrounding these themes, striving for a future with more equality and diversity.

The unlimited body
The visitor is introduced to the collection through three themes. The first part presents a variety of views on the beauty of the human body. The photographers believe that beauty primarily lies in personal expression. The artists seek to go beyond prevailing standards and ideals of beauty, and make a plea to cherish the body in all its manifestations.

Life in the margins
The photographs within the second theme show people living on the fringes of society. Many of the photographs are somewhere between art, documentary and an intimate diary, and many of the scenes captured are scenes of everyday life. The artists show how bodily experiences can also be a political tool: their photos proudly assert autonomy over the body.

Arlene Gottfried
Pedro Slim is the most important collector of the work of Arlene Gottfried (1950-2017). Gottfried specialised in the genre known as street photography, recording life in the less well-to-do neighbourhoods of her hometown New York. This collection is the third theme in the exhibition. Her photographs show the spontaneous connections that arise from the love or camaraderie between two people, the serendipity of everyday situations at the beach or on the streets, and from those fleeting moments brimming with amusement, humour and emotion.

About the collector
Mexican photographer and collector Pedro Slim comes from a Lebanese-Mexican family, and was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1950. He studied architecture and photography in Mexico and New York. Since the early 1990s, he has had solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries in Paris, Houston, Barcelona and Beirut. His relative Carlos Slim is known as an international telecommunications entrepreneur. But Pedro Slim’s collection was built independently from his family, and is the result of his passion and interest in photography. The last exhibition of Pedro Slims’ collection was at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City in 2017. In 2018, he curated the Festival Internacional por la Diversidad Sexual in Mexico City.

About the museum
The Cobra Museum focuses on the art and ideas of the Cobra movement. Cobra is part of the canon of art history, but the ‘spirit’ of Cobra is still very much alive. An alternative culture, based on international solidarity and creativity, is perhaps more relevant than ever in the world we live in today. The Cobra Museum therefore actively links the collection and history of Cobra to contemporary artists, modern art movements and current affairs.