🩹 2nd best #1 🔨
🗓️ 30 May 2025 — 29 June 2025📍️ Kunsthal Kloof, Utrecht
A duo exhibition by Sander van Noort & Paul Heusinkveld at Kunsthal Kloof
An exhibition about the glory of coming in second. Or about failing spectacularly. Almost perfect, but not quite. But all in all pretty well done.
In this duo exhibition, artists Sander van Noort (NL, 1986) and Paul Heusinkveld (NL, 1997) present their work in an art space balancing between restoration and ruin. Responding to the recent renovation efforts at Kunsthal Kloof, Sander and Paul have transformed the exhibition space into a state of “help-my-artist-is-a-handyman.” Presented as incomplete, their works appear amidst slanting walls and scattered construction materials. Insulation foam bulges through cracks, hiding tiny artworks within. Larger pieces burst through flimsy drywall, and improvised installations rise from the floor.
It all seems a bit inept—clumsy, even. In the absence of polish or conventional success, you start to wonder: what went wrong? Where lies the beauty in walls warped by thumb-lengths? What’s so fantastic about this crooked, chaotic artspace?
But that tension is precisely the point. After all the measuring and fitting, succes isn’t the goal. 2nd best #1 proudly puts failure on a pedestal. By examining and embracing “clumsiness,” Sander and Paul push back against the demand for perfection that seems increasingly demanded by a grim, late-capitalist world. In a generation full of control freaks and perfectionists, the pressure to succeed can feel inescapable.
And yet, here we are. It might not look finished, but it is ready nonetheless. Imagination shines through incomplete things just the same. Clumsiness doesn’t just reflect what’s not yet perfect—it dreams of what could be. This exhibition mirrors the ever-evolving artistic practice, full of beautiful imperfections. It invites to feel satisfaction with outcomes that may look nothing like what was first imagined.
An exhibition about the glory of coming in second. Or about failing spectacularly. Almost perfect, but not quite. But all in all pretty well done.
In this duo exhibition, artists Sander van Noort (NL, 1986) and Paul Heusinkveld (NL, 1997) present their work in an art space balancing between restoration and ruin. Responding to the recent renovation efforts at Kunsthal Kloof, Sander and Paul have transformed the exhibition space into a state of “help-my-artist-is-a-handyman.” Presented as incomplete, their works appear amidst slanting walls and scattered construction materials. Insulation foam bulges through cracks, hiding tiny artworks within. Larger pieces burst through flimsy drywall, and improvised installations rise from the floor.
It all seems a bit inept—clumsy, even. In the absence of polish or conventional success, you start to wonder: what went wrong? Where lies the beauty in walls warped by thumb-lengths? What’s so fantastic about this crooked, chaotic artspace?
But that tension is precisely the point. After all the measuring and fitting, succes isn’t the goal. 2nd best #1 proudly puts failure on a pedestal. By examining and embracing “clumsiness,” Sander and Paul push back against the demand for perfection that seems increasingly demanded by a grim, late-capitalist world. In a generation full of control freaks and perfectionists, the pressure to succeed can feel inescapable.
And yet, here we are. It might not look finished, but it is ready nonetheless. Imagination shines through incomplete things just the same. Clumsiness doesn’t just reflect what’s not yet perfect—it dreams of what could be. This exhibition mirrors the ever-evolving artistic practice, full of beautiful imperfections. It invites to feel satisfaction with outcomes that may look nothing like what was first imagined.
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🏰 The Castle of Many Bodies ☃︎
🗓️ 18 April 2025 — 24 August 2025📍️ Centraal Museum , Utrecht
From April 18 to August 24, 2025, No Limits! Art Castle will be in Utrecht with The Castle of Many Bodies: a ceramics exhibition in the garden of the Centraal Museum. The castle imagines itself as a large, shared body and takes visitors on a journey of change, desire, life and death, masculinity and femininity. The castle embraces otherness, welcomes everyone and brings all kinds of people together in one large work of art.
Clay is a physical, organic and sometimes unpredictable material—it shrinks, cracks and deforms. At the same time, ceramics is a physical process—you knead it with your hands, sometimes even with your entire body, and are in direct contact with the material. This makes it ideally suited to tell stories about the body. The artists in The Castle of Many Bodies create new bodies, shape their experiences and challenge conventions. From protective spiky creatures to sculptures that explore gender identity: each work reflects the unique perspective of the artist.
The castle itself is also a work of art, designed by Sander van Noort in collaboration with artists from various studios. It grows organically, built from reused parts of the old castle in Amsterdam, remains of old works of art and ceramic pieces from De Wijde Doelen, Bijzonder Amsterdams and May van Loenen, among others. This hybrid structure symbolizes the power of collaboration, reuse and diversity.
With The Castle of Many Bodies we show the many sides of ceramics, build bridges between makers and the public and celebrate the wealth of bodies and perspectives. Welcome to the castle – a mini-museum and a shop, and above all a place where everything and everyone comes together.
Participating artists:
Atelier de Wijde Doelen, Zinderin Kunst, Bijzonder Amsterdams, Sander van Noort, Shani Leseman, Tommy Smits, Jessica Magnin, Maikel Baas, Atelier Totem, Gilbert Smith, Juan Carlos Badia Cabero, Nonna Hoogland, May van Loenen, Ischa Kempka, Natalia Ossef, Chris Rijk, Gijs Assmann, Amber Hyacinth, CrazinisT ArtisT, Alexxx, Mai van Oers, Antoine Moulinard, Ernest Anna Bessems.
📷: Robin Meyer Artdoc
Clay is a physical, organic and sometimes unpredictable material—it shrinks, cracks and deforms. At the same time, ceramics is a physical process—you knead it with your hands, sometimes even with your entire body, and are in direct contact with the material. This makes it ideally suited to tell stories about the body. The artists in The Castle of Many Bodies create new bodies, shape their experiences and challenge conventions. From protective spiky creatures to sculptures that explore gender identity: each work reflects the unique perspective of the artist.
The castle itself is also a work of art, designed by Sander van Noort in collaboration with artists from various studios. It grows organically, built from reused parts of the old castle in Amsterdam, remains of old works of art and ceramic pieces from De Wijde Doelen, Bijzonder Amsterdams and May van Loenen, among others. This hybrid structure symbolizes the power of collaboration, reuse and diversity.
With The Castle of Many Bodies we show the many sides of ceramics, build bridges between makers and the public and celebrate the wealth of bodies and perspectives. Welcome to the castle – a mini-museum and a shop, and above all a place where everything and everyone comes together.
Participating artists:
Atelier de Wijde Doelen, Zinderin Kunst, Bijzonder Amsterdams, Sander van Noort, Shani Leseman, Tommy Smits, Jessica Magnin, Maikel Baas, Atelier Totem, Gilbert Smith, Juan Carlos Badia Cabero, Nonna Hoogland, May van Loenen, Ischa Kempka, Natalia Ossef, Chris Rijk, Gijs Assmann, Amber Hyacinth, CrazinisT ArtisT, Alexxx, Mai van Oers, Antoine Moulinard, Ernest Anna Bessems.
📷: Robin Meyer Artdoc
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🔫️ STREKEN (STROKES/PRANKS) 🖌️
🗓️ 08 February 2025 — 08 March 2025📍️ Galerie Larik, Utrecht
The exhibition ‘Streken’ brings together the artists Vincent de Boer and Sander van Noort. While De Boer focuses on literal and refined brushstrokes, Van Noort’s work is dominated by figures. Moreover, their work reflects influences from various regions of the world.
Although their artistic expressions vary, the artists share a similar process. They both draw inspiration from re-used materials, which they enthusiastically breathe new life into. Van Noort makes covers for mysterious books, as collages in which collected objects enter into relationships with elements from popular culture. Recognizable images take on a completely different meaning in a new composition. De Boer works with wooden planks in various shapes and sizes, rescued from the waste bin in the studio building. He paints these planks and then experiments with both the compositions and the meanings that arise from them.
In addition, both artists invite the viewer to playfully interact with their work. Van Noort expresses this in his visual language, in which he invites us to lose ourselves in our own fantasy world. While De Boer plays with flexibility: his works can be rearranged again and again, which means that the composition changes constantly.
Van Noort interweaves playful, childlike elements with the hypocrisy of adult life. His work is full of contradictions and metaphors, which are based on observations from everyday life that often conceal some social criticism. Images are filtered through an accumulation of transparent layers, which questions our view of reality.
Brushstrokes and calligraphy form the basis of Vincent de Boer's work. With these elements he investigates fundamental questions about the nature of art: When is a work of art finished? How far do the boundaries of the work of art extend? And to what extent does the size determine the value and legitimacy of a work of art? With precision and control he evokes nuances that make these concepts tangible.
📷: Robin Meyer Artdoc
Although their artistic expressions vary, the artists share a similar process. They both draw inspiration from re-used materials, which they enthusiastically breathe new life into. Van Noort makes covers for mysterious books, as collages in which collected objects enter into relationships with elements from popular culture. Recognizable images take on a completely different meaning in a new composition. De Boer works with wooden planks in various shapes and sizes, rescued from the waste bin in the studio building. He paints these planks and then experiments with both the compositions and the meanings that arise from them.
In addition, both artists invite the viewer to playfully interact with their work. Van Noort expresses this in his visual language, in which he invites us to lose ourselves in our own fantasy world. While De Boer plays with flexibility: his works can be rearranged again and again, which means that the composition changes constantly.
Van Noort interweaves playful, childlike elements with the hypocrisy of adult life. His work is full of contradictions and metaphors, which are based on observations from everyday life that often conceal some social criticism. Images are filtered through an accumulation of transparent layers, which questions our view of reality.
Brushstrokes and calligraphy form the basis of Vincent de Boer's work. With these elements he investigates fundamental questions about the nature of art: When is a work of art finished? How far do the boundaries of the work of art extend? And to what extent does the size determine the value and legitimacy of a work of art? With precision and control he evokes nuances that make these concepts tangible.
📷: Robin Meyer Artdoc
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🪱 Everything is on the One 🪱
🗓️ 08 March 2023 — 05 April 2023📍️ Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam
A Gesamtkunstwerk with continuous dynamics, where always something is happening. A performance, dj set, artist talk, poetry recital, artists at work or just somebody hosting an open for conversation. The two rooms are transformed into Zen and Chaos. This division will strike a balance between intensity and socalled resting points.
Everything is on the One uses the concept of unity, a totality, the full circle, the Ouroboros The title of the show refers to this idea but seen from a Funky point of view. Made legendary by James Brown and George Clinton, among others.
The One is the collective rhythm that takes the music to a cosmic level. Each individual rhythm is important for the total session. This requires a certain openness to coöperation from each participant. Everyone's unique talent is used to collectively rise above themselves.
This place for experimentation, failure, succes, discussion will merge into a pulsating energy and allows the audience to experience and be part of that “Oneness”.
Participating artists:
Mike Moonen
Lisette Ros
Jannes van Arkel
Sander van Noort
Lee McDonald
Anouk van Zwieten
Tycho Posthumus
Maurice van Es
Giek-one
Sam Janssen
Vincent de Boer
Kiana Girigori
Atilla Buensenso
Amrith de Zoete
Paul Mogwitz
Donatas Tretjakovas
Alban Kasten + Steven Jousma
Paula Garciasans
Indigo Deyman
Savic Emilio
Henny Overbeek
Tim breukers
Parevski Frasiola
Rowan van As
Marcel van den Berg
Fraser stewart
G
Guido Beeldstroo
Tabe Hemmes
Kimball Holt
Rebecca Treur
Kubilay Mertural
Everything is on the One uses the concept of unity, a totality, the full circle, the Ouroboros The title of the show refers to this idea but seen from a Funky point of view. Made legendary by James Brown and George Clinton, among others.
The One is the collective rhythm that takes the music to a cosmic level. Each individual rhythm is important for the total session. This requires a certain openness to coöperation from each participant. Everyone's unique talent is used to collectively rise above themselves.
This place for experimentation, failure, succes, discussion will merge into a pulsating energy and allows the audience to experience and be part of that “Oneness”.
Participating artists:
Mike Moonen
Lisette Ros
Jannes van Arkel
Sander van Noort
Lee McDonald
Anouk van Zwieten
Tycho Posthumus
Maurice van Es
Giek-one
Sam Janssen
Vincent de Boer
Kiana Girigori
Atilla Buensenso
Amrith de Zoete
Paul Mogwitz
Donatas Tretjakovas
Alban Kasten + Steven Jousma
Paula Garciasans
Indigo Deyman
Savic Emilio
Henny Overbeek
Tim breukers
Parevski Frasiola
Rowan van As
Marcel van den Berg
Fraser stewart
G
Guido Beeldstroo
Tabe Hemmes
Kimball Holt
Rebecca Treur
Kubilay Mertural
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🛸 Wonderbaarlijke wezens 🐢
🗓️ 03 June 2023 — 03 September 2023📍️ Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort
Tortoise dreams in the drowned world
Sander van Noort’s work is driven by curiosity. In the tortoise enclosure, he has placed a shell, which gives a sign of life by softly glowing. It seems to have been there for a while, but looks like it could also leave at any moment. Is it a spaceship? And where did it come from? Turtles once developed a shell to dig better and thus protect themselves from threatening conditions. The animals originated 230 million years ago and have endured catastrophic mass extinctions, with even dinosaurs going extinct. Will they also manage to escape the effects of climate change?
📷: Robin Meyer Artdoc
Sander van Noort’s work is driven by curiosity. In the tortoise enclosure, he has placed a shell, which gives a sign of life by softly glowing. It seems to have been there for a while, but looks like it could also leave at any moment. Is it a spaceship? And where did it come from? Turtles once developed a shell to dig better and thus protect themselves from threatening conditions. The animals originated 230 million years ago and have endured catastrophic mass extinctions, with even dinosaurs going extinct. Will they also manage to escape the effects of climate change?
📷: Robin Meyer Artdoc
👈 Back to Exhibitions