It’s very rare Dennis, Danny and I can spend a full day together, due to our very clashing work schedules. Recently, this was possible though. So Dennis proposed an excursion to Helmond in the province of North Brabant. Helmond has the largest moated castle of the Netherlands.

After visiting Helmond Castle, we walked in the city centre in search of a nice restaurant. It was a slow day in the 93,000 inhabitants metropolis. The open restaurants seamed crowded with the elderly. 

Hotel Restaurant St. Lambert seemed nice and advertised a game (the ‘wild’ meat) menu. But apparently that was not for lunch. 

The lunch menu is small. A lunch deal consisted of a choice of soup (vegetables, onion or tomato soup) and a trio of slices of bread with something. A slice with roast beef and a sunny-side-up egg, a slice with a croquette and a slice with cheese. There was also some huzarensalade or Russian salad. Nothing fancy. Very, very, very Dutch.

We wanted to visit the EDAH-Museum of convenience stores. But it’s only open on Fridays, Saturdays and one Sunday a month. 

But as Helmond Castle is part of Museum Helmond and Museum Helmond has two campuses, we went to Kunsthal Helmond. A kunsthal is an art hall or gallery. 

Kunsthal Helmond

Kunsthal Helmond is the gallery used to hold temporary photography and art exhibitions for various target groups. The modern hall is part of the Boscotondo complex in the city centre of Helmond. Boscotondo is Italian for ’round forest’. The architect designed the houses in a circle around a central courtyard with trees.

‘Resilient Rebels – he art of protest’

The first exhibition is or was called ‘Resilient Rebels – the art of protest‘, which runs until 24 March 2024. 

“Art is a means of social criticism. Taking this fact as a starting point, the exhibition ‘Resilient Rebels’ explores forms of protest, large and small, through the eyes of modern artists. The title of the exhibition ‘Resilient Rebels’ refers to decisiveness, recovery, hope and resilience, and different strategies of resistance”, the website says.

The exhibition presents artworks dealing with the power of mass protest from a poetic perspective. They reflect struggles and tensions and lend a voice to those who feel ignored. Beyond activism and politics, the artists have also been drawn to the personal, human, rebellious, and resilient nature of protest.

‘Resilient Rebels’ shows that resistance has many forms. “Whether contemplative or activist, small and personal, or grand and symbolic: the boundaries are elastic, and hope is the common denominator. After all, how can one fight without hope?”

The artists are: Bambi van Balen /OTION, Black Archives, Matthijs de Bruijne, Jota Castro, Rossel Chaslie, Tina Farifteh, Alicia Framis, Afsaneh Ghafarian Rabe’I, Golshan, Gluklya, Johan Grimonprez, Guerrilla Girls, HIMMELSBACH, Käthe Kollwitz, Anouk Kruithof, Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Sarah van Sonsbeeck, Tools for Action.

‘Abstract 2’

‘Abstract 2‘ runs until 10 March 2024. The Roef-Meelker collection meets Ton Slits, Jeroen van Loon and Bob Demper.

After three years, Museum Helmond is once again exhibiting a substantial part of the Roef-Meelker collection. This time, including works by contemporary guest artists Ton Slits, Jeroen van Loon, and Bob Demper. 

The Roef-Meelker family’s collection of fine art, with works dating from 1920 to 1980, has its beginnings in the 1970s. The family were fascinated by artists who worked in an abstract style and used bright colours and dramatic brushstrokes. The collection includes paintings and sculptures by artists like Karel Appel, Asger Jorn, André Masson, Nicolaes de Staël and Barbara Hepworth.

The first guest artist is Ton Slits, whose abstract, nature-inspired work includes several new paintings as well as a huge, free-hanging ‘drawing’ in space. Harnessing the power of abstraction, he attempts to produce order in the chaos of human-made environments. 

Jeroen van Loon’s hilarious computer and video-based work ‘New Update Available’ (2022) shows how abstract and confusing our everyday computer language is.

Bob Demper recently created a large installation entitled ‘Black Rock, Soft Storm’ (2023) to show just how abstract the work of a stock and options trader is, disconnected from the real, physical world. 

In an intimate film portrait, Demper conveys the trader’s worries, thoughts, and attempts to recover from a burnout. The original installation of Demper does not fit in the exhibition room, therefore you can see a related artwork.

A visit

Both exhibitions were fairly interesting. Kunsthal Helmond is not big. Luckily it’s a combination with the castle.

In the entry hall, there was a blackened area to recompose if you got upset by the ‘Resilient Rebels’ exhibition. Providing a stimulus-free or low-stimulus area is very “now”.