Art of course

Last year's Art Month at the Natuur Museum Fryslân was a great success, reason to give this initiative a follow-up. The whole month of April is dedicated to art. The theme ties in with the exhibition Wakker worden! (Wake Up!) Six artists from the FRIA are inspired by sleep in humans and animals and each give their own interpretation of the subject.

The artists participating are: Gerke Procee, Elise Klinkert, Aukje Reitsma, Joke Lunsing and Floor van der Leun. Eveline van der Pas is working as ‘artist in residence’ throughout the month. The exhibition features paintings, sculptures, photos, textiles and installations about sleeping and waking, dreams and nightmares, day and night.

With her paintings, Elise Klinkert wants to create greater awareness and understanding around the fragility and preciousness of our surrounding environment. For Art Month, she zoomed in on the coot that uses litter to make a nest. By doing so, she wants to make visitors aware, awaken them from their ‘sleep’ in this ‘New World’.

Gerke Proceemade paintings about dreams and nightmares. His work is a visual translation of the world in his head, in which mythological, cosmic and humorous elements come together. He takes you into a surreal world full of emotion and imagination.

Joke Lunsing worked out the night and the transition from night to day in textiles. To strengthen the character of this so-called blue hour, she combines her work with photos that she presents and combines in a surprising way.

Floor van der Leun translated her intense memories of fever dreams and nightmares into wooden images. With the ‘dream tree’ she wants to offer a counterbalance to harsh times. ‘Wake up calls’ are also part of the phenomenon of ‘sleep’.

Aukje Reitsma created stylized figurative work with a graphic character. People and animals sleep, during the day, in the evening or at night. Sleeping can be in a bed or on a couch in the living room, but also in nature, in your garden lying in the grass, on your mother's arm.

Eveline van der Pas plays with halved white garments that she upcycles into human figures in all kinds of positions. White creatures flutter through the air. Could they be sleeping? Are they ghosts, spirits? Or is this a dream? An installation that grows during the month of April.

Van der Pas works on her installation for several days as an 'artist in residence'. Visitors can participate! She is there every Tuesday and on days yet to be determined in April.

April Art Month can be seen from April 1 to May 4, 2025. The art month is part of Wakker worden!, an exhibition about sleeping, snoring & scrolling, on display until September 28, 2025.

About FRIA
FRIA is Beroepsvereniging voor Beeldend Kunstenaars (a professional association for visual artists) and will be celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025. This joyous event will be celebrated throughout the year with exhibitions in museums and galleries in Friesland and Groningen. April Art Month is also part of this. The 25th anniversary in 2010 was also celebrated with an exhibition in het Natuurmuseum (the Natural History Museum).