Bas Louter and Bert Frings: 'Chiffonnier / Ragpicker'
Oolong Gallery is happy to invite you to the upcoming show Chiffonnier / Ragpicker — an exhibition in dialogue between two Dutch artists: Bert Frings (Rotterdam, NL) and Bas Louter (Los Angeles, CA).
The title cites French artist Edouard Manet’s painting The Ragpicker (1865-1870). The traditional chiffonnier makes a living by picking up and selling rags and junk. Bert and Bas produce art by reusing objects and images for practical or aesthetic purposes and so prolonging their usefulness.
Bas Louter and Bert Frings met in Utrecht, Netherlands in 1997, and their ongoing dialogue now continues on view at Oolong Gallery. The exhibition will be about their favorite Dutch artist René Daniëls, the influence of moving to the colossal hybrid city LA and of classical vanitas — still life paintings of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The following interview between the two artists delves deeper into their practice.
