Amsterdam
For over 5,000 years, bronze has served as the material of commemoration. From the ritual vessels of ancient civilizations to the public monuments of our present-day cities, its endurance has made it the material of choice for preserving memory, power, and myth. Yet artists have also subverted this tradition over time, using bronze as a means to interfere with conventional associations. In “WHAT REMAINS” (on view through June 14, 2025), Folkert de Jong and Tild Greene continue this artistic strategy, transforming objects tied to labor, consumption, play, and utility into future relics that challenge assumptions about permanence and value.
Entering a white-tiled exhibition space completely covered in plastic like a preserved site, we find various familiar-looking things cast in bronze by de Jong. On the surrounding walls, we encounter Greene’s ambiguous, often skeletal compositions. Placed at various heights, they invoke a sense of diligence and intervention. In some instances, we can recognize parts from everyday objects, while in others, we might incidentally mistake the sculptures for exposed MEP (mechanical, electrical, or plumbing systems) belonging to the site. The works clearly complement each other: the more subtle and abstract presence of Greene’s sculptures offsets the heavier and iconic presence of de Jong’s work. This is one of many dualities to unpack in this show.
de Jong’s bronzes seem to confront the transient nature of human life in a materialist world. Weapons, scale models of 17th-century boats, disposable cups, a stool, cardboard, citrus fruits, and a camera with a tripod are all fossilized in alloy. Their mundane origins are visibly recast through material alchemy, emphasized by the various patinas used by the artist. Most of the works have a still-life kind of quality; the odd one out is a piece situated in a storage room, where a multicolored Perspex box is inhabited by an eerie hybrid of a human head with gun-like limbs. Together, these components expose the contradictions of progress, as humanity’s faith in technology confronts mass production, relentless warfare, and the ecological gloom.
Greene’s “Toil” series is perhaps less sinister, with an apparent focus on preservation, extraction, and attachment. Within the sculptures, we can identify elements of a massage cushion, belt, wine opener, bottle holder, pickaxe, and picture frame, among other things, rendered ambiguous through composition. They are often cast in bronze but not always, questioning how value and ownership are assigned. The title underscores labor not just as a means of production, but also as an act of preservation and succession. Greene explains that the works draw inspiration from the remnants of Amsterdam-Noord’s former peat industry—bronze and peat share a capacity to preserve and shift value. This led him to work with prefabricated objects and their parts, which are balanced, stretched, and loosely arranged to create tension.
More generally, one can conclude that there is a tension around what is and isn’t preserved in contemporary times. Within post-colonial and post-feminist discourses, there is a strong desire to stop the immortalization of individuals who were dubious or outright evil. The question is whether such traditional themes will eventually be replaced by a soft worshipping of commodities. Are artists like de Jong and Greene successful at criticizing this shift? Or are they unintentionally doomed to glamorize our materialist impulses? One could argue in both directions. It is, however, evident that objects are all around us as extensions of the self and are there to be reckoned with. The objects that de Jong and Greene transform ultimately demand our attention. We see their forms and textures removed from their original context, gaining historical weight through this solemn presentation. These works will outlive us and say something poignant about this late capitalist epoch.
This is an intergenerational show in more than one way. Art facilitator-at-large Pim Lamme, who runs Projectspace 38/40 in addition to his foundation Semester 9, eclectically combines emerging artists, household names, white-cube shows, and unconventional presentations. Despite slight qualitative or thematic discrepancies, this strategy enables an open-source conversation that fortifies the relevance of established artists while platforming new names. This could be considered a refreshing approach in Amsterdam’s current art landscape, which is dominated by high-end blockbuster shows and informal open studios with very few options in between. “WHAT REMAINS,” with its combination of de Jong and Greene, presents a viable middle ground that, like the works, is here to stay.
