On March 26, I opened my solo exhibition Calling From Work at the PIER 2 Art Centre in Kaohsiung. Around 50 people attended the opening, including a live performance moment within the gallery space. For CFW, phone calls with my parents became the central theme. I combined my work as a performance artist with these personal calls. During the live performance, I made a phone call with my parents while the audience gathered around me.

It was an exciting opening, and such an honour to see so many friends who traveled all the way from Taipei to visit the exhibition!

Opening words before performance:

‘Hello everyone, and thank you for being here. The project Calling from Work began with me leaving my country the Netherlands. When I left, my mother and father —drove me to the airport. I could see the difficulty of saying goodbye as I looked at their faces. For the last few months every Sunday I call them. I would walk around places like Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, and for the past three months, Kaohsiung.  The first thing I always tell them is that I’m okay, that I’m doing well, and that I’m enjoying what I’m doing here. I know they are happy to hear that. My parents’ days are simple, but comforting. They tell me what they’ve eaten, who they’ve met, and the little things that fill their lives. I love my parents deeply, but I also realize they’re getting older. As I’ve been here, I’ve come face-to-face with how I talk to them, and how often I’m too busy to really listen. Their world is getting smaller, while mine keeps expanding. In just a moment, I’ll call them again. They have no idea about this project or the setup we’re in right now.  It’s 9:00 AM in the Netherlands. They’ve just woken up. They might still be in bed or sitting at the breakfast table, starting their day. Next week when I return home to the Netherlands, I’ll share this story.’

Pictures by: 陳建豪 & 張能禎

The exhibition Calling From Work was made possible by the generous support of Stroom Den Haag and PIER 2 Art residency.

After two months of preparation, a small film crew from Kaohsiung and Taipei came together to bring my new project, Calling from Work, to life. At exactly 4 PM, I had planned a phone call with my parents in the Netherlands. Thanks to hard work, a bit of luck, and the dedication of everyone involved, everything came together seamlessly. This has truly been one of my favorite collaborations so far! A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible:

Producer: Mina Hsu-Ping WANG Video by:  Wei-Lung LIN and Yen-An PAN, Lane 216, East ProductionLine producer and facilitator: Saru Red. Concrete truck: Sincerity Industrial CO.,LTD. Crane truck: Yi Cheng Crane and Hoist Services Engineering Company Safety Support: Tsung-Hsiu WU and All-round Spider Engineering Company. Rigger: Zhao-Yi WANG, Pei-Lun LIN. Special thanks to my parents. This project is made possible by the generous support of Stichting Largo and het Amarte Fonds.

These artworks are massaged into thick aluminum foil and show fragments of a diary I kept. The font I used is made by Meg Huston and Lili Huston-Herterich. The work will be seen at The Rijks Open studio’s 31 May – 2 June 2024! Hope to see you there!

Learning to give a relaxing Deep Tissue Massage. With Eddie Gilpin and Martin Toloku

Massage therapist Eddie Gilpin visited the Rijks Akademie collection. I asked him to tell what massage he would he would recommend the sculptures?

14 January – 26 March 2023 in the Academiehuis Grote Kerk, Zwolle

More info (in Dutch): https://www.academiehuis.nl/evenementen/expositie-broos

From September to November 2021, during his Open Space residency at The Grey Space, Karel van Laere developed a new body of work titled Reach. 14 /05/2022 a performative symposium was dedicated to the Reach project.

The aim of this performative symposium was not only to share, but to also facilitate (social) revelation by stimulating the most powerful characteristic of mankind: imagination. The event aimed to spark this imagination in visitors and participants alike through engaging both the mind and the body and connecting people from different backgrounds.

Besides a panel talk between Karel van Laere and surgeons Dr. Anke Smits and Guus Bökkerink – moderated by philosopher and biologist Ellen ter Gast – the symposium features performances by dancer Simon Bus, artist Yun Lee, musician Raphael Vanoli and Karel van Laere.

Pictures by Gordon Meuleman

Partners

The symposium is made possible by the City of The Hague, Stroom Den Haag, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Zuid-Holland and Kickstart Cultuurfonds.

Reach is a project by Karel van Laere developed in a co-production by The Grey Space in the Middle and Stichting Largo and is made possible by the City of The Hague, Stroom Den Haag, Mondriaan Fonds, Amarte Fonds, the In Art We Trust Fund (by We Are Public) and Laparoscopyboxx (a brand of Outside the Boxx).

‘Karel gaf mij een rondleiding door de expositie. Ik heb zelf een visuele beperking en Karel gaf een uitgebreide beschrijving over zijn videoprojecten. Het was goed te volgen en er waren items waar ik het goed mee kreeg door de audio en doordat ik sommige items kon voelen.

Een expositie zeker het bezoeken waard. Karel is vaak zelf aanwezig en benaderbaar en geeft een duidelijke tekst en uitleg over zijn werken zodat je een inkijkje wordt gegund in zijn beweegredenen.’

Honoured to share the news that last week I got accepted for a two year residency at Rijksakademie Amsterdam. I am really looking forward to this! Starting September 2022~

On Saturday 5 February Stroom proudly kicks off the new year with the opening of the exhibition Positions: Time-Based, featuring video works by artists based in The Hague: Eliane Esther Bots, Hannah Dawn Henderson, Karel van Laere, Tineke van Veen & Barbara Prezelj, and Annemarie Wadlow. The presentation presents five very different and distinctive artistic positions and captures the spirit of our time in video works of today. Using an observational, investigative and experimental approach, the artists find subtle ways to open up new narratives into complex issues. Positions: Time-Based is also the start of the yearlong program Positions, showcasing local artists. Read more 

RTV Maastricht – https://rtvmaastricht.nl/televisie/gemist/streetview/fd8a8e85-e390-49ab-8a69-3a04fdb479da/streetview-3

Jegens & Tevens:

Honoured to be part of the exhibition STREET VIEW with my work SLow. Alongside 20 fantastic artworks SLow is on public display in a shop window in Maastricht till 31 October 2021.

Curated by Bart van den Boom

More information: https://www.viewmaster-projects.com/streetview/

A great honour to be a part of this theatre performance with this killer collective URLAND!

Review Volkskrant by Yasmina Aboutaleb: https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/de-eindeloze-herhaling-van-een-saai-ritueel-levert-een-prachtig-beeld-op-in-de-gabber-opera~b119fb1f/

Review Theaterkrant by Moos van den Broek : https://www.theaterkrant.nl/recensie/de-gabber-opera/urland/

pictures by: Julian Maiwald

“Kom in ons midden nu, Dreuner, o, Dreuner. Schud de aardbodem, machtige Schokker.” (uit De Bacchanten van Euripides, 406 v Chr.)

Performance collectief URLAND scheert de koppen kaal en maakt een hardcore trip voor iedereen die smacht naar een theatrale uitspatting. 8- 11 September in Theater Rotterdam

Trailer: Huub Laurens

I am working an a new project called ‘Reach’. For my explorative research I was invited to visit surgeon Guus Bökkering and his operating rooms at the Princes Maxima Hospital Utrecht. A beautiful insight into a place where everything has its function.

Project ‘Reach’ is made in collaboration with The Grey Space in the Middle in The Hague, where I am an artist in residence this year.

A great honour to be a part of Straight Through The Wall last weekend, A guerrilla screening downtown New York City.

LEAF [excerpt] https://vimeo.com/552607150

DoP: Peter van Til
Special thanks: Stroom Den Haag, We Are Public #frontrow & Printerette

Picture by: Sara Meghdari

First impressions: Dutch artists arriving in Taiwan and Taiwanese artists arriving in The Netherlands

18th October 15:30 (door open at 15:00)
Location: iii workspace
Tickets: 5-10 euro (sliding scale) HERE
Artists : Cian Yu Bai (visual art), Karel van Laere ( performance/video), Che-sheng Wu (percussionist/MIME), Yung-tuan Ku (percussionist/MIME)
This event is part of We Are Public. Please proceed to the ticket page to book a ticket with your membership card.

Pant Public #3 invites artists from different disciplines to share their art practices during a panel discussion with the subject ‘First impressions: Dutch artists arriving in Taiwan and Taiwanese artists arriving in The Netherlands’
This is the first time a Dutch artist has been invited to take part in PANT Public, to give a more rounded conversation with the different cultural perspectives.

more info: www.iii/event.com