Containing Content
Aldo Bakker
27 June – 26 July 2015

Looiersgracht 60, an exhibition space that focuses on the interface and cross-pollination between disciplines, is delighted to present designer Aldo Bakker’s first solo show in a public institution in Amsterdam. Rather than fitting neatly within traditional categorical boundaries, Bakker’s work reflects the context of post-disciplinary thinking. His sculptural  objects straddle the borders between art, design and architecture. Over the past 20 years, Bakker  has built up an oeuvre consisting of everyday domestic objects such as jugs, stools, tables and cutlery. Amongst the array of domestic objects that he has designed, his oeuvre shows a clear preference for stools and jugs. This exhibition is specifically and purposefully designed to display just one type of object: the jug. By presenting only five jugs in an expansive space, isolated from Bakker’s other designs, we hope to enhance the characteristics of each individual piece.

Why have certain shapes become associated with particular utensils? People expect a jug to have certain qualities: it should be able to hold and protect its content, it should be able to pour out whatever is inside, and it should be refillable. By playing with the container, the spout and the handle in his designs, Bakker questions these prototypical characteristics of the jug as a pouring vessel. This results in objects that are often unrecognisable as such at first sight. By twisting familiar forms, Bakker plays with the viewer’s expectations, challenging the relationship between the function and the form of these often-overlooked objects. He is continually testing the boundaries in search of what is technically and aesthetically possible.

The five objects presented are Pivot, Pipe, Soy Pourer, Pot and Square Pourer, three of which have never been shown before. The materials of which these jugs are made vary from fine porcelain to silver and copper. Each of these pouring vessels is a story of details, as Bakker’s work is known for its refined sophistication. He designed individual pedestals for each piece that serve as an extension of the jug itself, accentuating it in this setting. At the same time, each of the individual stands acts as a mediator between the object and the space that it occupies. The precise arrangement of the objects in relation to each other within the exhibition space heightens the viewer’s awareness of the pouring vessels.

Nowadays, many exhibitions and art fairs revolve around drawing huge numbers of visitors, overloading them with information, and displaying an enormous number of art objects. Slowing down and focusing on one object for any length of time is something that goes against the grain of our contemporary conditioning, yet this is precisely what Bakker intends to make us do with his designs. The serene setting of this exhibition enables the viewers to approach the pieces in an unhurried, contemplative way.

Although the focus lies on the particular jugs being showcased, the exhibition also presents glimpses of the creative processes that led to these pouring vessels. By showing us his sketches, Bakker offers a window on the inscrutable artistic process. This merging of aspects in the exhibition enables the viewer to experience and ponder the pouring vessels in greater depth: their character, their form, their details, their execution and perhaps even their indefinability. The jugs are the protagonists of the exhibition.

Publication

In conjunction with the exhibition Containing Content, Looiersgracht 60 has published a limited-edition paperback book. This publication includes four perceptive essays about Aldo Bakker's work, by Glenn Adamson, Hans dan Hartog Jager, Chris Reinewald and Gert Staal. It also contains an interiew with Bakker himself.