Altar for Mondrian. Thomas Hirschhorn.
On location during the exhibition: “Around Mondrian’s Hut” in Singer Laren.
30 years Dooyewaard Foundation. Dooyewaard Stichting exposition.
On the occasion of the Dooyewaard Foundation’s 30th anniversary, subsidiary initiative The Mondrian Initiative has invited Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn to create a unique temporary artwork in Laren. His Mondrian Altar (1997) is a monumental tribute to the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, who stayed in Laren in the early twentieth century and developed the core of his artistic vision there. The Mondrian Altar will be on display at Garage van Wees in Laren until 16 May 2025, on the occasion of the exhibition Rond de hut van Mondriaan in Museum Singer Laren.
Hirschhorn’s altars
Since 1997, visual artist Thomas Hirschhorn has been creating altars around the world for artists and philosophers who inspire him. He previously created altars for Otto Freundlich, Ingeborg Bachmann and Raymond Carver, among others. Hirschhorn describes his altars as ‘personal, artistic dedication’ and stresses that they are meant to ‘give remembrance to someone who is dead and who was loved by someone else’.
Mondrian Altar
Mondrian Altar (1997) is composed of a collection of everyday objects, such as stuffed animals and artificial flowers. The work will be on display from 25 April to 16 May 2025 at Garage van Wees in Laren, where it is open to all. Hirschhorn deliberately chooses locations that are not in the centre or at strategic points of a city, but in unexpected places.