CEAC is pleased with Voebe de Gruyter’s new presentation. Being a narrative conceptual artist, the core of her work consists of narrative drawings, texts, photo works, and installations. Some works acquire a performative character through her presence.

In the work ‘Darkened library dictates artworks to hatch’, 2020, artworks are hatched by a library. Guiding forces that influence each other lead to unexpected phenomena. Also serendipity plays an important role in her very wide choice of subject matter. Mysterious situations and phenomena which occur simultaneously are important sources of inspiration for new work.

With Voebe de Gruyter, there is a continuous interaction between human and thing. For example, in her Chewing Gum Drawings from 1994 (collection of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam), she documented that flattened chewing gum on sidewalks contained spoken texts. Later, she developed her ‘cable theory’ – based on an analogy with string theory and on spending a lot of time staring at the ground – a theory describing a world that exists underneath office furniture. Above the desks is the World Wide Web; below is the world of the cables. As an artist, De Gruyter adopts the viewpoint of the scientist. Like in science, her focus is on visualising information that cannot always be seen with the naked eye.

During her stay in Xiamen, De Gruyter became fascinated by the ancient Chinese history that lies out in the open on the ground. Specifically, she was intrigued by the very old shards and pieces of ceramics carelessly placed in and around planters that she observed on a balcony during a visit to her Chinese friends’ house. By examining these shards – which her friends found during walks in parks or construction sites – one can journey through various dynasties, some of which are thousands of years old.

De Gruyter makes sober and honest artworks free of artistic pretentions. Her primary goal is not to create finished, definitive artworks but to note down her experiences or make suggestions which will offer a different view of the surrounding reality. De Gruyter’s work often situates itself in the liminal space between appearing and disappearing. Some works exist only as text or as thoughts in the artist’s head.

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