rolina nell
been everywhere, seen everything
been everywhere, seen everything
rolina nell
been everywhere, seen everything
been everywhere, seen everything
about my project
For the year of 2007 I allowed the unlimited influence of the outside world on my working process. I planned to travel and paint for a year and work in a number of artist residencies all the way from Eastern Europe through the Middle East and on to Asia. During my overland trip from, and then back to, the Netherlands I made photographs and drawings. These served as inspiration for my work at the artist residencies.
artist residencies
I participated in six artist residencies with approximately one month’s travel time in between each one. The time spent in each residency allowed me to give visual form to the impressions and inspirations gained from my research during each leg of the journey. My choice of countries; Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, India, China and Latvia resulted from a mixture of curiosity about cultural differences as well as my interest in women and the way they manifest themselves in relation to their social environment. Additionally, I travelled overland to the different residencies to experience the gradual transformation from one culture to the next. It seemed to me that the variety of artist residencies would be an interesting way to further deepen and develop my work. At the conclusion of each residency I exhibited the work accomplished during the residency. I was pleased to give a work to the country where the original inspiration came from. ‘lost and found’ is the title of the series of donated paintings.
weblog
Maintaining contact with the Netherlands during my travels was important in order to foreground awareness of the fact that, although I made my art during 2007 in another reality, I never the less, inevitably did it from my own cultural context. To that end I devised a fax project. During 2007 my weekly Friday column (a black and white drawing) arrived by fax to an artists’ initiative in the Netherlands. My photographs, paintings, sketches, drawings, Friday column, etc. are all digitized and available on my weblog. Keeping this blog was not only important for maintaining contacts, but also for the awareness it gave me of my own process. It also allowed me to see my process from another perspective.
catalogue
I have concluded my travels with a selection of my residency paintings in this catalogue and an exhibition titled: ‘been everywhere, seen everything’. Rolina Nell
been everywhere, seen everything
about my work
In Garikula we were moved by the committed work approach and professionalism of Rolina Nell as she approached imaging of a new context while in residence in Garikula. The style of work close to traveler’s diary produced pieces that flowed in, similar to movie frames, charged by artist’s expectations and search of subtle relationships found in specifics of a foreign country. Seemingly monochromatic they conveyed the feeling and character of the place, very well in the ‘Laundry’ series. Garikula and Georgia were seen as we did not see it before. The social conditions of inhabitants of the village had been addressed from an angle that allowed perception of different cultural perspective, quite useful to the hosts. The thematic of work as well as colour palette was interesting to see for Georgian artists attending the exhibition on a final day of the residency. Karaman Kutateladze Art Villa Garikula, Garikula, Georgia Rolina is an accomplished painter and during her stay in Iran she was able to create a new collection of paintings. In the end she prepared several installations on Pirozi Street (East Tehran). Her art was unusual in for this very traditional neighborhood and in turn generated significant attention and questioning. Rolina’s artwork, be it painting or installation, is often an effective medium for social communication. Ahmad Nadalian Paradise International Art Centre, Tehran, Iran Rolina’s paintings has a distinct freshness and life into it. Each piece of work depicts scenes from day-to-day life and they all seem to crawl out of canvas and come to life. Her work is like looking at real-life images of everything going around us. Puja Shah Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad, India The art of Rolina Nell, reminiscent of lost childhood memories. A sense longing to be apart of another world, another time. Paintings of intimate objects expressing humanity. Her travels have allowed her to capture and connect the qualities of life. With simple brush strokes and a strong sense of color her paintings engage you on an emotional level, revealing the human conditions from her travels and journey. Mylissa Fitzsimmons LittleBird Gallery, Los Angeles, United States of America
laundry series hungary
‘t wasgoed acrylic on canvas 100 x 130 cm
romania
‘t wasgoed acrylic on canvas 90 x 140 cm
bulgaria
‘t wasgoed acrylic on canvas 140 x 200 cm
turkey
chamashir acrylic on canvas 140 x 100 cm
georgia
sareckhi acrylic on canvas 120 x 140 cm
georgia
nathalia’s laundry acrylic on canvas 130 x 190 cm
india
sukata kapda acrylic on canvas 100 x 75 cm
women series georgia
butterfly acrylic on canvas 140 x 90 cm
iran
bahar and leila acrylic on canvas 150 x 100 cm
iran
golnar and yalda acrylic on canvas 24 x 18 cm
iran
cocoon acrylic on canvas 160 x 65 cm
india
market acrylic on canvas 90 x 60 cm
india
horizon acrylic on canvas 75 x 75 cm
india
day’s to come acrylic on canvas 60 x 90 cm
india
a summer day acrylic on canvas 75 x 100 cm
india
saloni acrylic on canvas 100 x 75 cm
china
kitty acrylic on canvas 110 x 160 cm
china
waiting acrylic on canvas 170 x 200 cm
china
anjii acrylic on canvas 160 x 110 cm
china
limei acrylic on canvas 160 x 110 cm
china
yin acrylic on canvas 160 x 110 cm
china
ayushi acrylic on canvas 160 x 110 cm
installations iran
appearance installation acrylic and wallpaper
iran
appearance installation acrylic and wallpaper
latvia
exclude installation mural painting
latvia
exclude installation mural painting
been everywhere, seen everything
rolina nell 1968 rutten the netherlands
Rolina Nell studied from 1997-2001 at the Academy of Fine Art and Design Minerva, Groningen, the Netherlands. In 2006 she received a basic stipend from The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture.
artist residencies
Union of Bulgarian Artists Art Villa Garikula Paradise International Art Center Kanoria Centre for Arts Red Gate Artist Residency Singalong Artist Residency
exhibitions
Sareckhi Appearance Indian Times Open Studio Exclude
contact
info@rolinanell.nl www.rolinanell.nl
Art Villa Garikula Pirozi Street Neighborhood Kanoria Centre for Arts Red Gate Studios Andrejsala
Sofia Garikula Tehran Ahmedabad Beijing Riga
Bulgaria Georgia Iran India China Latvia
Garikula Tehran Ahmedabad Beijing Riga
Georgia Iran India China Latvia
solo solo solo group solo
paintings installation paintings paintings installation
been everywhere, seen everything
colophon
Design Text Photographs Printer
Rolina Nell Rolina Nell Rolina Nell Confiance, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
This catalogue was printed in an edition of 500
acknowledgements
This publication was made possible with support of The Netherlands Foudation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture Amsterdam, the Netherlands Ahmad Nadalian Karaman Kutateladze Margaret Nowling Mylissa Fitzsimmons Paul Giesen Puja Shah Š2008 rolinanell.nl
been everywhere, seen everything
the project In 2007 Rolina Nell spent the year travelling extensively and participating in several artist residencies. This catalogue is an overview of the works made during her sojourns.