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Bonnefantopia

Atelier van Lieshout2003

Bonnefantenmuseum

Bonnefantenmuseum
Maastricht, Netherlands

Joep van Lieshout is an artist and the leading light of Atelier van Lieshout (AVL), a studio and workshop in the port of Rotterdam. Van Lieshout founded AVL in 1995, partly in order to undermine the myth of the isolated artistic genius. Van Lieshout gained international recognition for his brightly coloured polyester sculptures and installations, which hover between art, architecture and design.

Bonnefantopia is an installation that was designed especially for the Bonnefantenmuseum. Lieshout used scaffolding material, wooden beams, polyester and concrete to construct a multifunctional house. It includes various facilities, such as a large lounge-bed, bar, kitchen and toilet, a fitness room and even an SM room. Stylised human figures made of white plastic hang, crouch and lie scattered around. The whole thing is somewhere between a living space for the modern hedonist and a place for erotic activities. Bonnefantopia is a typical AVL installation, designed for a self-sufficient existence and focusing on primary human needs. In Van Lieshout’s words, it shows “an extreme contrast between fascism and liberalism”. On the one hand, there is strict discipline and high morals, and on the other a lack of them.

Details

  • Title: Bonnefantopia
  • Creator: Atelier van Lieshout
  • Date: 2003
  • Physical Dimensions: 260 x 600 x 730 cm
  • Provenance: Acquired with support of the Mondriaanfonds. ©Atelier Joep van Lieshout, Peter Cox/Bonnefantenmuseum
  • Medium: mixed media

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