Press Release Marjan Teeuwen | Verwoest Huis

Following the successful first solo exhibition by Marjan Teeuwen centered on the Verwoest Huis series at ROOF-A in 2021, a second solo exhibition will open on Saturday, November 4, 2023. Photographs of ten large-scale, monumental installations created around the world showcase architectural compositions that are as raw as they are meticulous. Parallel to the exhibition, Teeuwen’s 11th architectural installation is taking shape, featuring a unique approach to the artist’s working and thinking methods. This project is a collaboration between three cultural partners: ROOF-A, the artist, and the artist-driven playground BRUTUS, where a building previously inaccessible to the public has been made available.

A radical reversal of the drive to destroy

Marjan Teeuwen (Venlo, b. 1953) focuses on derelict buildings. She works both in the Netherlands and abroad, from Gaza to Rotterdam-Noord. Under the title Verwoest Huis (Destroyed House), she creates sculptures from discarded structures.

She turns homes and other buildings—where entire lives have unfolded—inside out. Wood, stone, concrete, plaster, and other sheet materials are sawed or smashed into pieces, insofar as they haven’t already been destroyed by violence. In addition to architectural interventions, a major rearrangement of materials takes place; in fact, everything is placed in a different location. It is as if Teeuwen is examining the building’s memory, stacking matter upon matter. Finally, she immortalizes the installations as autonomous photographic works.

“Verwoest Huis is a diabolical balancing act with an open ending, because the cycle of demolition and construction itself has no end. But the photographs Teeuwen takes of it escape the tipping point. Here, chaos and order are evenly matched, in a radical reversal of the urge to destroy.” Quote by Wilma Sütö

Verwoest Huis x BRUTUS

The artist and ROOF-A approached the artist-driven playground BRUTUS to inquire about a potentially suitable space for an installation. This led to a challenging plan to create a semi-permanent architectural installation in an “unexplored,” once-bricked-up space, almost completely cut off from the outside world and devoid of natural light. Here, Teeuwen proceeds in her usual deconstructive manner. Ultimately arriving at a brutalist installation in which two irregular squares attempt to achieve a more perfect position. Like a phoenix attempting to assume a geometric form, yet succeeding only partially and for but a brief moment. An abstract, minimalist rhythm in which the sense of both order, regularity, and beauty, as well as insecurity, disruption, and destruction, is palpable (war is not far away).

Opening and Artist Talk
The unveiling of Teeuwen’s installation at BRUTUS will take place in December, with an exclusive preview for collectors. The grand opening for the general public and the Art Talk will be held during Art Rotterdam in 2024. The installation will be open to the public from that moment on.

Verwoest Huis Brutus
The series of new works titled “Verwoest Huis Brutus” will be on view for the first time at the ROOF-A Gallery booth at Art Rotterdam from Thursday, February 1 through Sunday, February 4, 2024.

Verwoest Huis x BRUTUS is an initiative of Marjan Teeuwen and Lobke Broos/ROOF-A, with generous support from the Mondriaan Fund.

Special thanks to: artists-driven playground BRUTUS