Cabinet of Curiosities

Galerie Ron Mandos proudly presents Cabinet of Curiosities by Hans Op de Beeck, including sculptures, photographs and video. Op de Beeck’s newest series of sculptures is a contemporary interpretation of the Wunderkammer – a cabinet filled with a wide range of curiosities. This longstanding tradition of collecting cultural and natural objects originates from the European Renaissance. With his work, Op de Beeck reflects on our complex society and the universal questions of meaning and mortality that resonate within it.
The monochrome grey display cases of Cabinet of Curiosities show a variety of sculptural interpretations of memorable objects. These ash-grey artefacts resemble fossilized gems or archaeological finds, brought together by a fictive, anonymous collector. The display cases seem to have been stripped of all their sheen and left behind as silent, abandoned units. The collections of curiosities in each cabinet bridge the thin line between valuable and worthlessness, uniqueness and banality, emphasising the importance of stories to bring a still object to life.
Simultaneously with Cabinet of Curiosities, Sea of Tranquillity will be on view at The National Maritime Museum, which will run until 9 June 2019.