Event Horizon is a continuation of Kowalski’s Arché series, but for his recent work, Kowalski pushes the boundaries even further. Driven by his instinct to create bold and beautiful images of winter landscapes, he shows his homeland of Poland from a perspective hidden from most people. Extreme weather conditions could not stop the photographer taking the most spectacular images from his gyrocopter. Kowalski’s photographs, shot from 150 m above the frozen water, are particularly impressive, showing a natural spectacle that looks like abstract paintings created by nature.

The newly established BILDHALLE SHOWROOM at Willemsparkweg is dedicated to unseen and iconic works from the Bildhalle artist portfolio. The start will be marked by premiere works by Casper Faassen, Ilona Langbroek and Bastiaan Woudt.

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Kacper Kowalski (b. 1977, Poland) has been observing and photographing landscapes from aerial perspective for over 25 years. After becoming an architect and having worked in the profession for four years, he eventually decided to commit to flying and photography – his true passions.

As a paraglider, a pilot of small aircrafts and a gyrocopter, Kacper would fly into the air with an engine strapped to his back to discover the world of forms, shapes, and patterns during lonely flights. Altogether he spent over 5000 hours in the air. Constantly fighting with the natural forces: wind and air currents, when he photographs from 150 m above the ground level, he finds himself in an almost meditative state, when the nature and surroundings reveal not only abstract forms to him, but also seem to communicate with him with the language of symbols that appear on his photographs.
The flight is for Kowalski not only a way to capture the world beneath but becomes a spiritual journey that reveals universal truths about the relationship between man and nature, about the past and the present, and about one’s personal truth and the way to get there.

“Whether it was fog or snow, frost or thaw, I took to the sky by my motorized paraglider to see if it was possible to fly. If possible, I flew over frozen bodies of water to orbit the shimmering structure of the ice, fascinated by its forms, experiencing the feeling of overview and taking pictures.”

Kacper Kowalski

Premiere works by Casper Faassen, Ilona Langbroek and Bastiaan Woudt

The exhibition at the newly established showroom at Willemsparkweg is dedicated to unseen and iconic works from the Bildhalle artist portfolio. The first presentation shows premiere works by our Dutch artists Casper Faassen, Ilona Langbroek and Bastiaan Woudt.

After Bildhalle opened its first gallery in the Netherlands at Hazenstraat 15 in October 2020, the second one followed just a year later at Willemsparkweg 134. The warm welcome in The Netherlands motivated and convinced Bildhalle to expand and take new talents into its program. Now comes the next step to say thank you to the artists, who made this development possible.

Ilona Langbroek’s series “Silent Loss” is a personal series based on her family history in the former Dutch East Indies. The Netherlands has a long history with the Dutch East Indies, which leaves all kinds of traces that are reminiscent of the vast but also complex colonial past between these two countries. In fact, her work is about the lost identity of the large number of people who were forced to leave their country after the Independence and their emotions regarding this loss which are dormant but still very much alive

Bastiaan Woudt’s photography feels like stepping into a modern painting. Light and shadow dance elegantly. You will find a hint of surrealism as the sober shades ask you to see only the essence and awakens every detail. His work is minimalistic yet moves, playing with the beauty of imperfection — again, inspired by 50s, 60s and 70s photography. He honours this photography while exploring how modern in-camera methods and post-production can elevate the style of today.

Casper Faassen’s work is characterized by his continued innovative utilization of material, techniques, and disciplines. In addition to painting and graphic art, Faassen devotes much of his time to the medium of photography. It is in his photographic work that we once again see the 17th century Leiden painters who inspired him. His distinctive works depict the classic 17th century themes such as cityscapes, vanitas paintings and flower arrangements. By combining photography with painted layers, Faassen could be described as either a photographing painter or painting photographer.

ARTIST TALK / TOUR AND APERO by Kacper Kowalski on saturday, 4 February @ 16:00 H, Willemsparkweg 134