Art in Theater aan het Spui
At Theater aan het Spui, you'll regularly find work by various artists in the foyer. For example, a new light artwork by artists Vendel & De Wolf recently hung above the bar. The light artwork "Perspectief" was commissioned by Het Nationale Theater. You can read more about the work and its creators below.
Perspectief (Perspective)
Vendel & De Wolf
"Theatre, to us, represents a multitude of disciplines—from dance to stand up to drama. It is a vibrant and dynamic art form that constantly evolves. A powerful medium for storytelling, addressing social issues, and exploring the human experience, all expressed in countless styles and forms. We wanted our artwork to reflect this same dynamic spirit." — Vendel & De Wolf
Transmitting or receiving is up to the spectator
The artwork is a dual-armed antenna made of welded aluminum tubes. LED strips, capable of displaying various colors, run along the structure. These light lines follow the construction in three distinct patterns. Do you see lightning, streaks, or a sharp point? The shape and color you perceive depend on your interpretation. At the ends of the two arms are radar reflectors—maritime devices designed to precisely return a signal to its source. Standing by the reflector, you always see yourself reflected in the mirror. Transmitting or receiving—it’s up to the spectator.
About the Creators
Dutch artists Paul Vendel and Sandra de Wolf met during their studies in Audiovisual Arts and Photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and have been together ever since. For 32 years, they have worked both collaboratively and individually as Vendel & De Wolf. Their portfolio includes commissioned works for public spaces, temporary installations for exhibitions, and light art for festivals.
The light artwork Perspectief, above the bar in Theater aan het Spui, was created on commission for Het Nationale Theater.
Photo Exhibition Vendel & De Wolf
During the creation process, Sandra de Wolf photographs all the works in progress. In this temporary photo exhibition, we see the various stages of the work "Perspectief" which is currently displayed in the foyer of Theater aan het Spui. The exhibition also provides an overview of previous works created by Vendel & De Wolf over the past 34 years. These include commissioned pieces, works for festivals, as well as autonomous works.
Limbo Lounge
Luka Smišek
A waiting place, a meeting place - an inbetween place consisting of three intertwining pieces of unclear identity. Are they benches, chairs, tables, bartables? Is it a table because it goes over a chair or is it a chair because it goes under another table, or is that thing a chair after all? Are they all at once, and in that case what do you call something like that?
Limbo Lounge is a usable sculpture that smudges the hierarchical lines that furniture pieces impose on each other. It smudges furniture's identity that we assume it has based on our ingrained domestic knowledge. It suggests function through its materials - objects once used in domestic space, of familiar shape, that no longer needed to serve their purpose.
Next to the installation you can find a map and a booklet that show all the discarded objects that were found - the material used to construct the pieces. Once used in domestic spaces, the material was left on the streets of The Hague as trash, ready to disappear forever. These objects that I collect and use as building material give character and stories to the pieces. In case you recognize something in the piece that you discarded some time ago, please get in touch with me as I would like to hear the history of the object
About Luka Smišek
Luka is a spatial designer and artist who is interested in possible and impossible alternative ways of existing in space that challenge the norms of architectural practice and focus on the human experience. To research this he combines an artistic and architectural approach, using speculation, creating objects and spaces that exist between reality and fiction. His work is characterised by its performative, playful, and humorous nature.
The Play
The Play is an artistic installation that extends an invitation to all visitors to use their senses in embodied ways and to discover new interpretations of our environments through play. Made in collaboration with Het Nationale Theater, Studio der Luminaire developed a scenography for the theater’s foyer; a set of elements with fuzzy and soft forms that are free for interpretation and improvisation within the scene.
Inspired by natural landscapes, the studio reflects on the scope of play and its social or performative meanings. Play is a basic need that can take many forms but it remains intercultural and a common denominator in all societies. Through play, we learn how to interact with the environment; we can socialize, have fun, engage more with different activities, be more creative, improve our mental and physical health and be more open to different attitudes.
In this work, the artists are using wool, a material that has been present in different cultures since ancient times, to depict the connection between play, material, and culture in an intriguing and fuzzy way. The artists consider the unexpected in their material choices. While the forms are suggestive of large pebbles or a rocky landscape, the use of the soft wool expands the possible uses for the shape, leaving the visitor to take more freedom in their movement.
You are invited to Play freely!
Studio der Luminaire
Studio der Luminaire (The Hague) is a textile-based design studio merging traditional craft, interpretations of natural beauty, and global culture. Behind Studio der Luminaire are Enrique Torres Takahashi and Maria Beaumaster, both educated in the department of Interior Architecture and Furniture Design at the Royal Academy of Arts, The Hague (KABK). Their works explore the daily communion of well-being, sustainability, material accessibility, and a harmonious coexistence with contemporary life.