Biography
How does a work of art acquire value and meaning? What are the processes at play? And what is the artist’s role in all of this? These are the recurrent themes in the oeuvre of Daniëlle van Ark (The Netherlands, 1974-). Her work raises questions about value and authenticity, particularly in the field of photography: the reproducible medium par excellence. Interested in “opaque systems of value creation”, van Ark explores the mechanisms through which certain objects and images acquire status within the unwritten rules of the artworld, in a specific time frame.
Van Ark often begins her works with found materials. ‘Things’ that have been part of history or someone else’s life, and which are seen by her as residues of human existence. By collecting these materials and recontextualising them in her works, van Ark is interested in how they generate new meanings within the contemporary artworld. Questions of value, materiality, and time are central to her approach to photography as a reproducible medium.
The start of the collaboration between Daniëlle van Ark and FLAT // LAND involves five artworks which will be shown at the MIA Photo Fair (Milan, 10th -14th April, 2024):
- ‘Pair of Cranes, the shot that missed the Tsar’ and ‘A Meissen bird group, A Meissen dinner service’ (from the series In Retrospect, 2014, Pigment prints on Hahnemühle Baryta, respectively 85 x 71,5 cm and 83,7 x 53,5 cm, Edition of 5 + 2 AP each).
- ‘Uniform’ (2015, Pigment print on Hahnemühle Baryta, 34 x 25 cm, Edition of 5 + 2 AP).
- ‘Landscape 01’ and ‘Landscape 02’ (from the series The Nature of Rorschach, 2017, Pigment prints on Hahnemühle Baryta, 82 x 114,5 cm each, Edition of 5 + 2 AP each).