ACM+ no longer exists
From February 1st 2014 the owner of the site, where ACM + was situated, withdrew the rent option bringing an abrupt end to a unique initiative in Westerveld, S.W. Drenthe.
At the moment therefore, we find ourselves without a studio space, but naturally we are in the process of searching for an appropriate alternative elsewhere.
We leave Drenthe for what it is. As a province it was able to offer us the necessary peace and quiet we needed for our creativity. However, as far as our artistic development is concerned we are searching for a more dynamic and inspiring surrounding to both live and work.
Where precisely that will be is still unclear but it could very well turn out to be South Limburg. With the cities of Maastricht, Liege, Hasselt, Aachen, Cologne and Brussels all within a short distance from one another, the chance of a broader and better response becomes much more feasible. The future will tell us. We will keep you posted.
ACM+
Visual artists Maria Berkhout and Joop Vos are momentarily both working in a building that was formally used by the ACM (Agricultural Co – operative Society) The building is located behind what was originally the dairy of Dwingeloo in Drenthe. They have therefore named the studios and this website ACM+ (www.acmplus.nl)
The building covers an area of 350 sq.mtrs. and with the additional height of 4 mtrs. these studios, built in the former shop, are perfect for the creation of visual art works. Along both lengths of the walls at their highest point, there are one-meter high windows, creating walls of light. What more can one ask for as an artist?
The studios have been so designed that extra, empty wall-space has been created. These walls and panels not only offer an area in which to exhibit a large amount of work, but also offer the appropriate space for larger, individual works.
As well as the name of the building, ACM+ is also the name given to the initiative itself, whose goal is not only to create visual art but also to organize various and varied activities such as the up-coming ACM+ Open 2012.
Maria Berkhout
For approximately 25 years Maria has been creating sculptures, paintings and drawings, both very large and very small. In the beginning her work was abstract and geometric and predominantly constructed from steel plate.
The change to a more organic language occurred in 1994 when in a highly innovative way she created a multi-faceted profile of her own head, cast in bronze. A journey began to create work that was initially non-cerebral and that evolved out of the creative process itself. Simply expressed, ‘The doing not the thinking.’
Clay provided the most flexible material to support this method and plaster became the material for the finished sculpture.
website > www.mariaberkhout.nl
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Joop Vos
My intention is to paint fearlessly. Not as a means of releasing an intense emotion, but to express with optimal concentration, that which, spontaneously, is realized.
Utilizing all the experience and technique available to me, with energy and control, I endeavour to cover the blank canvas.
Every component involved in the process is brought into play: the brushstrokes, the layering, the colors, the textures, the paint-mixes, the forms and images. Always trusting that perhaps some small miracle will occur and that a wonderful painting will be created. Nothing more but also nothing less. We do our best.
website > www.joopvos.nl
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Westerveld and the surrounding area
For those people who wish to experience a special weekend, or wish to enjoy the peace and quiet that this incredible area offers, or perhaps are hoping to experience something more artistic, everything is possible.
Dwingeloo lies between two expansive nature reserves,
the “Dwingelderveld” on the one side and the “Drents-Friese Wold” on the other. Forest, sand dunes, heath and heather, with kilometres of cycle-paths and often clear, uninterrupted horizons. A considerable amount of Nature to enjoy thus.
Dwingeloo has a large village green and in the summer months, when the sun shines, the terraces are full. In the holiday period it becomes fairly busy and the warm apple-cake with cream is not to be missed.
On the parameters of the village towards Diever is the Gallery Arteria. Small but fine.
For more art you can visit Heereveen where the impressive museum Belvedère resides or visit Groningen’s famous modern art museum The Groninger Museum. Nearby Zwolle is also growing culturally active, as well as Assen.
And where to sleep? For example by Terence en Margot in their romantic thatched-cottage B&B, in the grounds of Whitton House. Or sleep and eat delicious vegetarian cuisine in the Volle Leven a little further into the woods. Just outside Diever, on the edge of the forest, lies the Landhotel Diever from Lisa en Feiny. If that’s too far, then you can always take a small hotel on the village-green in Dwingeloo e.g. Hotel Wesseling.
It is also possible to camp on a nature campsite in the middle of the forest. A perfect example of this is the campsite in Oude Willem in het Drents Friese Wold. Another possibility is the lovely campsite in Lhee very close to the Dwingelderveld.
On the heath near Havelte there is also the unsurpassed nature-friendly Het Hunehuis. Lying on a hill with a superb view of the extensive heath-land and heather, you can eat and sleep for a very reasonable price.
Map
ACM+ is located at the following address: Entingheweg 15/A, 7991 CC, Dwingeloo, Netherlands. On this Google map you can see precisely where everything is situated. You can also ask for a route description and an eventual print out.
Click on the image above for a Google Map!
All Things Beautiful
21/9 – 7/10 For the closing of ACM+ Open 2012 a unique exhibition will be presented with work from Henrike Scholten, Aimée Terburg, Maria Berkhout en Joop Vos under the title:
All Things Beautiful. ACM+ will be open from Friday until Sunday from 1pm until 5pm for the duration of the exhibition.
ACM+ is located at the following address: Entingheweg 15/A, 7991 CC, Dwingeloo, Netherlands.
Henrike Scholten is at this moment (July) resident in Saint Petersburg, both studying and drawing the 300 year old anatomical specimens from the Dutch anatomist Frederik Ruysch. When you view her work you immediately understand why she has decided to remain in Russia.
Click on the image above for an enlargement and, if so desired, additional photos!
Aimée Terburg creates paintings wherein certain features are instantly recognizable. Broad brushstrokes in gold-brown tints with contrasting small monochrome lines or surfaces, visualized on both the foreground and background. Abstract? Yes and no, but whatever your perception of her work may be, it remains both spatially dynamic and challenging.
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Impression ‘All Things Beautiful’
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Summer Exhibition 2012
15/7 – 16/9 During ACM+Open 2012 there will be a special exhibition organized by Gallery Arteria in association with restaurant Onder de Eiken and ACM+. It will be possible to view work from 36 artists at three different locations. These art-works are small enough to be able to fit easily into a saddle-bag.
The exhibition will be opened on Sunday the 15th of July at 2pm in Onder de Eiken. At 2-30pm it will then be possible to begin the cycle route to the two other locations.
On all following exhibition days Arteria, Onder de Eiken and ACM+ will be open on Saturday and Sunday. The opening time for all three locations is from 12pm until 5pm. It is also possible to view the cycle route on Google Maps.
Click on the image above for an enlargement and, if so desired, additional photos!
ACM+ Open 2012
Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep 200m² of studio and 150m² exhibition-space. Joop Vos (paintings) en Maria Berkhout (sculptures and drawings). ACM+ is open every Saturday and Sunday in June, July, August and September. You’re welcome to visit from 1pm until 5pm. You can also visit ACM+ also by appointment.
ACM+ is located at the following address: Entingheweg 15/A, 7991 CC, Dwingeloo, Netherlands.
Click on the image above for an enlargement and, if so desired, additional photos!
ACM+ Open 2011
4, 10, 11, 18, 25/9 200m² of studio and 150m² exhibition-space. Joop Vos (paintings) en Maria Berkhout (sculptures and drawings). ACM+ is open on September 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th. And on the 10th of September, the cultural ‘Uitdag’. You’re welcome from 13.00 until 17.00 hours. You can visit ACM+ also by appointment.
ACM+ is located at the following address: Entingheweg 15/A, 7991 CC, Dwingeloo, Netherlands.
Click on the image above for an enlargement and, if so desired, additional photos!
Impression ACM+ Open 2011
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ACM+ Open 2010
03/07 – 04/07/2010 In the North of Holland the possibilities to exhibit visual art-works is limited, though the number of artists is high. The art market is small, trend-sensitive and closed.
Alongside a workspace ACM+ also organizes reasonably large and diverse art exhibitions. The upcoming Open Atelier is one of the first activities that Berkhout and Vos will present together in the hope of establishing a good alternative exhibition space. This is not only perfect for them and their own work but obviously for all the other artists who they intend to invite.
Joop Vos exhibits his paintings:
In the summer of 2008 Joop worked for three months in Friesland in the Poterhok from Els and Gunner Daan. The Poterhok is a small but inspiring studio nearby the Wadden Sea. Numerous small canvases with long open brushstrokes were the results of this experience and the vivid sensations still remain. These paintings have never been exhibited. Joop also shows some of his more recent paintings.
Maria Berkhout exhibits her drawings:
Besides her spatial work Maria Berkhout exhibits a series of drawings, approximately two, by two-and-a half meters in diameter. Painted on paper with water-based paint made from burnt nutshells or Bistre and overlaid with organic, graphite forms the source of inspiration for this work is clearly Nature itself.
Impression ACM+ Open 2010
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Exhibition at the Council Offices of Westerveld
26/03 – 25/06/2010 Although she only has a minimal budget for the arts, Anry Kleine Deters, The Minister of Culture, Westerveld, has, nevertheless, established the possibility to exhibit art in the central hall of the new County Council Offices in Diever.
From the end of March until the end of June (weekdays only) Joop Vos and Maria Berkhout are both exhibiting work there.
Joop Vos exhibits earlier, smaller work, painted in acrylic. Now, working on much larger canvasses, he makes his own tempera, an ancient technique whereby egg yolk, linseed oil and pigment are combined to create the paint. The result is beautiful, warm, silky colours. His work is abstract with references to the panorama of earth and heaven.
Maria Berkhout exhibits an installation of nine plaster- tablets, each tablet revealing a central hollow form created from a clay ‘positive’ mould. The plaster is poured over the mould and allowed to harden and then removed, creating the ‘negative’ hollow form. This organic ‘non-image’ resides peacefully, almost secretly, within the white-grey plane of the tablet.
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