Niemeyer and My Wife

Erik van der Weijde

Chert and Erik Van der Weijde are delighted to announce the artist’s second solo exhibition at the gallery. The theme of the exhibition symbolises the accord between them: the interaction between space and people: in this case Oscar Niemeyer and the artist’s wife. The starting point of any architecture is the people who live in it; the architect’s eye shapes their environment – his authority and presence are inescapable in his designs. The city of Brasilia was built by Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, both of whom were driven by the desire to create a new city and a new model of life. Niemeyer’s architecture was inspired by the female body, a detail that Van der Weijde remembers in an intimate way. The huge number of photographs he took of the same subject – his wife – reflects an obsession that often impinges on ordinary things that are taken for granted. The presentation of intimate family portraits in a public exhibition environment is considered questionable, even though blogs in social networks are an accepted part of day-to-day life. Van der Weijde’s project maintains this duality.