Catalogue > At random

The private atmosphere of a Dutch living room is breached by the disturbing presence of a large oak tree that slowly enters the room. Close-ups of different kinds of furniture, potted plants, souvenirs and other personal belongings are carefully depicted. No longer protected from the outside by the thin sheets of glass, the vacuum is cancelled when the large oak tree enters the room, confronting the viewer with the impact this has to both tree and home. Being both realistic and absurd, the confrontation between the tree and the home raises questions about the meaning and symbolism of the tree and the private domain, and its representational aspects towards the outside world.

Roderick Hietbrink (b. 1975, the Netherlands) is a visual artist. He received his BA in Fine Art from the Art Academy St. Joost in Breda in 1999 and his MA in Fine Art from the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam in 2002. He is a current resident at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam. His work is shown internationally in solo and group exhibitions at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam, Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin, Artspace Visual Arts Centre in Sydney, SMART Project Space Amsterdam and Where Where Exhibition Space in Beijing. Roderick Hietbrink lives and works in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.