18 February 2023 till 10 September 2023

Escher - Other World


Birds that become fish, water that flows uphill, two hands drawing each other: with consummate skill, M.C. Escher would transform a blank sheet of paper into his own infinite worlds where he would play with his viewers’ perception. His masterful metamorphoses and tessellations continue to amaze and inspire people all over the world.

        

Video: MotionShow

Step into the world of Escher – quite literally, at Kunstmuseum Den Haag’s Escher – Other World. This exhibition will allow visitors to experience the work of Escher as never before. His famous prints, featuring optical illusions, impossible architecture, reflections and the natural world will be combined with spectacular installations by Belgian artistic duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh. The interaction between Escher’s prints and the spatial installations of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh will offer visitors a unique experience and a deeper exploration of Escher’s work.

Escher’s prints are the result of his unprecedented talent, and also of his almost obsessive devotion to the art of printmaking. His work, like that of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, explores the boundaries of space, landscape, perspective and illusion. While Escher explored on paper, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh do so in spatial installations. For this exhibition, the core element of which will be a cross-section of the work of M.C. Escher, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh have devised space-filling interventions that present a contemporary view of Escher’s work. The interventions feature sculptural associations that explore the notions of light and heavy, temporary and eternal, impossible architecture and infinity, and other key elements of the work of Escher.

Video: Studio Gerrit Schreurs

This double exhibition will be divided into two sections representing day and night, a contrast that fascinated Escher. The first part of the show, DAY, arranged by theme, will be displayed in our large, daylit galleries, where the work of Escher and the spatial installations of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh will challenge and enhance each other. The second part, NIGHT, will showcase a number of authentic themes in our side galleries. This unique interaction will shed new light on the beloved and versatile artist Maurits Cornelis Escher who, 125 years after his birth, continues to inspire people the world over.

M.C. Escher, Sky and Water I, 1938, woodcut. Collection Kunstmuseum Den Haag. © The M.C. Escher Company – Baarn – Holland. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com

Video: Gerrit Schreurs

Guided Tours
Would you like to learn more about Escher - Other world?  For this exhibition you can book a personal tour via this page for groups up to fifteen people.