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exhibition
contemporary realism
Abdijzaal

Mirjam Völker – Falsche Flagge

  • till 2 March 2025
  • Drents Museum

On September 28, the first solo exhibition of Leipzig painter Mirjam Völker (1977) in the Netherlands will open at the Drents Museum. Mirjam Völker – Falsche Flagge features an extensive installation of a hut, together with paintings, drawings and videos by Völker.

Shelters and refuges
Tree houses, cottages, poles to sit on and mobile homes are central to Mirjam Völker's work. Normally, these structures are shelters and refuges: safe places that offer protection from the weather and attacks from the outside world. Yet the structures that Völker paints, builds and films are almost falling apart from misery. They are cobbled together from wood, corrugated iron and tarpaulins. They stand abandoned in the landscape, overgrown by nature. There is no person to be seen, but the presence of man is still uncomfortably palpable. 

HABITAT
At the heart of the exhibition space stands a huge installation of a hut. This structure, entitled HABITAT, is being showcased for the first time at the Drents Museum. Visitors are invited to step inside this life-sized hut, where Völker's video works can be seen. 

Neue Leipziger Schule
The mysticism surrounding Mirjam Völker's work is in keeping with the work of the Neue Leipziger Schule. These artists create art based on reality, but add elements that put you on the wrong track. As a result, the work always has a somewhat surrealist feel to it. In 2009, the Drents Museum organised the first exhibition about the Neue Leipziger Schule in the Netherlands. Since then, the museum has organised exhibitions with works by Rosa Loy, David Schnell, Matthias Weischer, Kristina Schuldt, Neo Rauch and others. Mirjam Völker – Falsche Flagge is Völker's first solo exhibition in the Netherlands.   

Publication
The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication of the same name Mirjam Völker – Falsche Flagge with a contribution by art historian Larissa Kikol. The catalogue is published by Waanders Uitgevers and is available for € 24.95 in the museum shop or via dutchmuseumgiftshop.nl.