Face Off: Mondriaan vs. contemporary artists

From 8 March to 22 September, the exhibition Face Off: Mondriaan vs. contemporary artists is on show in Museum Villa Mondriaan Winterswijk. Face Off shows Mondriaan’s portraits in creative contrast with contemporary portrait makers such as Philip Akkerman, Koos Breukel and Maayke Schuitema – a true cultural face off.

Mondriaan portrayed various people, ranging from Queen Wilhelmina to his very own uncle Frits, stoically depicted with a cigar in his mouth. Diametrically opposed to these portraits Michelle Obama, Wim Pijbes and their contemporaries stare back at Mondriaan’s portraits. Each artist gives their own vision on the sitter in either an experimental, abstract or classic and striking way.

Face Off places Mondriaan in a direct dialogue with contemporary artists. The emphasis is on the image they want to
create of the sitter. This is relevant for Mondriaan’s oeuvre, but also for the work of our contemporary portrait artists. Face Off allows you to discover the story behind both Mondriaan’s portraits and those made by modern artists: a combination of the artistic and the individual aspects of both the sitter and the artist.