Next-Gen

Galerie Nasty Alice is pleased to announce Next-Gen, two solo exhibitions by Len Creutzburg and Wouter van der Giessen.

You are very welcome at the opening on Sunday 21 June 3 – 5 pm.

Len Creutzburg (1994), born in Breda, The Netherlands, currently lives and works in Eindhoven. Creutzburg is a third-generation Indo-European mixed- media artist. In 2023, Creutzburg earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki (Finland). Their practice spans sculpture, installation, and technolgy, and has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. In addition, Creutzburg has participated in various artist residencies and international exchange projects, including residencies in the Czech Republic and Iceland.

Len Creutzburg approaches the body as a system that functions like a machine driven by impulses, influences, triggers, and stored conditioning. Creutzburg explores the invisible processes that drive this system and attemps to recognize the underlying systematics and mechanical nature within it. These processes are translated into sculptures and interactive structures in which immaterial forces take shape. Through the use of audio, sensors, and interaction with the audience, the works function not only as representations but also as active elements. Relationships between the body, technology, and the environment form a key starting point in Creutzburg’s practice. This is partly informed by their Indo-European family history, in which traces of intergenerational trauma are palpable. From this perspective, Creutzburg explores how trauma, survival mechanisms, and inherited behaviors take root in the body and are passed down from generation to generation. At the same time, these processes are constantly influenced and reactivated by technological environments and a changing world.

Wouter van der Giessen (1995), born in Gorinchem, The Netherlands, currently lives in Breda and works in Oosterhout. Van der Giessen graduated at the Graphic Lyceum in Rotterdam (2016) and continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Breda (2020). Since then, his work has been shown in many places such as Melkweg Expo, Stedelijk Museum Breda, Expo Bart and Art Zuid Biënnale.

Wouter van der Giessen explores icons from everyday life: symbols and objects that belong to everyone, yet each holds a personal story. Think of clouds, emoticons, and cars, each symbolizing the ordinary in its own way. In his private life, he uses these icons to make sense of his own emotions, thereby imbuing them with personal meaning. Through a repetitive working method, he questions what belongs to all of us and what is personal. How do we express our emotions in a world where we are forced to express ourselves through predetermined shapes and colors? In a sketch-like manner, he plays with these symbols. By repeating them through drawings, they become more personal, yet also less legible. A game of concealing and revealing; of that which is personal and yet belongs to all of us. With an emotional gaze, he captures personal stories within what appears universal. He creates colorful allegories, inviting you to look at what you actually see, rather than what you think you see.