Roberto Voorbij is a multidisciplinary artist apart from working with ‘ready made’ materials, he works with video, 3D Software and (digital) collage. Commerciality and public space are recurring themes in Voorbij’s work. What highly fascinates him about this is the underlying history, politics and marketing strategy of our seemingly neutral environment. His works are often socially critical. Another recurring theme concerns the art world/art market and the way in which the artist manifests itself here, as well as the autonomy of the artwork that’s being questioned.
Self-taught or art school?
From 1993-1998 I studied at the Utrecht School of the Arts, of which six months as an exchange student at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The nice thing was that both school systems were quite different from each other. Utrecht was more focused on the personal story and intuition, Chicago more on analysis, taught me to interpret images, to become aware of what you communicate. In retrospect, both were an ideal complement to each other.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
To own a Luc Tuymans or an Anselm Kiefer would be great. Both are artists that I am delighted about when their work is back on display. As well as Tuymans, Kiefer shows how form and content ideally coincide. But at the same time, they manage to maintain a certain mystery and elusiveness around their work.
As for the more classical works, a replica, a good replica, can suffice… I couldn’t get it over my heart if I knew I was the only one who could see a certain masterpiece. Right now I am reading ‘The Last Leonardo’ (a must-read!). It is of course outrageous that such a work of art ended up in a private collection. Where is the ‘Salvator Mundi’ now? I hope it will soon be exhibited in an international museum, and not that it will stay in a free port / tax free storage where no one can admire this magical work.
How would you describe your style?
In my work, I am always looking for a visual experience that connects to a more cognitive experience. In other words, a (social) statement that coincides with a visual find, a visual sensation. You could call it a conceptual approach, but it is certainly not conceptual art. The aesthetic and material-technical considerations are of too great importance for that.
The use of art history also appears to be a recurring theme. As an appropriation, I sample our art history, but rather use it as part of my message than commenting on a used artwork specifically. Like a sampling artist, I integrate it into a new composition.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
I enjoy working in series, deepening a concept more and more, approaching it from different angles. To be honest, that has a commercial component as well. But I wouldn’t want an inspiring idea to have only one owner. Also, every variation in a series must be an addition. There must be some urgency. That it’s, hey what would happen if I try this? If I run it this way?
Is narrative important within your work?
It has always been important, you could say that my personal story is becoming more relevant. The art process may also be a quest for your specific personal story. ‘The disappearance of religion from public space’ is one way to interpret the latest series. It is both a personal story – which stems from a Catholic raising – as well as a topical and social story; the secularization of the Netherlands where faith is being pushed back behind the front door. I really miss the wonder and the enchantment in the public space.
Who are your favourite artist and why?
As mentioned, Luc Tuymans and Anselm Kiefer are among my favourite artists. Both have succeeded in reassessing history and how we view it. The elusiveness of the past, the fragile transience of our existence, including all great deeds, are shown by Tuymans for what they are as well; fleeting, unknowable, subversive, trivial. Kiefer seems to be claiming the opposite in his megalomaniac works of concrete, earth, wood, of room-filling proportions. But nothing could be further from the truth, these works are about to collapse, sometimes both in the depicted (the ruins of the Third Reich) but always in the materiality, in the construction; it is shaky, crumbling, it’s falling apart.
What or who inspires your art?
As said, ‘the disappearance of religion / the myth / the miracle from the public space’ is my current starting point. It’s both the direct public space of Amsterdam that inspires me. The remains of a time when 1/3 of the city consisted of religious buildings (monasteries or churches), but also present-day in which secularisation seems to be continuing. Although it looks like religion is exchanged for spirituality by many people. A certain religious experience but without the dogmas of church or mosque. It is not without reason that more and more Buddha statues appear in the front yards of Amsterdam. For the Dutch, these do not have a negative association of oppression or dogma. Are not as loaded as a cross or crescent moon or star of David. Or perhaps you can also regard abstract art in public space as a surrogate, as mysterious monoliths, which offer space for wonder, for enchantment.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
Luckily I can use two studios, one home studio and one in a creative hub. The latter is a shared space together with other creatives, which turns out to be very helpful. You give one another practical advice, learn about exhibition possibilities, technical solutions, where to go for the best photo lab etc. Further, you also inspire each other when you learn about the beautiful projects everyone is involved in. My home studio is more the place where I can focus. A shared space together with my partner, she also has a creative background as a former Rietveld student. She’s usually my first sounding board, my first viewer and critic when I produce new work.
Do you have any studio rituals?
The continuous analysis of the work made is of course a recurring thing. Which is interspersed with more intuitive choices. But occasionally I also review the work process itself. Perhaps it is the repeated alternation of chaos and order, of improvisation and composition, but I think that is the case for many artists.
What are you working on currently?
At the moment I’m working on new work in the ‘prism series’. This series has been chosen specifically for religious and mythological images. However, by placing the figures – each appropriated from classic paintings – behind a geometric grid contrasting associations arise. The analogue pixels that appear due to the distortion of the plastic prism plate act like the scrambled image of a suspect. But at the same time, the plate also seems to work as a protection of the vulnerable. Is this series about censoring the religious or is it rather an attempt to protect the weak? The grid over the Renaissance painting also emphasises the triangular composition that has been used. Or does it expose an underlying matrix, a metaphysical network that’s being uncovered…
Where can people buy your work?
