“I believe in miracles”, Douglas Gordon’s 1994 work and Annet Gelink’s motto in all matters of life and art. Since the foundation of Annet Gelink Gallery, 15 years ago, this belief has driven the gallery on to great things. Back to the Future presents 15 artists of the gallery’s past, present and future to see what miracles still lie ahead.
In 1996 Annet Gelink entered the Art History books after Maurizio Cattelan stole the works that formed Paul de Reus’ show as well as the entire contents of her former part owned gallery, Bloom Gallery, for his show at the Appel Arts Centre. After earning her stripes at Bloom Gallery she went on to found Annet Gelink Gallery and ever since has been at the forefront of contemporary art. Annet Gelink Gallery has served as a breading ground for young talent, with Yael Bartana, David Maljkovic and Ryan Gander all starting at the gallery. The gallery has also supported the careers of Anya Gallaccio, Carla Klein and Roger Hiorns and in recent years that of emerging talent such Meiro Koizumi and Antonis Pittas. With a passion for art and through following her intuition, Annet Gelink provides visitors with shows that challenge ways of looking at the world. By not compromising what she believes in she has also has created a place of exploration: a world of many different answers.
Her recent new project is Ed van der Elsken Archives, a new gallery space next door to the main gallery, that keeps the legacy and archive of Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken publicly accessible and as alive and vibrant as the photographs themselves. With Annet having worked with the estate of Van der Elsken for over 20 years and with the growing interest in Van der Elsken’s work, opening this new space felt like a natural progression. Taking his works as a starting point, exhibitions are set up in collaboration with individuals from the worlds of fashion, art and literature. Each is invited to come with their own response to Ed’s work or to make a selection from Van der Elsken’s archive. Past artists that have shown at Ed van der Elsken Archives include Nobuyoshi Araki and well-known cinematographer Robby Müller. The current show is by Johannes Schwartz.
Back to the Future presents the opportunity to reflect on as well as celebrate the past 15 years and the coming years. The works on display in Back to the Future each deal in their own way with how the past constitutes the future. All the artists in the show each present a different fragment the gallery’s story.