The Highlights that are on display in museum Voorlinden cannot be described – you simply have to experience them.
Highlights of the museum
Swimming Pool
Leandro Erlich designed his Swimming Pool especially for Voorlinden. He gave his work all the characteristics of a real swimming pool, including the recognizable pool blue on the walls, the typical lamps and even a real stairway through which you seem to be able to descend. And yet as a visitor you can walk on the bottom without getting wet. Leandro frequently plays with the eye. He transforms everyday spaces into absurd situations, to creating an experience that makes the viewer think about the reality around him. The work only really functions in its use by the public. Without people, according to the artist, the work is not complete.
Open Ended
The sculpture Open Ended by the American artist Richard Serra weighs almost 216 tonnes. The corten steel work is 4 metres high, 18 metres long and 7 metres wide. This is a piece full of contrasts: both heavy and elegant, industrial and organic, stately and playful, convex and concave. Six vaulted steel plates moulded together form a maze. Open Ended is a work best experienced by walking through it.
Ron Mueck
Ron Mueck creates hyperrealistic human figures which he details with utmost craftsmanship. They seem to be made of flesh and blood, but their scale turns them into fairytale giants. With Couple under an Umbrella (2013), the artist depicts ordinary people, but exactly twice our size. His figures are clearly individuals. Yet they are not portraits of existing people. They have something universal: every viewer can identify with them, despite their irregular size.
Maurizio Cattelan
The museum has a built-in elevator that comes up just a little bit higher than a grown-up’s ankle, on a scale of 1:7.5. The lift cabin disappears to an unknown destination in a building that does not have any storeys. Maurizio plays a game of copying and scaling, which allows the spectator to look at reality from a different point of view. The moment of recognition is immediately followed by the feeling of alienation, which is exactly what the artist is aiming for.
Skyspace
Especially for museum Voorlinden, James Turrell (1943) designed a Skyspace (2016): a space with a square opening in the roof, through which you look straight up. This allows you to see the blue sky as you have never seen it before. If the weather is not so good, the roof is closed and you can see a light programme that Turrell composed especially for this space. In this programme, the artist plays with your perception and tries to make something as intangible as light tangible. For this Skyspace, Turrell also put together a Twilight Experience, a light programme that is precisely tuned to the Wassenaar twilight during sunrise and sunset. The soft, natural daylight contrasts with the bright, almost tangible colours of the lamps, and the result is truly breathtaking. This Twilight programme can only be experienced on special occasions – keep an eye on our newsletter and social channels for updates.