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Galería Mascota is honored to present Machteld Rullens’s (The Hague, 1988) first solo exhibition in Latin America titled “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” The title of the exhibition, inspired by the iconic 1966 western film, reflects Rullens’s exploration of the dualities within Mexico City by immersing not only herself but also her artistic process and materials. These materials which play a role in people’s everyday lives, such as discarded cardboard, are now reimagined and transformed into her wall objects. The connection between the film and Rullens’s work lies in the narrative’s portrayal of characters who despise each other yet are forced to collaborate. The film presents a world driven by greed, deceit, love, and a chaotic game where each move leads inevitably to the next. Similarly, the works in this exhibition reflect that dynamic tension. Paint seeps into cardboard, resin layers fortify what was once fragile, and bolts turn humble surfaces into imitations of the metal sides of trucks that navigate the streets of Mexico City. Materials not originally designed to coexist come together harmoniously, as Rullens´s reshapes and rearranges cardboard boxes, converting something delicate into sturdy forms that evoke themes of play, composition, and architecture. Rullens's artistic practice is rooted in the idea of blending opposites—the fine line between right and wrong, beauty and ugliness, strength and fragility. In doing so, she draws subtle inspiration from American artist Mary Heilmann, whose work fuses the analytical structures of Minimalism with a spontaneous, intuitive spirit. Rullens´s carries this ethos into her art, incorporating conceptual references to chessboards—symbolizing calculated movement and balance—while breathing new life into discarded materials. She masterfully coaxes these forgotten remnants into compositions that embody a harmonious interplay between the functional and the expressive. This exhibition is deeply rooted in the context of Mexico, as the works have been made during a one-month residency near the San Cosme Market. Each material retains the aura of the environment it comes from, configuring both the work and the space they inhabit. Color is important as it conveys moods in the work. It reflects and inhales light. The layers of resin poured on top of the paint intensify that aspect. The ‘Crushed’ works within this show, the biggest Rullens has produced up until today, flirt with the idea of abstract expressionism
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Solo at Page New York
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Solo at Overduin&Co
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MACHTELD RULLENS (B. 1988, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS) GATHERS CARDBOARD BOXES, GENTLY RUBS THEM WITH COLOR AND RESIN, AND STACKS THEM, THEIR FLAPS AGAPE LIKE UNSHUT MOUTHS OR CLOSED, HIDING THEIR INTERIORS JUST SO. FULL OF EMPTINESS, RULLENS’ DEBUT ARTIST BOOK, PRESENTS OVER SIXTY OF HER HUMDRUM WALL-WORKS ALONGSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, CURIOUS OBJECTS, AND FAR-OFF TRAVELS. ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE ARE DOCUMENTED WITH THE SAME ANALOGUE CAMERA, SMUDGING THE LINE THEREBETWEEN—IF THERE EVERY WAS ONE. ESSAY BY ANDREW BERARDINI.
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MACHTELD RULLENS (B. 1988, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS) GATHERS CARDBOARD BOXES, GENTLY RUBS THEM WITH COLOR AND RESIN, AND STACKS THEM, THEIR FLAPS AGAPE LIKE UNSHUT MOUTHS OR CLOSED, HIDING THEIR INTERIORS JUST SO. FULL OF EMPTINESS, RULLENS’ DEBUT ARTIST BOOK, PRESENTS OVER SIXTY OF HER HUMDRUM WALL-WORKS ALONGSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, CURIOUS OBJECTS, AND FAR-OFF TRAVELS. ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE ARE DOCUMENTED WITH THE SAME ANALOGUE CAMERA, SMUDGING THE LINE THEREBETWEEN—IF THERE EVERY WAS ONE. ESSAY BY ANDREW BERARDINI.
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MACHTELD RULLENS (B. 1988, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS) GATHERS CARDBOARD BOXES, GENTLY RUBS THEM WITH COLOR AND RESIN, AND STACKS THEM, THEIR FLAPS AGAPE LIKE UNSHUT MOUTHS OR CLOSED, HIDING THEIR INTERIORS JUST SO. FULL OF EMPTINESS, RULLENS’ DEBUT ARTIST BOOK, PRESENTS OVER SIXTY OF HER HUMDRUM WALL-WORKS ALONGSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, CURIOUS OBJECTS, AND FAR-OFF TRAVELS. ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE ARE DOCUMENTED WITH THE SAME ANALOGUE CAMERA, SMUDGING THE LINE THEREBETWEEN—IF THERE EVERY WAS ONE. ESSAY BY ANDREW BERARDINI.
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MACHTELD RULLENS (B. 1988, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS) GATHERS CARDBOARD BOXES, GENTLY RUBS THEM WITH COLOR AND RESIN, AND STACKS THEM, THEIR FLAPS AGAPE LIKE UNSHUT MOUTHS OR CLOSED, HIDING THEIR INTERIORS JUST SO. FULL OF EMPTINESS, RULLENS’ DEBUT ARTIST BOOK, PRESENTS OVER SIXTY OF HER HUMDRUM WALL-WORKS ALONGSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, CURIOUS OBJECTS, AND FAR-OFF TRAVELS. ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE ARE DOCUMENTED WITH THE SAME ANALOGUE CAMERA, SMUDGING THE LINE THEREBETWEEN—IF THERE EVERY WAS ONE. ESSAY BY ANDREW BERARDINI.
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MACHTELD RULLENS (B. 1988, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS) GATHERS CARDBOARD BOXES, GENTLY RUBS THEM WITH COLOR AND RESIN, AND STACKS THEM, THEIR FLAPS AGAPE LIKE UNSHUT MOUTHS OR CLOSED, HIDING THEIR INTERIORS JUST SO. FULL OF EMPTINESS, RULLENS’ DEBUT ARTIST BOOK, PRESENTS OVER SIXTY OF HER HUMDRUM WALL-WORKS ALONGSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, CURIOUS OBJECTS, AND FAR-OFF TRAVELS. ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE ARE DOCUMENTED WITH THE SAME ANALOGUE CAMERA, SMUDGING THE LINE THEREBETWEEN—IF THERE EVERY WAS ONE. ESSAY BY ANDREW BERARDINI.
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MACHTELD RULLENS (B. 1988, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS) GATHERS CARDBOARD BOXES, GENTLY RUBS THEM WITH COLOR AND RESIN, AND STACKS THEM, THEIR FLAPS AGAPE LIKE UNSHUT MOUTHS OR CLOSED, HIDING THEIR INTERIORS JUST SO. FULL OF EMPTINESS, RULLENS’ DEBUT ARTIST BOOK, PRESENTS OVER SIXTY OF HER HUMDRUM WALL-WORKS ALONGSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, CURIOUS OBJECTS, AND FAR-OFF TRAVELS. ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE ARE DOCUMENTED WITH THE SAME ANALOGUE CAMERA, SMUDGING THE LINE THEREBETWEEN—IF THERE EVERY WAS ONE. ESSAY BY ANDREW BERARDINI.
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I have been working with cardboard boxes, oil paint and resin for the past few years. These wall sculptures derive from my interest in architecture, chance and composition, in relation to the human body. They are boxes, in soft colors, full of emptiness. A space to unleash my fears and experiences. I am revitalizing the box, as they are more or less forsaken, or at least - giving them a new function. I make these works with a certain attention, but preferably in a fast manner. This fastness refers back to how I make my drawings, by not wanting to steer with my brain, but with my body and subconsciousness. Optimus Prime is made in sober colours with dripping resin.
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Websites
Social media
Lid van Beroeps- / Kunstenaarsvereniging
Locatie Z
Curriculum vitae
Opleidingen
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2012 - 2014Fine Art Rotterdam, Piet Zwart Diploma behaald
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2010 - 2011Experimenteel en Glas St. Lucas, Gent
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2007 - 2012Beeldende Kunst, Autonoom Den Haag, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten Diploma behaald
tentoonstellingen
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2025Galeria Mascota Solo
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2024Scrapyard Abstraction De Kunsthal Rotterdam Kunsthal Light is het talentontwikkelingsprogramma van de Kunsthal. Dit programma richt zich sinds 2011 in het bijzonder op jonge kunstenaars die in staat zijn op originele en artistieke wijze ‘een groot gebaar’ neer te zetten. Hiervoor stelt de Kunsthal drie keer per jaar HAL 6 (de ruim 25 meter lange etalage langs de hellingbaan) beschikbaar aan een kunstenaar die de vrije hand krijgt om hier een site-specific werk te maken. De ontwikkeling van het werk is voor het publiek van buitenaf te volgen. www.kunsthal.nl/nl/#tijdlijn-2024-03
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2024DWAET Sorry We're Closed Brussel "The chiaroscuro becomes the monad according to a series that can be traversed in both directions: at one end the dark background, at the other sealed light." The word Dwaet, which in Middle Dutch means to moisten, wash, clean, or rinse, reflects Machteld’s attitude toward her practice. Her work exists at the crossroads between sculpture, conceptual art, and abstract painting: a warmly laconic intersection tacitly referencing art-historical movements from Supports/Surfaces to minimal sculpture, and from performative objects to conceptual practices. Folded, twisted, inverted, stacked, superimposed, crushed, or flattened, her wall objects made from found cardboard are full of emptiness. Covered in countless layers of oil paint and resin, they are a contemporary chiaroscuro, “at one end the dark background, at the other sealed light.” [2]. Upon closer inspection, the skies, sunsets, full-moon nights, and reflections on the water are all brought to light on the edge of these cardboard surfaces. "As I collected, reorganized, crushed, and soaked my material, I felt that dwaet resonated with my approach to art-making. I use the box to its full potential. The cardboard is not a separate background from the paint. This broadens my visual research, which I do not only as a painter, but also as a sculptor. I appreciate the freedom that comes with abstraction. Not adding too much, not doing too little. Keeping the work dirty and fresh at the same time. Sometimes, I see the work as evidence of an intention, a desire, or an impulse". Perhaps it is so that I act more subconsciously in the private sphere. I think about art and religion a lot. Both faith and art are simultaneously and paradoxically fragile and resilient. And ultimately indestructible.” “In Leibniz’s philosophy everything folds, unfolds, refolds. His most famous thesis is that of the soul as a "monad" without door or window, which draws from a dark background all its clear perceptions [...] also the soul is full of dark folds.” [3] There are evocative titles, such as Judd, or Optimus Prime which take us across the Atlantic, between Minimalism and Pop Culture while Green Bottega and Dirty Swamp Neon are simply descriptive. Between simplicity and sophistication, Machteld’s work displays the wide range and richness of her practice; an endless diversity through the repetition of a gesture: the simple fact that she preferred to paint the box rather than the white canvas. EP - translation by Blurbs 1,2, www.sorrywereclosed.com/
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2023
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2023
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2023Boxing Glove Page New York Page is pleased to present Machteld Rullens, the New York debut of the The Hague-based artist. With equal parts attention to form, color, and economy—big or small—Machteld makes it look easy. This is what synergy looks like! Familiar, relatable, and original—usually not common bedfellows. Machteld’s latest body of work blurs the boundaries of dimensional form and Greenbergian flatness, collapsing and folding cardboard configurations into painterly wall works. Stacked, riveted, and coated with pigmented resin, these objects are sometimes reminiscent of the leaky hull of a tanker or cobbled-together like an improvised repair job. In this series, there is a slow shift away from manicured rectilinear order into scrap yard abstraction. The synthetic luster transcends the familiar cardboard material into unearthly perfected forms. Ranging from playful spontaneity to methodical engineering, Machteld maintains a relatability while pushing limits, always thinking outside the box. page-nyc.com/exhibitions/machteld-rullens
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2020
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2019Prospects and Concepts Art Rotterdam Rotterdam , Nederland Mondriaan Fonds toont talent Voor de zevende keer op rij presenteert het Mondriaan Fonds beloftevolle kunstenaars in de tentoonstelling Prospects & Concepts. www.artrotterdam.com/users/128/content/Home/2018%20Prospects%20Concepts.html Groep
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2019Dovetailing Galerie Rianne Groen Rotterdam Dovetailing 12 January - 2 March 2019 With: Miko Veldkamp, Luuk Schroeder, Kim David Bots, Babs Bleeker, Mieke Fokkinga, Joost Krijnen, David Bernstein & Rosa Sijben, Machteld Rullens, Koen Taselaar, Bernice Nauta, Raluca Croitoru, Dico Kruijsse, Christof Mascher & others! www.riannegroen.com/upcoming.html Groep
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2018Even if it's Jazz of the Quiet Storm Nest Den Haag , Nederland Tentoonstelling, 30 november - 27 januari 2019 Nicola Arthen Aline Bouvy Rubén Grilo Lauren Hall Daniel Jacoby Graham Kelly Kareem Lotfy Saskia Noor van Imhoff Nicolas Pelzer Sarah Pichlkostner Josse Pyl Magali Reus Nicholas Riis Machteld Rullens Pieter van der Schaaf Urara Tsuchiya Evita Vasiljeva Dan Walwin Charlott Weise Yvonne Dröge Wendel Hanae Wilke Gastcuratoren: Vincent van Velsen en Dan Walwin Deze tentoonstelling gaat niet enkel over een ding, onderwerp of thema, maar over individuele stemmen en de relaties die deze met elkaar aangaan. ‘Even if it’s Jazz or the Quiet Storm’ maakt associaties en verbindingen en vraagt je niet meer dan je ertoe te verhouden. In een kunstwereld waarbinnen thematische exposities, gezamenlijke waarheden, politieke verhalen en geschiedenissen worden verteld, zoekt ‘Even if it's Jazz or the Quiet Storm’ naar een alternatief uitgangspunt en afwijkende presentatiewijze. Er is geen sprake van een dominant verhaal dat betekenis oplegt vanuit een academisch of vooraf gevormd theoretisch kader. De focus ligt op de individuele werken waartussen speculatie, subjectiviteit en relaties tot stand komen. www.nestruimte.nl Groep
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2017Sensibility as Media Konschthaus Beim Engel Luxemburg , Groothertogdom Luxemburg www.facebook.com/events/1006686309476469/ Groep
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2016Ridder Thirst and Other Stories Sober and Lonely Institute of contemporary Art Johannesburg, Zuid-Afrika The thumbs-up sign, widespread in the early stages of anti-apartheid struggle, functioned as a sign of solidarity among activists and their supporters. This gesture is ubiquitous in photographs of mass action such as the Defiance Campaign (1952) and the Treason Trial (1955-61). Throughout the 1950s the thumbs-up strategically demonstrated that actions of nonviolent persuasion - boycotts, stay-at-homes, strikes, civil disobedience - were attempts at mass negotiation. The commitment to passive resistance came to an end in 1960. The crystallizing event was the Sharpeville Massacre. With the abandonment of peaceful action came a more militant, uncompromising gesture: the clenched fist. From the thumbs-up sign to the clenched fist, from the open palm to the V for Victory, these gestures can be read both as exercises in signification with their own communicative meanings and as resistance to Apartheid through the years in numerous photographs of mass mobilization.These photographs show the discourse of the image, as it travels from gesture to representation, from symbol to sign, from signifier to signification. The semiotics of the thumbs-up gesture today is depoliticized and generic, signaling affirmative messages such as – ‘okay’, ‘like’ and ‘cool’. I am interested in this discrepancy, what might initially seem like sucking history out of its thumb. www.soberandlonely.org Duo
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2014All Glitched Up Tate Britain Engeland www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/festival/bp-loud-tate-2014-code/open-call-submission-all-glitched Groep
projecten
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2015
The Holls Art Brussels Art Brussel , België www.thehollscollective.com The Holls Collective presented its ongoing performance Got my mind on confetti and confetti on my mind, an adaption of their earlier work Confetti/Control (2013). The eight members of The Holls breached Art Brussels as they meticulously carried out performances with 200 kg of confetti, according to a fixed time schedule. The pile of confetti was a recipe for chaos, creating a situation that related to the conditions of the art fair. The schedule demanded both conceptual and practical tasks, staging group dynamics that varied between solo shows, internal obstructions and seamless teamwork. Boundaries were lost and found. Inadvertently carried by visitors, Got my mind on confetti and confetti on my mind slowly but surely overtook Art Brussels.
Internationale uitwisselingen / Artist-in-residencies
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2024Josef and Anni Albers Foundation Ireland , Ierland Carraig-na-gCat is the Albers Foundation's newest artist-in-residence program. Located in a traditional farmhouse about two miles from the picturesque fishing village of Glandore, it offers wide views of untouched countryside, the ocean, and distant islands beyond. www.albersfoundation.org/foundation/residencies/carraig-na-gcat
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2022Thread , Senegal Josef and Anni Albers Foundation www.albersfoundation.org/foundation/residencies/thread
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2021Thread , Senegal thread-senegal.org/residents
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2019Shiro Oni , Japan www.shirooni.com
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2017
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2016Neil Beloufa, Paris Studio Neil Beloufa , Frankrijk Residentie in de studio van Neil Beloufa via Stroom Den Haag www.metropolism.com/nl/.../24149_studio_ne_l_beloufa
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2015S&L, Johannesburg Sober and Lonely Institute for Contemporary Art , Zuid-Afrika www.soberandlonely.org
opdrachten
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2016Smiley Vestia Den Haag, Nederland Sculpture in public space Uitgevoerd
Aankopen/werken in collecties
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2024Crushed Whitney museum of American Art New York
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2020De Bruin Heijn Collectie Quinta do quetzal Vidigueira, Portugal https://www.quintadoquetzal.com/en/art/
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2020Level 25 ABN amro Amsterdam , Nederland
publicaties
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2024
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2021Full of Emptiness Boek Arno Baudin Mexico City and Brussels , Nederland zolo.press/books/full-of-emptiness MACHTELD RULLENS (B. 1988, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS) GATHERS CARDBOARD BOXES, GENTLY RUBS THEM WITH COLOR AND RESIN, AND STACKS THEM, THEIR FLAPS AGAPE LIKE UNSHUT MOUTHS OR CLOSED, HIDING THEIR INTERIORS JUST SO. FULL OF EMPTINESS, RULLENS’ DEBUT ARTIST BOOK, PRESENTS OVER SIXTY OF HER HUMDRUM WALL-WORKS ALONGSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, CURIOUS OBJECTS, AND FAR-OFF TRAVELS. ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE ARE DOCUMENTED WITH THE SAME ANALOGUE CAMERA, SMUDGING THE LINE THEREBETWEEN—IF THERE EVERY WAS ONE. ESSAY BY ANDREW BERARDINI. 192 PP / 213 × 297 MM / 400 COPIES / ENGLISH ISBN: 978-1-7345275-6-8
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2020Vogue's ones to watch: Nederlandse vrouwen die in 2020 het verschil maken Nathalie Wouters www.vogue.nl/cultuur/cultuur-nieuws/g31259281/veelbelovende-vrouwen-ones-to-watch
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2020Schilderen met de slagroomspuit Edo Dijksterhuis digitalekrant.parool.nl/hetparool/929/article/1125774/13/1/render/?token=c870c1d626b9c47103f2b617154b141c&fbclid=IwAR25zr35i5am-LtolptssrfpS8gWVh-_rGBffIQt6TRR9UNLFJpzWmitafc
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2019Waarom de koning niet wil kiezen - bij de Koninklijke Prijs voor de Vrije Schilderkunst 2019 Domeniek Ruyters www.metropolism.com/nl/features/39730_koninklijke_prijs_voor_de_vrije_schilderkunst_2019
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2019Koninklijke Prijs voor de Vrije Schilderkunst Sandra Smallenburg www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/10/11/prijs-voor-vrije-schilderkunst-naar-leo-arnold-cian-yu-bai-en-machteld-rullens-a3976485?fbclid=IwAR2UH1MSa2LkMB2sjp6AaDDLbic2A-XAvRK1S-TsmpAWGg632zTIQ8d4e30
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2019Interview with Machteld Rullens Liza Strakhova www.deschoolamsterdam.nl/nl/blog/2019/09/in-conversation-with-machteld-rullens/1019/?fbclid=IwAR0A_VKKdDzr4mxjxZQW9lPxpyJ48EXzHz-B0FjiiseNo8uZLfw2T_WNMBs
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2014Jeroen Bosch, ‘Future Starts Slow,’ Trendbeheer, access date: March 15, 2014. http://trendbeheer.com/tag/machteld-rullens/. Trendbeheer Recensie Groepsexpositie
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2012Vrijdagdedertiende KABK, Den Haag Catalogus expositie
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2012Mister Motley Mister Motley, Den Haag Recensie recent afgestudeerden
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2012Jegens en Tevens Jegens en Tevens, Den Haag Recensie Groepsexpositie 1646
Recensies
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2023Thinking out of the Box Shadowplay Brussels , België www.shadowplaymagazine.com/master-itw2/thinking-out-of-the-box
Prijzen en stipendia
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2022Mondriaan Fonds (voorheen Fonds BKVB) Basis
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2020Gaslight SPOT Individuele Tentoonstelling, Stroom Den Haag Łódź, Polen
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2019Koninklijke Prijs voor de Vrije Schilderkunst Koninklijk Paleis op de Dam, Amsterdam Amsterdam , Nederland
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2016Young Talent Mondriaan Fonds (voorheen Fonds BKVB) Amsterdam , Nederland
Vertegenwoordiging
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artistieke nevenactiviteiten
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2024 - --Gastdocent Artez
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2018 - --Gastdocent KABK
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2014 - 2015Rondleidingen Caldic Collectie
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2009 - 2010Curator 'AARRGH'