Due to current COVID-19 measure, ONWARD&UPWARD is temporarily closed. We open our doors again on January 20th. We look foward to see you then!

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The exhibition ONWARD&UPWARD - Art in the Garden of Life draws inspiration from our uncertain present, where a COVID-19 pandemic, and its varied implications, continue to unfold worldwide. However, looking beyond the particular anxieties of our current crises, the exhibition questions whether there has ever been a time of genuine security and stability?

ONWARD&UPWARD reflects on the many uncertainties and pitfalls of life itself, and on our enduring will to continue in the face of these challenges; a resilience that carries us ‘onward’ and ‘upward’ using every means at our disposal.‘Il faut cultiver notre jardin’, wrote Voltaire at the end of his seminal novel, Candide – that ‘we must cultivate our own garden’. Voltaire’s words point to the power in starting close to home as we seek to change the world more broadly. In this vein – and in order to grow ‘onward’ and ‘upward’ – might art itself offer a potential to bring us closer to ourselves.

The scenography of the ONWARD&UPWARD exhibition takes the form of a surreal garden. Although a visual feast, a garden is in constant need of care. Roses have thorns; plants can be poisonous; fungi, weeds and dead leaves must be tended to or kept at bay. A garden puts us to work, but it is also a place that moves, comforts, gives joy... and tranquillity.

The works set in this garden are close to our skin. It is art that embraces and comforts us, moves us, inspires and stimulates us. But at times, it is art that scrapes and stings, offering up challenging and unexpected points of view.

You can find solace in dreams and tears. Relationships are torn and mended. Vulnerability generates strength. Standing face to face with bizarre creatures, you might notice that they are disarming, not threatening. Snapshots of people in everyday situations let us know we are not alone.

With their powerful works, the artists in this exhibition urge us to connect with our emotions. Hopefully, they might also inspire us ‘onward’ and ‘upward’ in a life of doubt and uncertainty.

ONWARD&UPWARD is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11.00 to 18.00 hrs.

Closed on 25+26 December and January 1st.

ONWARD&UPWARD takes place in the gallery @droog: Staalstraat 7A Amsterdam.

The exhibition is open from Friday till Sunday from 11 till 18h.

More information on www.onwardandupward.nl