Catalogus met werken van Bernard Essers 1903 - 1945

This is a catalog of works by Bernard Essers; it’s just a typed list, but that’s the point. I think it’s fascinating to consider a list like this as a work of art. It’s essentially a series of titles for paintings or prints, each suggesting a visual world. Look at the range, from "Winter" to "Oorlogsimpressie" [War Impression] to "Cultuur na 'Kultur'," It’s the materiality of language, the way the ink sits on the page, that makes it so evocative. The act of cataloging, of naming, becomes a kind of generative process, sparking our own imaginative acts. It's interesting how the artist catalogs the paintings including 'part. eigendom' (private property) which offers a further level of information. For me, this piece is reminiscent of On Kawara’s date paintings, in the sense that they both play with language and documentation, pushing us to reconsider what we consider art to be, embracing the conceptual and ephemeral. And that really gets to the heart of what art should do, right? To keep us questioning, keep us seeing anew.