Going back in time: Daniel Gould’s 3D List, Art in Amsterdam #9

3D thought that winter had ended about ten days ago when the snow melted. Then came last Saturday night and we woke on Sunday to find the city bathed in virgin white flakes once again. It had an affect. 3D only attended one of the three openings scheduled for that day. Damn, must be getting old. Perish the thought. I will always be 21. Kid you not.

But, I digress. This coming week of events is very nicely diversified. There is something going on from Thursday through the following Tuesday. And on Wednesday is the preview night for Art Rotterdam. So, get out your ice skates and glide and slide to an opening near you...or far from you, for that matter. It matters not! Or something like that...

INDEX:

Bits & Pieces:
What You Missed Last Week:
What Is Happening This Week: 

BITS & PIECES:

Not sure what this is all about but the announcement says: "As in a reversed autumn, we give back the leaves to the trees, a new cycle begins. Autumn Reversed is an art project that brings back the autumn colours to the winter season." You can see what it IS about by checking out the MUSEUMPLEIN between 28th January and the 8th of March.  
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New Web-Site: https://bit.ly/2L42Y7f. It is a site web-site and social network for media art enthusiasts, with a strong focus on the Netherlands...Write weblogs, ask questions on a forum...[and] add events to the Dutch media calendar. The newsletter will be posted 8xs per year. 
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"Nine Questions to Ask Your New Lover: 1. Do you practice save sex? 2. What is your fantasy? 3. Are you in debt? 4. Why did you break up with your ex? 5. What is your idea of an ideal mate? 6. Are you interested in a commitment? 7. Do you have any health issues? 8. What are your long term goals? 9. Are you interested in having children?" 3D has NO comments. From "Ebony," by Nikkita A. Foston (March, 2004). 
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It's that time of the year again for Rotterdam...the town where nothing much happens except for Art Rotterdam (3rd to 7th, February); and the International Film Festival (27th - 7th February). www.filmfestivalrotterdam.nl. After February, the city rolls up its sidewalks and stows them somewhere for another year.
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Here is a web-site to check out if you are traveling and want to know if there is an art scene: www.artinfo.com. They also have a "Jobs" section.
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FOTOSOMMER Stuttgart 2010 Award Show has extended the entry deadline to 23rd February. Prizes of 2,500, 1,500 and 1,000 euro to be presented. They invite a wide range of styles from artistic to documnetary and "will give an overview of contemporary photography." https://bit.ly/2uxRXjr 
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As of the end of 2009, there were 1.300,000 bikes sold in the Netherlands which brings the total to 18,000,000; more than one bike per person. Hey, 3D knows. It is nearly as difficult to find a place to "park" your bike as it is a car. https://www.dutchnews.nl/ 
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3D checked out one of the Amsterdam Fashion Week venues. There he talked with Esther aka "Nieuw Jurk." She works as a model and explained her assumed name thusly: "'Nieuw Jurk' means 'New Dress' in English. And, in Dutch, the pronunciation makes it sound like 'New York.'" Then she gave me her name card. On the front we see the Statue of Liberty that stands in New York's harbor. However, New Jurk's face has been superimposed over that of Lady Liberty. Clever. She had a cameo appearance in the documentary "I LOVE ART" and is probably still trying to live that down. "Nieuw Jurk, Nieuw Jurk, she's a hell-of-a-gal. From the tip of her toes to the top of her head..." https://bit.ly/2LqWjjk 
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"The artists' collective and school known as the Bauhaus was unique. It comprised architects, painters and master artisans in various crafts, and aimed at a fusion with industry to benefit all humanity. As conceived by Walter Gropius...it was meant to reconciled beauty, simplicity, utility and mass production." This is the opening sentences of a book review for "The Bauhaus Group: Six Masters of Modernism," by Nicholas Fox Weber (521 pages, Alfred A. Knopf, $40). The review is by John Simon and titled "Trace the eccentric lives of six members of the Bauhaus movement." (Int Herald Tribune, 28th Dec., 2009). An interesting aside is "...almost all the Bauhaus wives and mistresses were prey to serious neurosis, sickness and frequent hospitalization, complicating their men's lives.." https://nyti.ms/1KHXXtg
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Boekie-Woekie (Barenstraat 16) has posted at their web-site "List #51" of "Books, audio/video, prints & multiples one can hardly find anywhere else.." They now include photos of the selections that are on offer. The Internet catalog is at: https://bit.ly/2Lbeltd 
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It's never too late...Harriet Richardson turned 100 as of 2nd January 2010. And shortly thereafter she received her bachelor's degree in education. She died the next day "...pleased that she had accomplished her goal, her daughter said." 
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Someone went and spilled a lotta letters on the floors of the new Openbare Bibliotheek. "What to do with my heart. I dare not take it, I dare not leave it." Emily Dickinson. "i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling")." e.e. cummings (He only used the lower case for letters). So what is it all about? Poetry Day! Which is today, Thursday, 28th January. 
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"Despite Assurances Met Finds Artworks Aren't Restored Overnight," by Randy Kennedy (www.nytimes.com, 27th January) . A few weeks ago, a museum visitor tripped and damaged a Picasso, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art says it would be restored in time for a major Picasso show to open in April. But this is not the case for two works of sculpture. One, a 15th century marble statue by Tullio Lombardo, crashed to the floor from its pedestal in 2002 and it is expected to be another year or more before it will once again be on display. 
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3D was looking for something on an old list and found this quote: "Smoking kills. If you are killed, you've lost a very important part of your life." That was muttered by the American actress Brook Shields...3D seems to recall she attended Princeton University, an Ivy League and prestigious university. Did they award her a degree? (May, 2007, 3D List.) 
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CORRECTION: Ooops...3D went and did it again. The "3D List: Week #19" pictured Eva Bartels in front of her work at WALLS (Prinsengracht 737), but misidentified her location. She is on the far left in the electric blue dress. So sorry...
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WHAT YOU MISSED LAST WEEK: 

Well, actually, this is an opening that happened the 9th of January, but because of 3Ds' difficulties with TNT---the postal people---the invite didn't arrive and it was missed. De Witte Voet (Kerkstraat 135) is celebrating 35 years as an Amsterdam' gallery with a show titled, "FAVOURITES." Originally, the gallery offered paintings, drawings, prints, jewelry, sculpture, glass and ceramics. But for nearly the last 20 years it has done strictly ceramic and porcelain---with a few drawings and photographs here-and-there and from time-to-time. It shows an impressive list of international people working in these two disciplines. It is cutting edge so don't expect conventional vases and teapots (in this offering there is only one tea set). What you get is generally not what you expect. This anniversary exhibition is a group show displaying the work of 33 artist (two works never arrived).

Each artists showing has had a least one exhibition at the gallery and some of them have had several like Piet Stockmans. This is incredible overview of avant garde work in ceramic and porcelain. It is impossible to single out any one artist or even a handful. Each deserves full attention and demands accolades for their work. You have until the 10th of February to view this remarkable microscopic world of ceramic art. https://bit.ly/2NSLxnD 

Friday: 

The church was cold...very cold. In fact, it was colder inside than outside. This was the backdrop for the Gerrit Rietveld Academie's ninth winter exhibition in the Oude Kerk (Oudekerksplein 23). There is a small booklet that you can take with you and it is fun to read. The introduction begins thusly: "This church is called old, because that other [one] is called new, and vice verse.The New Church has been called new for half a millennium now...I don't know how the Old Church was called before it got Old." There are a total of 33 artists from several countries showing. What they all have in common is the fact that they are studying at The Rietveld. 

Your tour begins just inside the entrance door where Anat Segal Your says, "Here, in my little shop in the Old Church, you can buy your own little grave, and even get your name on it as a memory of yourself. I'll be there to make it for you, sell it to you, wish you a good day and a happy and enjoyable artistic experience..." 3D passed on the gravestone though it was only one euro. A majority of the work on display is either what could be describe as objects or sculptures. For once, there is a dearth of video. In fact, there is only one example of the latter technique. The objects and sculpture work ranges from made of concrete like the stera that resembles one of the World Trade Center's towers, to two cardboard constructions that stand about two and one half meters high and are set like bookends, to a two prong piece that juts eight, nine or ten meters into the air. One construction piece, made of wood, pays homage to the neighborhood---the Redlight District---in that it is a conceptual rendering of a room where the women sit "behind the window." A very unusual piece was a bottle nearly a liter in size, filled with water and secured to the stone-slabbed floor that had three heavy cords jutting from the mouth of the bottle. One cord extended over 55 meters and into the rafters high above the floor. Much to see,..But dress warmly so you can keep your attention on the art and not on the cold. Until 7th February. Monday to Saturday, 11-17:00; Sunday, 13-17:00. https://bit.ly/2tlk3Of 

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This is Amsterdam Fashion Week. 3D doesn't DO fashion week. He detest lines and the pretentiousness of "you must have an invitation." However, I DO check out the program looking for the unusual outside the norm...and there is generally something that gets my attention. This year it was an opening at a new shop on the Zeedijk (#37) called "EAH! POP UP STORE." It is owned and operated by the designer Eva Anna Hekking who is a graduate of the Rietveld. And it is probably for that reason more than anything else that it just doesn't look or feel like a shop. In fact, it is a worthy candidate for the term "boutique." 

On entering, and to your right, there is a real attention getter the "Black Umbrella Dress," by Larisa Katz. Well, is it a fashion statement, a piece of sculpture in fabric or just an object? Perhaps it is an installation? Doesn't matter, its a show stopper. The skirt's circular "train" is about two meters in diameter; you might be able to wear it, but you won't be able to walk very far. Unique, quirky and funny, too. Oh, yeah, it ain't for sale....There are another seven artists that decorate this new miniature emporium. Marc Deurloo exhibits new style fashion photography. Each model is wearing a designer piece, but is flanked by a nude---man or woman or both---that have been decorated with body paint. (495 euro/photo.) ...Luara Lynn Jansen hangs a series titled, "Wastesthetics" (waste aesthetics) which are bags made of white polythene/Lycra and are meant as containers for empty plastic bottles. (495 euro.)...Dana Slijboom makes large collages. One evokes a nostalgia for the 50s and another appears to be Peter Sellers in blue. Three small ones are mixed media collages and unusual. (145x180 cms., @ 1,450 euro; 40x48 cms., as a trip-tych @ 750 euro.)...A nice touch is that there is a variety of Chinese import items ranging from "fuzzy-wuzzy" balls to a meter+ high vase...As to the fashion, well, it's different from the norm as well...but go and discover for yourself how so. 
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At Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (Rozenstraat 59) is the work of David Jabonowski. The work pays homage to Donald Judd's minimal and conceptual sculpture pieces, but with nuances. It is the nuances that saves the work from being derivative. He makes simple metal sculptured rectangles and aligns them; they are resting on cheap polystyrene foam. The rectangles are further enhanced with photographs printed on metal sheets. The photos have linear themes. A four by one meter piece has an architectural character and is also simple in design. Bureau Amsterdam's "Nieuwsbrief #114" describes his influences as the ancient monuments found in the middle east which is regarded as "the cradle of Western civilization." The five page analysis ends with: ""Does this information have bearing on the meaning of "Tchogha Zanbil?" Possible it does, or possible not. Perhaps it does now, but next year it will not." That's a good point to end on. Until 14th March. https://bit.ly/2KTpEGl 
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Saturday:

Galerie Petit (NZ Voorburgwal 270) has mounted an group show of print makers. However, the emphasis is on the work of Wendelien Schönfeld and her "Hotel Turgot" (located in Paris) series. Print making is an area of art technique that 3D has specialized in studying and collecting. I first saw a show of this artist about twenty years ago. She got my attention at that time and over the years her shows have never been a disappointment. And it has been a pleasure to watch her evolve though that evolution has been subtle. One of the most difficult illusion to achieve in printmaking is that of light. This current show, of Schönfeld's woodblocks, is remarkable for the way she achieves the effect of light inside the dark interiors of the Hotel Turgot which is a major repository of Rembrandt's drawings and etchings. The opening was also the occasion for a book presentation for "Hotel Turgot" which includes all the works in the series (All prints in an edition of 30 and priced from 220-250 euro; the book is 20 euro.) Until 24th February. https://bit.ly/2uFfPSi 
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Marianne Roodenburg is showing in the main gallery of Galerie Clement (Prinsengracht 843). She paints architectural scenes like a building---but seen from its different angles---however in the foreground there are tree branches sometimes bare and sometimes with leaves. Their staggered and irregular lines are nicely juxtaposed against the linear architectural structures. But what makes it all special are the unexpected color nunaces. (22x22 cms., @ 550; 35x40 cms., @ 825; 110x130 cms., @ 2,650 euro.)

In the upstairs gallery are paintings by Hans Boer who paints linear abstract expressionistic landscapes. The landscape part is something that you perceive more than actually see. The colors are subdued and often have no relationship with what you expect from a landscape painting, but since the style is about as far removed from being representational as is possible---and still be identified as such---it makes little difference. (All are "alkyd" on canvas: 18x24 @ 950 euro; 30x40 cms., 1,200; 110x120 cms., @ 2,800 euro.) Until 20th February. https://bit.ly/2J3VcnE 
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Theo Kuijpers is at Wetering Galerie (Lijnbaansgracht 288) with geometric abstract/expressionism. The large canvases have a two dimensional quality. It appears that the artist paints over material to create the effect. The colors are easy, that is they don't knock your eye out though they are indeed sometimes bright. Three small paintings are evocative of Jean Dubuffets geometric abstract work from the early 60s in the design concept though not derivative since they are basically in two colors and not multiple ones. (40x50 cms., "en caustic" on canvas @ 1,800 euro; 120x100 cms., oil & collage @ 5,500; 130x150 cms., oil & collage @ 9,000 euro.) Until 27th February. https://bit.ly/2KZbO69 
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"foam" (Keizersgracht 609) sponsored a young photographer in conjunction with Amsterdam Fashion week. The photographer, Mylou Oord, presents a series of photographs with one subject: Aynouk Tan, that the linear notes describes as "a fashion journalist and style icon." The shows title is "It would be so nice." Oord is autodidact; and she considers Tan to be both her friend and muse. the photos, themselves, tend to be unposed, spontaneous and often very intimate. She shoots what she sees before her. The compositions seem to be no more than an after thought. Until 24th March.

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Alexander Blank (German) is showing "The Gathering" at Galerie Rob Koudijs (Elandsgracht 12). At the center of the gallery's space is a V-shaped temporary "wall" with six "heads" on each leg of the "V" and at the junction another head labeled "Evil Ed." Of course, your first impression is "The Last Supper" with Christ and his apostles. But Blank claims it is "the new world order...and a new generation." The imagery of the subjects ranges from rabbit, duck, snail, sheep, fox, lizard, etc. The pieces are made from a rigid foam which is sculpted by hand then covered with a hardener and, finally, a layer of lacquer. There is a collar at their necks made of silver and attached to a Plexiglas section with the pin. Basically, this is a counterbalance so that the broach doesn't sag when attached. All are unique except for "Evil Ed" which is in an edition of three. (2,400-2,650 euro.) There is also earlier work on display. A pair of purple lips; a "happy face" that is made from a battered metal yellow colored ball; a white porcelain hand grenade (every home needs one); and two military tanks made from patterned fabric. Until 13th March. https://bit.ly/2L7XHqQ 
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Sunday:

NP40 (Middenweg 22) hangs the conceptual linear abstract minimalistic construction pieces of Doeke Berghuis. Yeah, that's a real mouthful for work that is basically made with simple techniques and a few steps. First of all, each piece is on a composite board. Each one has been drilled on the surface or sections have been sawed from it or parallel groves or grooves grooved perpendicular...Are you dizzy yet trying to follow that? The next step is also very simple. Paint the surface monochromic. Let dry. Then pour paint over that. Again, simple! But really not so simple because the pouring of the paint is tightly controlled and the artist uses a variety of approaches to reach several different geometric abstract configurations. Nice work. (All work: acrylic & lacquer on mdf, 40x40 cms., @ 675; 40x80, diptych @ 8-00 euro; 110x110 cms., @ 1,250 euro.) Until 13th February. https://bit.ly/2LjRRTn 

Also at the gallery was an installation/performance by the "Hallo" group and their "Eet-O-Theek." They were there with their portable "lunch counter" and dishing out Belgium waffles with whipped cream. The lunch counter features flashing reds lights---four of them---a recessed record turntable and this time---as opposed to the last time 3D observed them in action at De Brakke Grond---the "waitress, Selina, talked to me through a microphone and through the ear phones that I had put on. First, she rang a bell which alerted the "chef." In not much time, the backboard of the lunch counter swiveled and out came a Belgium waffle. I was told to fill one indenture, of the waffle, with strawberry sauce that I squeezed from a small plastic bottle. The backboard swiveled again and the waffle disappeared. At some point, 3D got the picture. The chef and I were playing a game of tic-tac-toe. After about eight, nine of so tries, 3D came out victorious, but the waffle disappeared once again as Selina told me, through the headphone, that the chef had to make a determination as to whether I had won or not. When the waffle reappeared it was topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. That was the declaration by the chef that I had beaten him. Hey, it was fun and tasty. It is the creation of Selina Houwing and Martin Jansen. Eet-O-Theek is available for receptions, openings, weddings and wakes or anything else that could be deemed a celebration. e-mail: selina@superhallo.nl, More info: http://www.superhallo.nl/ 
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WHAT IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK: 

REMINDER: Please pay attention to this. When you see (?) it is meant to alert you that the information may NOT be correct. As to the "*" that indicates that the times listed may be wrong. Check the gallery's web-site or phone ahead. You have been WARNED!

THURSDAY: 28th January, 2010
THURSDAY: 28th January, 2010

15:00 Museumplein: "Herfst in Winter: Unexpected Landscape," by Alejandro Propato, who reproduces an autumn landscape with hundreds of color lines through the naked trees creating geometric tree crown. 

17-20:00 Steendrukkerij Amsterdam (Lauriergracht 80). "New Tapestry: KasselsKramer reinvents old masterpieces on epic scale." "More than 50 artists, designers and producers from three continents have worked on KasselsKramer's latest art project...an updated version of...Bateux Tapestry (1066)...The New Tapestry will record news events presented as visual history for 2009...divided into 52 panels...will be more than 21 meters long and flow continuously around the walls of...[the] gallery. Created by Christian Bunyan. Designed and art direction by Jennifer Skupin. Head of production is Keefe Cordeiro." http://new-tapestry.com/. Only until 2nd February; so hurry. 

18:00 Bellamy Buurtmuseum (2e Kosterlovenkade 62). Karen Mersch. 

19:00 Chellerie (Raamgracht 58). "Rietveld's Fashion Week Briebiennale." www.gerritrietveldacademie.nl

20:30 Mediamatic BANK (Vijzelstraat 68). "Bardot Proviant Klub Events: The Hunter from Uummannaq." "An evening of stories and movies by Ole Jorgen Hammeken, a filmmaker and Greenlandic hunter." Bring your own harpoon. FREE. www.mediamatic.net/page/133625/en (or "nl.") 

FRIDAY: 29th January
FRIDAY: 29th January 

14:00 Premsela/Allard Pierson Museum (Oude Turfmarkt 127). "The Signalementen working group of the University of Amsterdam's museum studies course has spent several months studying the role, function and importance of fashion in Dutch museums." They will present the results of their findings at this lecture. RSVP: munzo@premsela.org 

18-20:00 NIMk (Keizersgracht 264). "huwwara_anybody looking by the artists collective Knowbotic Research." An installation. More info: https://bit.ly/2m4s9Hy 

20-Midnight, "foamLAB" (Keizersgracht 609). "STOP.MOTION No. 2." "Kaarten verkrijgbaar aan de deur voor 5 euro." Does that mean it will cost 5 euro to get in? Anyway, this is an experimental type of thing that is independent of the "foam" operation. You can expect the unexpected. More info, maybe, at: https://bit.ly/2Lavlwl 

21:00 W139 (Warmoesstraat 139). "WINDOWS 139." "W139 will transfer its entrance area into an exhibition space for Windows 139...[which] is an overview of recent works made and still made by [Bonno] van Doorn. The exhibition emphasizes on the process, accidents, coincidences and possibilities that come along with the realization of a possible artwork." https://bit.ly/2JitdRx 

SATURDAY: 30th January
SATURDAY: 30th January:

15:00 Van Zijll Exposities (Bloemgracht 161). Jakup Ferri, "Pocket Drawings of the Frame." https://bit.ly/2miHB38 

16-18:00 "galerie ra" (Vijzelstraat corner of Prinsengracht). Lam de Wolf, "Gezichten en verwijlen..." https://bit.ly/2mkg3u7 

16-19:00 "Speak Easy" (Runstraat 9). "Cocktails, music, friends." 3D assumes that this is a "sideshow" for Amsterdam Fashion week. They ask that you RSVP: nina@gan-baroo.com 

17-20:00 VERVERS modern & contemporary art gallery (Hazenstraaat 54). Branislav Mihajlovic, "The Waiting Room," paintings. https://bit.ly/2mkqkqc 

18:00 De Kring (Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 7). Els Wijnen & Martijn Last, photos and an installation. https://bit.ly/2uqZEsr 

20:30 PUNTWG (WG Terrein). "Nostalgia for the Absolute. Presentatie: Claire Todd: Performance." https://puntwg.nl/  

SUNDAY: 31st January
SUNDAY: 31st January

15:00 Galerie Utrecht (Prinsengracht 572). Lotta Blokker, figurative sculpture work. https://www.morrengalleries.nl/ 

15:00 Galerie Stam (Prinsengracht 356). Peter Heij, oil landscapes + other artists. www.peterheij.nl, https://bit.ly/2usJrCV 

MONDAY: 1st February
MONDAY: 1st February 

14-18:00 De Appel (N.B. @ De Bazel, Vijzelstraat 32). "The S7 Summit 'We Dream too Hard.'" "The S7 refers to the seven new Amsterdam districts [stadsdeels] to be introduced in May of 2010." This is a conference all about "Art and Culture venues" in Amsterdam. No specification of language, so assume Dutch. More info: https://bit.ly/2uCmNY0 

TUESDAY: 2nd February
TUESDAY: 2nd February 

De Brakke Grond (Nes 45). "Something Raw: International Dance and Performance Festival." A full program of events: some FREE and some not so free. The program is in both English and Dutch. Until 6th February. https://bit.ly/1Th5K2k 
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A very nice balance of art, performances, workshops and even an international dance program. Hey, forget the ice skates that 3D mentioned, in the introduction to this week's list, and put on your dancing shoes...and come go with me to another invigorating week of cultural events in beautiful and surprising Amsterdam.  

Photos: 1) "What's new pussy cat, woo-woo, woo-woo..." 3D likes them, aaah, untamed? Taken at "foam" for the photographic exhibition of Mylou Oord, Photograph by Guillaume Ehrenfeldt, 2) It's autumn once again on the Museumplein where the artist Alejandro Propato says winter is over and the trees are full of foliage once again. Finally!, Photograph by Piet van der Meer, 3) 3D says, "Charley has his angels and 3D has got his...But where did I put their wings to go with my halo?", The angels are from left to right: Jennifer, Julia and Esther aka "Nieuw Jurk.", Photograph by Piet van der Meer, 4) 3D supports the work of David Jablonowski at SM Bureau Amsterdam. "Damn, should have ate my spinach!", Photograph by Piet van der Meer, 5) "How sweet it is!"
Credit: Selina Houwing.    

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