Harry Haarsma

to draw , Language , to paint , Publication , performance while , installation , photographs , collage , Artistic research , Archives

In my studio, the sketches, drawings and texts I make mix with the impressions I am exposed to on a daily basis. I combine fragments from newspapers, passages from books and collections, scenes from films and performances as well as exhibitions with what happens online or on television, with what people tell me and what the landscape shows me as I go by. The world is given a place in the studio.

The world is fragmented because my experience of reality is like that. I use words and images to express this in my own way. Although I actually know that the reality is many times greater. She is sovereign and does not need my language at all.

Every day again I relate to the world that is open to me. And always in a different way. From fragments of it, from what moves me and what I remember about the world, I make combinations that encourage me to look, think and make. (read more on the website: www.harryhaarsma.nl)

World with eyes of snow
Wereld met ogen van sneeuw - World with eyes of snow is a cinematic introduction to the books of The library of the man who I am. In this film fragments from newspapers, passages from books and poetry collections, scenes from films and theatre performances and images from exhibitions are combined with what I encounter in the media, conversations with people and the impressions that the landscape gives me. All this comes together in my studio, where the world is given a place to be viewed, examined and understood. It is a visual and textual exploration of how the world reveals itself to us, both in the past and in the present.
Why. 2024
Waarom. 2024 - Unfolded 75 x 120 cm Folded 37,5 x 30 cm
Vision. 2020
Visioen. 2020 - collage on paper. unfolded 112,5 x 240 cm. folded 38 x 30 x 4 cm
The library of the human being that I am. 1984 to further into the future
De bibliotheek van de mens die ik ben. - Since 2017 I have been working daily with everything I have within me, with various materials that I collect and with what is present in the language/image archive in my studio, on The Library of the Man That I Am.
Think but not too deeply. 2024
Nadenken maar niet te diep. 2024 - Paper. unfolded 37,5 x 180 cm. folded 38 x 29 x 1 cm. -private collection
Van Hier, 2017 - Paper, 300 grams unfolded 75 x 175 cm. folded 37,5 x 29 x 2 cm.
Tilt or turn. 2024
Kiep of kantel. 2024 - Paper. Unfolded 75 x 180 cm. Folded 38 x 29 x 1 cm.
Eye. 2025
Oog. 2025 - unfolded 37,5 cm x 180 cm. folded 38 x 29 x 2 cm.
Tuigkoppen, 2017 - leporello of collage on newspaper edited with Molotow acrylic paint stick glued on linen. unfolded 150 x 232 cm. folded 38 x 29 x 10 cm. Collection Museum Weserburg, Bremen
zt
z.t. - Paper/acrylic 37,5 x58 cm.
Being naked and starting. 2023
Bloot zijn en beginnen. 2023 - Paper. unfolded 75 x 180 cm. folded 38 x 29 x 1,5 cm.
God seen. 2023
God gezien. 2023 - Paper unfolded 75 cm x 120 cm. folded 38 x 29 x 2 cm.
A poem I am just myself. 2025
Een gedicht ben ik gewoon zelf. 2025 - Cardboard and linen box. Open 26 x 45 cm. Closed 26 x 20 cm.
Body. 2022
Lichaam. 2022 - Unfolded 150 x 120 cm Folded 37,5 x 30 x 2,5 cm

Wild Summer of Art deel 1

Date:
Location: Brutus

presentation of Van Hier, leporello (part of the Library of the man that I am.

Wild Summer of Art

Date:
Location: Brutus

Van De Stijl bis Boekie Woeki. Kunstpublikationen aus den Niederlanden

Date:
Location: Museum Weserburg, Bremen

Van het een & in het ander

Date:
Location: Walgenbach Art and Books

Van het een & in het ander

Date:
Location: Walgenbach Art en Books

deelname aan verschillende GRAW weekenden

Date:
Location: Konigsveldestraat 14

presentatie ten behoeve van aankoop boeken uit De bibliotheek van de mens die ik ben.

Date:
Location: Zijp Foundation of modern art.

presentation for purchase.

Boek presentatie

Date:
Location: Zijp Foundation of modern Art, Tilburg

Een en Veel (maakt deel uit van 'Humble')

Date:
Location: Garage
In association with: curatoren Heske ten Cate (Nest) en Hanne Hagenaars (Fries Museum)

During the group exhibition Humble, Haarsma goes to the Garage every day to take an image from the installation Een en Veel from the cupboard and replace it with the image that was hung on the wall the day before. Every day there is a different work on the wall; At the same time, a lot of images, stored in the shelving unit, are not visible every day. The installation emphasizes the attention for that one image, set against the multitude of wrapped, 'blind' images in the shelving unit.

De bibliotheek van de mens die ik ben

Date:
Location: Atelier, Koningsveldestraat 14

I relate to the world that is open to me every day. From fragments of it, from what moves me and what I remember about the world, I make meaningful combinations that encourage me to think, look and make. Enriched by poetry and philosophy and fueled by a desire for insight and closeness, I build a story that extends across the walls and doors of the studio. This process is reflected in books and leporellos and forms: The library of the human being that I am.

Van de wereld (bijdrage aan Snapshot of a larger order, curator Winnie Teschmacher)

Date:
Location: Noletloodsen
In association with: Ketelfactory.

'Of the World' is an investigation into a special connection: the image as world and the world as image. 'From the World' started in 2012 as a collaboration between visual artists Harry Haarsma and Robert Zandvliet, and philosopher Laurens ten Kate. It is a follow-up to their project 'Veronica' (Ketelfactory 2011/2012, in collaboration with philosopher Renée van Riessen). (see website for example)

Lakens, Kranten en Walvisvet

Date:
Location: Park, platform for visual arts.
In association with: groepstentoonstelling met Waldo Bien en Alexander Korsmit

I read the newspaper every day. She gives me a picture of the world. To connect with this, I reflect on this complex reality.
I paste the newspaper on linen, edit it and transform the news of the day into my view of the world. Sixteen images are included in the newspaper that accompanies the exhibition. It is a selection from the series of seventy works that were created in 2013/2014. (see website for example)

Veronica

Date:
Location: Ketelfactory
In association with: Robert Zandvliet en René van Riessen, Laurens ten Kate

The collaborative project is a search for the true image. It is an impossible quest. Why impossible? For Robert Zandvliet and Harry Haarsma, the true image does not exist in itself. We only encounter the truth of the image when it is given up to a bearer and thus begins to circulate in the world

This artist has no awards yet.