Want to see some Art? At the Thordur Hans Baldursson Exhibition in Amsterdam, there's a Fee for Each Piece

In an era where arts subsidies are increasingly under pressure, the exhibition (+ Supplementary Fee) offers a critical perspective on the challenges confronting artists and cultural institutions. With a brand new government that places little value on art and culture, the commercialization of the arts seems inevitable for survival.

Inspired by the dynamics of daily life in global cities such as New York and increasingly Amsterdam, this exhibition also highlights how money plays a central role, where consumers must pay additional fees for every extra service. Craving a glass of tap water in a restaurant? Pay a supplementary fee. Need eight centimeters more legroom on your flight? Pay a supplementary fee. Want an online order delivered a day earlier? Pay a supplementary fee. Seeking an Uber that arrives four minutes sooner? Pay a supplementary fee.

At (+ Supplementary Fee), visitors are now also asked to pay a supplementary fee to view the artworks in the exhibition. Through their financial support, they not only get the ultimate experience but also directly contribute to sustaining Thordur Hans Baldursson’s artistic practice and the Nieuw Dakota program.

Thordur Hans Baldursson (1992, ISL) graduated in 2023 from the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague. In his artistic practice the line between human performers and static sculptures blurs. His "living installations" are a continuous exercise in reconsidering and questioning the properties of objects and systems that we often take for granted. Examples of these fluid works can be found in his earlier pieces, The men’s choir in the wall and Queue/Cue. In The men’s choir in the wall, seven ties swing back and forth on the wall, each responding to an individual voice in a pre-recorded choir. In Queue/Cue, a two-meter-high automatic car wash brush dances to live music played by a musician. In both cases, the sculptures and performers merge, creating symbiotic relationships that transcend their individual functions.

The exhibition (+ Supplementary Fee), Thordur Hans Baldursson opens until 29/09/2024 at Nieuw Dakota, Ms. van Riemsdijkweg 41b 1033RC Amsterdam