Bik van der Pol

Biography

Liesbeth Bik and Jos van der Pol, working together as Bik van der Pol since 1995, aim to articulate and understand how art can produce a public sphere, and to create space for speculation and imagination. Their practice is site-specific and collaborative and includes publishing, writing and curatorial work. The artists’ mode of working consists of setting up the conditions for encounter, where they develop a process of working that allows for continuous reconfigurations of places, histories and publics.

Their work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions and research projects, including Don’t Fence me In, in collaboration with Public Art Amsterdam, TAAK, and the DNB (The Netherlands Bank), Amsterdam (2020);Far too many stories to fit into so small a box, CCA Zamek Ujazdowski, Warsaw (2019); The Power Plant, Toronto (2016); PAMM (Perez Art Museum) Miami (2016); Jakarta Biennale (2016); Mauritius Pavilion, Venice Biennale (2016); and 31st São Paulo Biennale (2016). They have also participated in several group exhibitions and projects, including Take Part (part of Public Knowledge, a two-year project that aimed to promote public dialogue on the cultural impact of urban change through artist projects, research collaborations and public programmes), SFMOMA and Public Libraries Network, San Francisco (2019–2020) and Czigane–Not the Whole Story, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, UK (2019).

In 1984, Bik Van der Pol founded the artist-run space Duende in Rotterdam and were actively involved with its activities until 2013. Alongside other artists, they founded Nomads & Residents, a New York-based forum for artists, guests, curators, critics, activists, travellers and passers-by.

Their work can be found in several collections, including CAFA Museum, Beijing;
Nam Jun Paik Art Centre, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do (South Korea); Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven
MACRO Museum, Rome and Ludwig Museum, Budapest.

Bik and van der Pol both studied at the Rotterdam Art Academy (now called Willem de Kooning Academy). Bik also studied Word & Image at the Free University in Amsterdam.

They both live and work in Rotterdam.

SAF participation:
School of Casablanca