The Modest Master’s Mesmerizing Screen Print Shop
Stills from a movie by Meeuwsontwerpt showing Interbellum Grafiek editions screenprinted by Kees Maas with a large variety of artists.
Exhibition & presentations From 2 to 17 November at Nautilus Expobar, Zeeburgereiland, Amsterdam. Co-curated together with Richard Niessen for the Palace of Typographic Masonry, celebrating the work of master screenprinter Kees Maas.
Preparations: Kees selecting Paradiso posters from a multitude of designs.
“One of the nine departments in The Palace of Typographic Masonry is that of Poetics, dedicated to all techniques and form elements of graphic design. The “palette” that the designer works with (including material, software, binding method, shape, size, texture, color, grid, composition and also the various reproduction techniques) is given a place here.”
Preparations: Reproduction photography with Hans Wijninga, recording 3 decades of Kees Maas’ work: Paradiso posters; billboards, Interbellum editions and more.
Screen printing is a technique that makes it easy to produce graphic work, with great advantages with regard to size, color strength and material.
To focus attention on the different aspects of screenprinting and celebrate the workplace as a place for inspiration and exchange, “The Modest Master’s Mesmerizing Screen Print Shop” is added to the Palace.
Invitation/folding sheet by Meeuwsontwerpt with interview Kees Maas (text Richard Niessen & Harmen Liemburg).
The reason for this is the departure of Kees Maas (Eindhoven, 1953) from the screen printing workshop of the Rietveld Academy and the relocation of his own workshop from the Zamenhofstraat in Amsterdam to Ruinen in Drenthe. Kees Maas was part of ‘De Enschedese School’, founder of graphic publishing house Interbellum, made posters for Paradiso, ran the workplace at Rietveld and much more. A unique and important figure with a good excuse not to have to start his own art.
Stills from Kees Maas Zeef Baas, a short RietveldTV movie by Meeuwsontwerpt about Kees and his work. Watch on Vimeo. Watch on RietveldTV.
Amongst other things the exhibition will show more than 60 posters Maas made for ‘Achter de Ramen’, a series of monthly exhibitions he curated himself at BO-01, Borneoeiland, Amsterdam.
Audience entering exhibition with Achter de Ramen posters and workshop photos.
Overview exhibition (part). Photography Andre Witkam.
Presentations by Carlien and Roman = Kapitaal Utrecht Open Studio (left) and art historian Els Kuipers (right).
The Modest Master himself in his custom made event shirt.