Maja Klaassens

Dürst Britt & Mayhew is proud to present 'A Line of Stones' by Maja Klaassens. After her presentation in the Frontspace in 2022 this is the first exhibition since the gallery started representing her in 2024.

In her new body of work, Maja Klaassens explores the function of editing in literature and film, and the ways it influences our perception of the world around us. Drawing from numerous works of fiction, the exhibition posits the everyday as a stage upon which fragmented and incomplete narratives generate suspense.

Focussing on the ways domestic and natural environments are often written in opposition to one another, neutralizing and shaping both, Maja Klaassens' works consider the traces which collapse these thresholds. A simple impulse like pocketing a stone at the beach can expand in all directions: repeatedly re-written, re-made, and re-framed by the artist in a variety of mediums, each adjustment revealing layers of underlying tension.

Two distinct series of works will be on show. 'Washing' consists of personal and found textiles, which are meticulously folded into rectangular wooden boxes. 'Nightstand' is a series of seven lifelike nightstands, filled with objects, and completely constructed as if carved from stone. These two series of works are partnered with 'A Line of Stones', Klaassens' new video work, which is a mesmerising mix of roadmovie, poetic narrative and soundscape.

Maja Klaassens (1989, New Zealand) obtained her BFA from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 2014, and her MA in Contemporary Art History from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2021. Recent solo and duo exhibitions include ’The view is total sea’ at Joys in Toronto, Canada, 'Niek Kemps & Maja Klaassens’ at lxhxb in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Cache (with Christofer Degrér) at Billytown and ‘Orca’ at Dürst Britt & Mayhew, both in The Hague. Recent group exhibitions include 'Reality Check' at Museum MORE in Ruurlo, The Netherlands, ‘Mountain Friends’ at Fred & Ferry in Antwerp, Belgium, '秋' at SLoõPW in Beijing, ‘After Daan van Golden’ at Parts Project and ‘RSVP’ at Billytown, both in The Hague.

Work by Klaassens is held in private and public collections, including Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar.

The exhibition is accompanied by a specially commissioned essay by writer Martijn Simons, which you can read here.