New cooperation with young Dutch artist Justus de Rode (b.1997) for Fall 2025
October 6, 2025
FLAT // LAND is very happy to announce the cooperation with Dutch artist Justus De Rode (b.1997, Groningen) for this fall. De Rode will be represented by Open Doors Gallery, a London based gallery specialized in emerging contemporary arts.
For the first time FLAT // LAND will show the work of the young Dutch artist Justus de Rode. From his ‘Views of Nature’ a selection of his cyanotypes is presented. A cyanotype is a photographic technique (invented in 1842) that results in blue monochrome images. It was the famous botanist Anna Atkins (1799-1871) who used this method to make pictures of ferns, feathers, flowers and seaweed, in her effort to visualize and distribute information about her natural findings. Her publication “Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions”, became the first book to be illustrated with photographs, and the first substantial application of photography to science (source: New York Public Library).
For Justus de Rode this technique became essential for his work for Views of Nature. As in this series he was inspired by the 19th- century natural scientist and friend of Goethe, Alexander von Humboldt who believed that to understand nature one needs to look further than pure data, and include emotions. Von Humboldt is seen as the founding father behind the field of the study of ecology. Von Humboldt’s approach was deeply rooted in wonder, emphasising the importance of feeling in perceiving the natural world. In the today’s world of the arts a similar view can be detected, that we need to come up with new paradigma’s regarding wildlife.
In 2024 Justus de Rode started his own research, discovering additional techniques that he applied on his cyanotypes. A counter- narrative. Through toning the cyanotypes with multiple natural brown tannins, De Rode’s Views of Nature series aims to adopt a more earthly character that mirrors the natural world while aiming to spark a sense of wonder and mysticism through their subject matter and pictorialism. Aiming for balance in reason and feeling, Views of Nature reflects Humboldt’s plea for sensibility as a potential antidote to the modern day alienation.
Some special works of his series Views of Nature will be included in FALL IS TAKING SHAPE at Amsterdam, during our Public Presentation Days on 9, 10, 11 and 12th of October and 16, 17, 18 and 19th of October 2025.
A selection of these cyanotypes from Views of Nature (2024-2025) will thereafter be presented at upcoming PAN Amsterdam from November 1st (vernissage) – November 9th, 2025. In a highly limited edition of 3 and sometimes only 2, De Rode views each of his work as a unique object.
Image
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Justus de Rode, Distant thunder proclaims the approach of vivifying rain, 2025, toned cyanotype in steel frame, 51 x 41 cm |