The Longest painting of the Czech Republic
At Art Rotterdam 2024, SingularArt will present a special collaboration with Luxfer Open Space from Česká Skalice in the Czech Republic. Together, we will present a single project by Dutch/Czech artist Roel van der Linden.
In 2022, Roel broke the Czech national record for the longest handmade painting in existence with 1067.7 meters. This feat, as impressive as it is futile, has led to a collaborative project among several groups of prominent European painters to add hundreds of meters to the work. Currently it measures close to two kilometers.
When presented in full, the painting forms a walking route through a landscape. The piece communicates on equal footing with local geography and architecture. The project is a display of exponential creative prowess, as well as an existential cry for relevance in an oversaturated world of images.
At Art Rotterdam we will present the original 1067.7 meters painted by Roel as one monumental installation piece on an industrial roll.
Any side is up is the most recent body of work by Roel van der Linden (NL/CZ). These works can be read as a metaphor for remaining optimistic and present, regardless of what the world decides to throw at you. Each piece can be mounted in any orientation the viewer prefers at any given moment. In doing so, they dissolve the traditional hierarchy between artwork and viewer.
The series challenges the preconceived notion that a work of art carries intrinsic conditions that must be respected in order to appreciate or even understand it. Instead, the works open up a space in which orientation, position, and perspective become fluid rather than fixed.
As with much of van der Linden’s practice, these works are, in part, self‑portraits. They seem to say: you can flip me any way you like; I will remain the same — let’s communicate.
Roel Jeroen van der Linden 