Teun Hocks
Year of birth, place
1947
Netherlands
Role at the ZKM
- Artist of the Collection
Biography
Teun Hocks was born in Leiden, Holland in 1948. He studied (1966-70) at the Academie St. Joos in Breda. Since 1980, he has taught Drawing at the Academie voor Industriele Vormgeving, Eindhoven, and since 1990 he has also taught Photography and Drawing at the Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam. He lives in Breda.
In his large, hand-coloured, staged photographs, Hocks creates scenes that at first appear banal, yet soon reveal themselves as surreal. He usually appears in these scenes himself, and the props are often very ordinary objects. Hand-colouring and a visual language inspired by comic strips are central components of Hocks's technically flawless and yet playful approach. As in the case of his involvement with theatre and performance art during the 1970s and 1980s, so too in his photography, his principal concern is to question presumptions about reality. His photographs, as also his short films, are effectively translations of concepts that originate in cartoon-style drawings.
Individual exhibitions (selection)
1979 Galerie Lóa, Amsterdam
1986 »Teun Hocks, Fotowerken en tekeningen«, Galerie Torch, Amsterdam
1989 Galerie 121, Antwerpen; Dany Keller Galerie, Munich; »Artlantis«, Hans Jürgen Müller, Stuttgart
1991 P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York
1992 Cold City Gallery, Toronto; »Teun Hocks, fotowerken 1982-1992«, Perspectief, Rotterdam
1995 NEUE GALERIE, Bad Marienberg; California State University Art Museum, Long Beach
1996 Galerie Beckers, Darmstadt; De Zonnehof, Amersfoort
1997 D.B. Kunstlok 2, Göppingen; Galerie Torch, Amsterdam; Galerie Patricia Dorfmann, Paris; P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York; Galerie Bob Coppens, Brüssel
Group exhibition (selection)
1980 Brabant Biennale, Den Bosch
1984 Geconstrueerd voor foto's, Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Rotterdam; »Vanguardia '85«, Zaragoza
1986 »The Self Imagined«, Air Gallery, London
1987 »Fotografia Buffa«, Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, subsequently at Gemeentemuseum 't Meyhuis, Helmond, Collins Gallery, Glasgow, Stills Gallery, Edinburgh, Cardiff
1988 »Gruppen-Ausstellung Artlantis«, Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart
1989 »Das konstruierte Bild«, Kunstverein, Munich, subsequently at Kunsthalle, Nuremberg; »L'lnvention d'Un Art«, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1991 »Het beslissende beeld, Hoogtepunte uit de Nederlandse fotografie van de 20e eeuw«, Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam
1992 »Real-ities«, Circulo Belles Artes, Madrid, subsequently at Arti & Amicitiae, Amsterdam; 2. Internationale Foto-Triennale Esslingen, Esslingen
1993 »Urgent Nostalgia«, Center of Contemporary Art, Seattle
1994 »Kus me, kus me, Zeeman«, De Vishal, Haarlem; Museum Narodowe, Wroclaw; »Züge Züge«, Galerie der Stadt Esslingen, subsequently at Städtische Galerie Göppingen
1996 »De Muze als Motor«, De Beyerd, Breda; »Angels«, Melkweg Galerie, Amsterdam; »De glazen kamer«, De Zonnehof, Amersfoort
1997 »Een kwartje voor je gedachte«, S.B.K., Amsterdam; »In context«, Groninger Museum, Groningen
[Frauke Syamken, 1997]
In his large, hand-coloured, staged photographs, Hocks creates scenes that at first appear banal, yet soon reveal themselves as surreal. He usually appears in these scenes himself, and the props are often very ordinary objects. Hand-colouring and a visual language inspired by comic strips are central components of Hocks's technically flawless and yet playful approach. As in the case of his involvement with theatre and performance art during the 1970s and 1980s, so too in his photography, his principal concern is to question presumptions about reality. His photographs, as also his short films, are effectively translations of concepts that originate in cartoon-style drawings.
Individual exhibitions (selection)
1979 Galerie Lóa, Amsterdam
1986 »Teun Hocks, Fotowerken en tekeningen«, Galerie Torch, Amsterdam
1989 Galerie 121, Antwerpen; Dany Keller Galerie, Munich; »Artlantis«, Hans Jürgen Müller, Stuttgart
1991 P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York
1992 Cold City Gallery, Toronto; »Teun Hocks, fotowerken 1982-1992«, Perspectief, Rotterdam
1995 NEUE GALERIE, Bad Marienberg; California State University Art Museum, Long Beach
1996 Galerie Beckers, Darmstadt; De Zonnehof, Amersfoort
1997 D.B. Kunstlok 2, Göppingen; Galerie Torch, Amsterdam; Galerie Patricia Dorfmann, Paris; P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York; Galerie Bob Coppens, Brüssel
Group exhibition (selection)
1980 Brabant Biennale, Den Bosch
1984 Geconstrueerd voor foto's, Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Rotterdam; »Vanguardia '85«, Zaragoza
1986 »The Self Imagined«, Air Gallery, London
1987 »Fotografia Buffa«, Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, subsequently at Gemeentemuseum 't Meyhuis, Helmond, Collins Gallery, Glasgow, Stills Gallery, Edinburgh, Cardiff
1988 »Gruppen-Ausstellung Artlantis«, Galerie der Stadt Stuttgart
1989 »Das konstruierte Bild«, Kunstverein, Munich, subsequently at Kunsthalle, Nuremberg; »L'lnvention d'Un Art«, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1991 »Het beslissende beeld, Hoogtepunte uit de Nederlandse fotografie van de 20e eeuw«, Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam
1992 »Real-ities«, Circulo Belles Artes, Madrid, subsequently at Arti & Amicitiae, Amsterdam; 2. Internationale Foto-Triennale Esslingen, Esslingen
1993 »Urgent Nostalgia«, Center of Contemporary Art, Seattle
1994 »Kus me, kus me, Zeeman«, De Vishal, Haarlem; Museum Narodowe, Wroclaw; »Züge Züge«, Galerie der Stadt Esslingen, subsequently at Städtische Galerie Göppingen
1996 »De Muze als Motor«, De Beyerd, Breda; »Angels«, Melkweg Galerie, Amsterdam; »De glazen kamer«, De Zonnehof, Amersfoort
1997 »Een kwartje voor je gedachte«, S.B.K., Amsterdam; »In context«, Groninger Museum, Groningen
[Frauke Syamken, 1997]