Review by Elâ Atakan
Along the Road – In Rearview
Leo Vroegindeweij & Ruth Meijer
3 October – 30 November
The Merchant House
Herengracht 254A,
1016 BV Amsterdam
The Merchant House celebrates the 50-year partnership of Dutch sculptor Leo Vroegindeweij and painter Ruth Meijer with an exhibition. Titled Along the Road – In Rearview, the show conveys not only their works but also the story of a relationship, a journey, and the interplay of reflections.
Leo Vroegindeweij, who has exhibited at ARTZUID Amsterdam in 2017, the TMH Style Room in 2023, and various venues in France, is represented in the Kröller-Müller Museum collection and numerous public spaces. Working with durable materials such as stone, metal, and concrete, he creates his renowned metal spheres, whose reflective surfaces introduce a fleeting, ephemeral quality despite their enduring solidity. These spheres function as mirrors, reflecting not only the surrounding space but also its interior and the viewers themselves, enriching the exhibition with both visual and conceptual depth.
Leo Vroegindeweij, Untitled, 2025, Limestone, stainless steel, 99 x 141 x 127 cm
Ephemeral project for Dep Art Out Trullo, Ceglie Messapica (IT), June 14–15, 2025
Courtesy of Dep Art Out, Ceglie Messapica
Photography: Fabio Mantegna, Milan
In the summer of 2025, Vroegindeweij staged a one-night ephemeral exhibition within the architecture of a Puglian trullo as part of the Dep Art Out program. The trullo, a traditional dry-stone structure whose stones can be dismantled and reassembled without mortar or cement, provided a perfect setting to embody the dialogue between permanence and transience.
Inside the trullo, Vroegindeweij’s spheres engage in a dynamic dialogue with the architecture, reflecting the limestone walls, the interior space, and the viewers themselves. Their mirrored surfaces transform the historic structure into an interactive environment, inviting contemplation of impermanence and the subtle interplay between the artworks, the space, and the audience.
Ruth Meijer, Abri-schuur-huis-staal, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 46 x 61 cm
Ruth Meijer, Camion 6, 2024, Acrylic on canvas board, 46 x 33 cm
Ruth Meijer’s acrylic paintings, documenting landscapes, trucks, and construction machinery encountered along the journey, serve as a visual archive. Her figurative and often ironic approach provides a counterpoint to Vroegindeweij’s sculptural practice. Meijer’s vivid and detailed palette draws viewers into a rich visual experience marked by traces of the journey. Buildings manifest themselves for a moment in passing, and in this brief encounter they merge into the landscape; Meijer captures this effect through her layered style.
At The Merchant House in Amsterdam, the duo presents both the longevity of their partnership and the journey’s traces reflected in Meijer’s works. Vroegindeweij’s spheres merge with the Puglian stones and, in the Amsterdam canal house, with the image of the ceiling’s brazen Flora, creating a new narrative layer for viewers. These spheres also reflect the duo’s coexistence, their balance, and their respect for the boundaries within their differences. Together, Vroegindeweij’s mirrors and Meijer’s paintings form an internal map through which viewers can explore both themselves and the duo’s past and shared mode of existence.
Leo Vroegindeweij, Untitled, 1990, Concrete, brass, lead, 20 x 185 x 120 cm
Photography: Arjen Veldt