Marjan Teeuwen: Destroyed House Brutus

Bruce Silverstein Gallery is proud to present Marjan Teeuwen: Destroyed House, Brutus, an exclusive online exhibition showcasing the latest installment in Dutch artist Marjan Teeuwen’s acclaimed Destroyed House series, a project she began in 2008. Destroyed House Brutus continues Teeuwen’s profound exploration of the intricate interplay between destruction and construction. This semi-permanent public installation, located in Rotterdam, Netherlands, pushes the boundaries of architectural transformation within an abandoned, once-sealed space.

Teeuwen’s practice begins where destruction leaves off. Working with buildings slated for demolition, she reclaims and reimagines the detritus of walls, windows, doors, and ceilings. Through meticulous reconstruction, these fragments are transformed into immersive, site-specific architectural sculptures. In each iteration of the Destroyed House series, Marjan Teeuwen’s seemingly impossible arrangements translate into equally impossible perspectives. Teeuwen’s work exists at the intersection of installation and photography, where two distinct realities–each with its own spatial logic and imaginative depth–converge.  Post-processing is used not to alter reality but to expand the viewer’s vantage point within the confined space, reinforcing a physical presence; the images leave no blind spots: vertical and horizontal beams stretch into the distance. the result is a visually intricate yet cohesive image of monumentality–one that is fractured and whole. In Destroyed House Brutus, Teeuwen collaborates with Lobke Broos/ Roof-A and Brutus, transforming the raw material of ruin into a space that blurs the boundaries between order and chaos, challenging conventional perceptions of structure and disarray.

The installation embodies a brutalist aesthetic, its incomplete yet nearly symmetrical structure precariously balanced between stability and collapse. Stacked elements seem on the brink of falling, introducing a profound tension: order confronts disorder, rhythm dissolves into variation, and security transforms into fragility. At its core, Destroyed House Brutus is a meditation on the human condition, exploring the cycles of construction and deconstruction–both physical and metaphorical. It reflects on the life cycles of architecture as well as human resilience and adaptation to change. By embracing the fragments of the past and reconstructing them into new forms, Teeuwen prompts viewers to consider how destruction can serve as the foundation for creation, raising questions about the impermanence of the spaces we build and inhabit.