Zhu & Nobel / Trespassing Dreams

The artists have created a world in which dreamlike images predominate, varying from coloured paintings that fill an entire wall, to serene paintings in soft, dark tones. It is as if the visitor is able to enter the dreams of the two artists as an ‘intruder’, at their request or invitation. It is immaterial as to whether the visitor casts his or her gaze at the beginning or end of the staircase, since the mural is cyclical: there is no beginning, nor an end.

For a long time, dreams have been an important point of departure in the works of both Zhu and Nobel. For Zhu, the focus is on daydreams and fantasies. Her work originates and develops in her subconscious, not from any deliberate plan or idea. Nobel focuses on the dreams she has during her sleep which she recalls in her dream diary, a selection of which she reproduces as paintings on the staircase.

Along the way, Zhu and Nobel realised that some of their dreams shared common themes, like beds and staircases. At one point, one of the artists appeared to have invaded the dream of the other: ‘trespassing dreams’. The ability to communicate in this way provided a fascinating basis for the mural. They toyed, largely subconsciously, with the idea of overlapping thoughts. “Just like two boats sailing on the sea in the dark while moving in different directions in a flash of a moment can be enlightened by each other’s torch.”

Dan Zhu

Dan Zhu (Jiangxi, China, 1985) lives and works in China. In 2020, she won the prestigious Dutch Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst. She studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main in Germany and was resident artist at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (2018-2019).

Astrid Nobel

Astrid Nobel (Hollum, 1983) lives and works in The Hague. She studied at Academie Minerva in Groningen (2003-2007) and was artist in residence at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (2018-2019), Flux Factory in New York (2011) and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing, China (2009).

Murals at SCHUNCK

Murals appeal to a broad audience across the world. In Heerlen, murals are granted a special place and this is no less the case in SCHUNCK Museum. Since 2012, various artists whose work is held in the SCHUNCK collection have had murals on display in the Glaspaleis.

Spread over the five floors on the internal staircase, these works represent ‘interventions’ in the architecture of the Glaspaleis. SCHUNCK receives financial support from the Mondriaan Fonds for the realisation of the murals and for their acquisition in the collection. On temporary display, but forever present in the collection in Heerlen.