Every wall defines the space we are in as the space ‘on the other side’. Jan Theun van Rees has a special attention for the wall as the boundary of our visual reality. In his photographs, Van rees explores the “hidden spaces” of a building, making the unseen visible. By doing so, viewers experience a well-known space in a new and different way. Van Rees pays attention to spaces that are usually neglected while his photographs show buildings and structures from unexpected angles.

Van Rees Studied Art at the Academy of Visual Art in Groningen in the Netherlands, where he graduated in 1983 in painting. In his paintings, Van Rees first used architectural elements as a reference to the relation between the painting and its construction. During the late nineties, his attention shifted from the construction of a space, to the way that light defines the space. He composed a slide-movie entitled “Camera Obscura” (1997-1999), in which he explored the crawl spaces underneath his studio. “Camera Obscura” was viewed a.o. at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (2000), on the occasion of the exhibition “Light !”.

Between 2000 and 2002 Van Rees explored the negative spaces in the Municipal Theater of Amsterdam. He developed a personal approach to photography by making use of small torches and long, multiple exposures. In 2002 he was commissioned to do a large-scale photoinstallation “Zichtlijnen” (Viewing Lines) at the same theatre.

From 2002 until 2003, he worked as a Visiting Professor of Art at Central College of Iowa. In 2004 he received a commission to realize a large scale photoinstallation at the former Navy Dock “Cape Holland” in Den Helder, Netherlands. In Amsterdam, Van Rees initiated a photoproject on useums and theaters that are under construction. This ongoing series incorporates, among many others, photographs of the Rijksmuseum -home of Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’-, the Stedelijk Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2004 and 2005, this project is turned into a commission by the City Archives of Amsterdam.

From 2003 to the present, Van Rees has been alternating work in Amsterdam and Chicago, where he covers the hidden spaces of many of the city’s most noteworthy buildings.. In 2006 he has 2 solo exhibition2, at thefrank Lloyd Wright designed Unity Temple and the Cultural Center in Chicago.

The common factor throughout van Rees’ work is that his subject matter all serve as cultural or spiritual institution. Theatres, Museums, libraries and churches, reflect in different ways who we are as human beings and how we relate to life and to reality. Van Rees’ collection of work in Chicago will result into a book published late 2007.