The New Amsterdam Koffiehuis
Featuring: Gijs van den Berg
Presented by:
Presented by United Photo Industries with support by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York
This program is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands, New York
In recent years, Amsterdam has transformed from a city for locals into a hotspot for tourists. Traditional shops and cafés made way for international flagship stores and trendy bars. This transformation is not unique to Amsterdam, but traditional coffee houses that once occupied every street corner are quickly disappearing from the city. The coffeehouses used to be inseparable from the lifestyle of the city, but a new generation of coffee drinkers prefers hip boutiques and exotic coffee drinks.
The disappearing can’t be stopped, times have changed. This project shows the last standing coffeehouses of Amsterdam. To preserve their special character, the twenty five photographs were printed in a traditional darkroom using coffee from the actual coffeehouses to develop the images. The paper was stained with coffee, and it has given the photographs a unique character…and of course the smell of fresh coffee.
ARTIST BIO
Gijs van den Berg (b. Vierlingsbeek, 1983) is an Amsterdam based artist. He takes everyday situations and objects out of context to give them new meaning. His works span a variety of media including video, photography, and graphic design, depending on what fits best with the conceptual idea behind the work. Gijs van den Berg is also creative director of KesselsKramer, a creative communication agency with offices in Amsterdam, London, and Los Angeles.