With the duo exhibition 'Speaking in Tongues', Frank Taal Galerie shows drawings and paintings by two New York artists of Dutch descent. They have more in common. Like true New Yorkers, they work with their foot on the accelerator as if the devil is nipping at their heels. They combine dark images with a light-heartedness that we do not know in the Netherlands.
Unlike with the Flemish, 'Humor' in art never gained a foothold in the Netherlands. With Speaking in Tongues, both artists splendour in absurdism with combinations of images and text that put you on the wrong track every time. Their language arises from free associations and word sounds and leaves the audience free to make their interpretation of the work.

Guy Richards Smit (1970, New York City) has many talents. Born as the son of two professors, he fits seamlessly into the intellectual environment of New York: he makes music, is a performance artist, paints and draws. He has exhibited as an artist in the world's major museums, such as the MoMA and Center Pompidou. Still, he is best known for his work for the magazine The New Yorker, which regularly publishes cartoons of him in their weekly magazine. They are so-called Gag cartoons, drawings in a single image with a single sentence underneath. Many of these images have found their way into his paintings. The link with the Netherlands is through his Dutch father and his studies at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.

Gerben Mulder explores flowers, human figures, and animals as starting points for his dreamlike paintings filled with erotic energy. In fragmentary scenes or still lifes, the brooding ambiance of his paintings responds to the viewer’s observation with echoes of hallucination. Oscillating between adult faces and children’s bodies, his ever-changing characters tread a fine line between innocence and perversity. Mulder employs somber color palettes and turbulent gestures to portray menacing beings. Despite the lugubrious tenor of his images, the artist treats his somewhat pathetic and out-of-place creatures with a sarcastic sense of humor, as evidenced by the crooked smiles and ironic titles in many of his paintings.

- Tiago Mesquita, 2024

Mulder has exhibited throughout the world in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including The 1st Liverpool Biennial UK, Kunstverein Cologne Germany, Boston University Gallery USA, Kunsthal Kade and the Museum of Contemporary art in Tucson USA (MOCA Tucson). His Sao Paulo based gallery Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel has been presenting him over the years at main art fairs like Art Basel, Art Basel Miami, The Armory show and at Frieze (London & New York). His works are in public and private collections in the USA, Europe, South America and Asia particular the collection of Sig Bergamin (Brazil) MOCA Tucson (USA), collection of Tanya Bonakdar (Galerie Tanya Bonakdar, USA), collection of Rachel Lehmann (Galerie Lehmann Maupin, United States), collection of Masashi Shiobara (Japan), Gerben Mulder – Iberê Camargo (Fortes D’aloia & Gabriel), Donkey Had Enough, Aretrospe ive, NONADA – Fortes D’aloia & Gabriel Rio de Jáneiro, Brasil.

The art of Mulder and Richards Smit is both aesthetic and raw and refers to New York as it was brought to life by artist Keith Haring and photographer Nan Goldin. Just like with Haring and Goldin, the images are not always what they seem. The works of art are full of layers of meaning that connect to the familiar daily life in the big city and art history, such as those of Asger Jorn and Roy Lichtenstein. They deal with the fundamental question of what art is and what we have agreed on to give it a place in our framework of meaning formation. It also ensures that the works continue to fascinate.