Opening What Holds - May 30
New exhibition
Root Gallery is pleased to invite you to the opening of What Holds, featuring works by Jan Theun van Rees, Madelon Uljee and Sophie de Vos.
This exhibition brings together works that each attempt to hold onto something inherently unstable - a moment, a form, a space. Some works fix what would otherwise pass, others enlarge what might go unnoticed, or construct a reality that exists only briefly. Together, they draw attention to what is often overlooked or difficult to grasp.
The presentation moves between photography and leather wall sculptures, creating a dialogue between what is captured and what is built.
Alongside the exhibition, the second edition of Invitation presents Francisca Snel, with new work in handblown glass and copper.
We look forward to welcoming you on Saturday 30 May, from 15:00 to 18:00. After the opening, the exhibition can be visited on Fridays and Saturdays from 13:00 to 17:00, and by appointment.
The exhibition remains on view until 11 July 2026.
A selection of works on view
By Madelon Uljee
80 × 100 × 5 cm
Leather
Unique
In After the Storm, Madelon Uljee translates the movement of windblown leaves into a sculptural wall work. Made from reclaimed leather sourced from the high fashion industry, the work explores nature’s ability to renew itself after disruption.
Leaves are torn from branches and carried by the wind, while the tree remains, preparing for new growth. Uljee captures this movement through the folds, curves and textures of leather. Separate leaves extend beyond the central sculpture, carrying the composition across the wall.
Her choice of material connects the subject of renewal with the way the work is made. Leather remnants from fashion production become the basis for a new artwork, retaining their tactile qualities while taking on organic forms. This relationship between nature and material reuse gives After the Storm both its subject and its physical character.
Root Gallery delivers and installs the work in your home within the Netherlands, arranging the sculpture and accompanying loose leaves to suit the wall and surrounding space.
By Madelon Uljee
80 × 100 × 5 cm
Leather
Unique
In this work from After the Storm, Madelon Uljee brings together overlapping leaves in orange-red tones and deep aubergine. Curved surfaces, visible veins and dark, glossy droplets give the sculpture depth, while smaller leaves scatter beyond its edges and across the wall.
Made from reclaimed leather sourced from the high fashion industry, this nature-inspired wall sculpture explores the moment between disruption and renewal. Leaves are torn from branches and carried by the wind, while the tree remains, preparing for new growth.
Uljee translates this movement through the folds, textures and layered forms of leather. The warm colours recall autumn foliage, connecting the energy of a storm with the gradual changes of the seasons.
Material reuse is integral to the work. Leather remnants from fashion production take on new organic forms, echoing the cycle of renewal that runs through the series.
Root Gallery delivers and installs the work in your home within the Netherlands, arranging the sculpture and accompanying loose leaves to suit the wall and surrounding space.
By Madelon Uljee
100 × 150 × 5 cm
Leather
Unique
In After the Storm – Red, Madelon Uljee captures the moment when the force of a storm begins to subside. Layered forms in deep red, burgundy and aubergine gather at the centre, while individual leaves appear to have been carried across the wall by the wind.
Uljee works with high-quality surplus leather from the haute couture and luxury fashion industry. By cutting, shaping and assembling the material by hand, she gives it a new life as a sculptural artwork. The curved surfaces create depth and shifting shadows, allowing the work to change subtly with the light and the position of the viewer.
The work reflects both the vulnerability and resilience of nature: a moment of disruption that already holds the promise of renewal. With its generous scale and rich colour palette, it creates a strong yet organic presence within an interior.
After the Storm – Red is accompanied by individual leather leaves, allowing the composition to respond to the proportions and architecture of the wall. Installation within the Netherlands is included.
By Jan Theun van Rees
122 × 91,5 cm, ed. 3, 2026
Pigment in on acid free Canson Arches 88 - frame, raw nut veneer with spacers and muserumglass UV70
Also available in 60 × 45 cm, edition of 5, 2026
This work is part of the series On an Overgrown Path
Jan Theun van Rees began with architectural photography, documenting overlooked spaces in museums and theatres. His practice has since moved from recording existing places to constructing temporary environments of his own. In Cyanorange, the subject is a space made through painted textiles, light and the artist’s changing point of view.
Van Rees adjusts the construction as he works, observing how each change affects the photograph. The image is therefore both a record and the outcome of an active process: a real arrangement of materials transformed into a space that exists for the camera and for the viewer’s eye. It continues his investigation into how photography can shape our perception of architecture, depth and place.
Shipping within the Netherlands and Belgium is on us.
By Jan Theun van Rees
122 × 91,5 cm, ed. 3, 2026
Pigment in on acid free Canson Arches 88 - frame, raw nut veneer with spacers and muserumglass UV70
Also available in 60 × 45 cm, edition of 5, 2026
This work is part of the series On an Overgrown Path
Jan Theun van Rees approaches photography by creating the space he wants to photograph. For Overgrown Path 02, he uses painted textile structures to develop an environment that suggests dense growth and difficult terrain. He works from within the construction, responding to the way light, material and camera position alter the space.
Part of On an Overgrown Path, the work takes its title from Janáček’s piano cycle, whose short compositions connect emotion with moments in a life. Van Rees brings that sense of inward journey into photography. The resulting image holds a tension between attraction and unease: the viewer is drawn into a place that feels familiar, yet remains just beyond reach.
Shipping within the Netherlands and Belgium is on us.
By Jan Theun van Rees
122 × 91,5 cm, ed. 3/3, 2026
Pigment in on acid free Canson Arches 88 - frame, raw nut veneer with spacers and muserumglass UV70
Also available in 60 × 45 cm, edition 2/5, 2026
This work is part of the series On an Overgrown Path
Jan Theun van Rees has spent much of his career looking at spaces in transition: museum backrooms, theatre stages and other places usually hidden from view. In Overgrown Path 01, that act of looking turns into construction. Van Rees builds a temporary environment from painted textiles, adjusting its surfaces and viewpoints as he works with the changing light.
The work belongs to On an Overgrown Path, a project named after Leoš Janáček’s piano cycle of fourteen short pieces, each associated with an emotion and a moment in life. Here, the constructed space becomes a landscape of the mind: a passage that draws us forward while resisting easy passage. The set exists for the camera; the photograph is what remains.
Shipping within the Netherlands and Belgium is on us.
By Jan Theun van Rees
122 × 91,5 cm, ed. 3, 2026
Pigment ink on acid free Innova Soft Textured Bright White - frame, raw nutwood with spacers and Museumglass (UV70)
Also available in 60 × 45 cm, ed 2/5, 2026
This work is part of the series Painted Room
Licht Omloop is part of Jan Theun van Rees' ongoing series Painted Room. Through a process of constructing, observing and continuously repositioning elements in relation to changing daylight, the artist creates photographs in which colour and space remain in constant flux.
In Licht Omloop, warm orange tones are balanced by areas of aqua blue and subtle touche of purple. The image hovers between abstraction and architecture, suggesting depth and movement without revealing the temporary set from which it emerged. Rather than depicting an existing space, the work presents a carefully constructed situation in which light, perspective and colour come together in a single moment.
Shipping within the Netherlands and Belgium is on us.
By Jan Theun van Rees
90 × 90 cm, ed. 3, 2026
Pigment ink on bright white Photorag mounted on museum board, framed with spacer and UV70 museum glass
Also available in 45 × 45 cm, ed 5, 2026
This work is part of the series Painted Room
Zeldzaam Groen is part of Jan Theun van Rees' ongoing series Painted Room. Working with temporary constructions, shifting daylight and carefully positioned elements, the artist creates photographs in which colour, space and perspective remain in constant flux.
In this work, a soft green surface and subtle spatial cues create an image that moves between abstraction and architecture. The final composition is not predetermined but emerges through observation, adjustment and photography. What appears to be a simple image reveals itself as a carefully balanced construction, resulting in a photograph that invites a slower way of looking.
Shipping within the Netherlands and Belgium is on us.
By Jan Theun van Rees
122 × 91,5 cm, ed. 3, 2026
Pigment ink on bright white Photorag mounted on museum board, framed with spacer and UV70 museum glass
This work is part of the series Painted Room
This photograph is part of the ongoing Painted Room series by Jan Theun van Rees, in which temporary architectural spaces are constructed using painted strips of textile. Through the careful interplay of light, colour, material, and perspective, the artist creates compositions that exist only for a brief moment before being transformed into photographic works.
Natural daylight plays a central role in the process. As the light changes throughout the day, shadows shift across the installation, creating visual relationships that are unique to a specific place and moment in time. The installation is continuously adjusted in response to these changing conditions, while the camera position evolves alongside the work.
Rather than documenting a fixed scene, the photograph captures a temporary spatial construction in constant transition. Light, space, material, and viewpoint influence one another throughout the process, resulting in an image whose final outcome remains uncertain until the photographs are reviewed afterwards.
Van Rees' work explores the relationship between photography, architecture, abstraction, and perception. By transforming simple materials into immersive spatial compositions, he challenges the viewer's understanding of depth, scale, and reality.
Shipping within the Netherlands and Belgium is on us.
By Madelon Uljee
170 × 75 cm
Leather
Unique
Madelon Uljee creates sculptural wall works inspired by organic forms. In Leaves Neutrals, she shapes surplus leather from luxury fashion production into individual leaves, each folded around a raised central vein. Arranged in a loose vertical rhythm, the leaves leave generous space around them, making the wall part of the composition. Their curved surfaces catch the light and cast delicate shadows. Muted blush, taupe and brown tones meet deep plum, giving this leather wall sculpture a restrained yet distinctive palette. The work sits between botanical reference and abstraction, with the leather’s supple texture and sculptural folds kept fully visible.
Root Gallery delivers and installs the work in your home within the Netherlands, arranging the sculpture and accompanying loose leaves to suit the wall and surrounding space.