Katrina Palmer proposes removing A Tale of A Tub's front wall in Rotterdam exhibition
Katrina Palmer is set to present her exhibition, 'Four-Story, Flat-Roofed Complex in a Somewhat Expressionist Style,' at A Tale of A Tub in Rotterdam from February 21 to May 24, 2026. During this time, she intends to take down the front wall of the venue, a move that’s both expensive and impractical. This wall, part of the heritage-listed Justus van Effencomplex designed by Michiel Brinkman (1873–1925), highlights issues of division and the value of institutions. Palmer’s artistic work spans writing, drawing, video, and object creation. She was the National Gallery's Artist in Residence in 2024, resulting in 'The Touch Report.' Her past solo shows include 'What's Already Going On' (2023) and 'The Necropolitan Line' (2015). In 2014, she received the Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists, and a career survey was published in 2025.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Four-Story, Flat-Roofed Complex in a Somewhat Expressionist Style' at A Tale of A Tub, Rotterdam.
- Dates: February 21 to May 24, 2026.
- Artist proposes removing the institution's front wall during the show.
- Demolition is prohibitively expensive, absurd, and self-defeating.
- Institution is located in the Justus van Effencomplex, a Modernist housing estate.
- Estate designed by Michiel Brinkman (1873–1925), who followed Theosophy.
- Palmer was 2024 Artist in Residence at the National Gallery, London.
- Career survey 'Want to See Something Real' published by National Gallery, London in 2025.
Entities
Artists
- Katrina Palmer
- Michiel Brinkman
Institutions
- A Tale of A Tub
- National Gallery, London
- Mead Gallery, Coventry
- Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
- Artangel
- BBC Radio 4
- Book Works, London
- Whitechapel MIT Documents of Contemporary Art
Locations
- Rotterdam
- Netherlands
- Justus van Effencomplex
- London
- United Kingdom
- Coventry
- Leeds