Willem de Rooij's 'Intolerance' at Neue Nationalgalerie

In September 2010, Dutch artist Willem de Rooij opened 'Intolerance', a solo exhibition at Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie that juxtaposes 17th-century Dutch animal portraits by Melchior d'Hondecoeter with 18th-century Hawaiian feathered ceremonial objects. The show, on view until January 3, 2011, was accompanied by a publication featuring essays from leading experts on both subjects. De Rooij's interest in d'Hondecoeter's repetitive, almost Warholesque compositions and the lack of scholarly research on both the painter and the Hawaiian artifacts drove the project. The artist conducted extensive research, facilitating the production of new knowledge through the accompanying book. The exhibition title 'Intolerance' sparked controversy, particularly among US institutions that refused to lend Hawaiian objects due to its negative connotations. De Rooij approached the iconic Mies van der Rohe building without engaging directly with its architecture, focusing instead on the conceptual interplay between the two object groups. The interview, conducted by Dieter Roelstraete in de Rooij's Berlin apartment, explores the genealogy of the project, the artist's working methods, and the allegorical subtexts of d'Hondecoeter's paintings, which often depict stressed, fighting birds reflecting the demographic turmoil of the Dutch Golden Age.