Each year, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, in the Dutch city of The Hague, mounts 35 temporary exhibitions, always including at least two major international shows and a fashion exhibition. The exhibition program also caters to visitors interested in the decorative arts and other subcollections, and seeks to introduce visitors to artists not yet familiar to the general public.

© Erik & Petra Hesmerg

Until May 7, 2023, Kunstmuseum Den Haag presents the first survey of all schenkers (pouring vessels) created by Dutch designer Aldo Bakker. It was Bakker himself who coined the term schenker, from the Dutch verb schenken, an ambiguous word meaning to gift or to pour. At the same time, pouring is also giving. This double symbolic meaning is important, as there is more to Bakker’s schenkers than simply a carafe from which to serve water or wine.

Bakker is essentially driven by curiosity and the urge to discover, understand and execute a form. To him, this constitutes a process of temporary appropriation. Next come considerations like material, technique, weight, color, sound and finish. This requires extremely careful execution, so Bakker works only with the best craftsmen and production partners.

© studioZAND

The contradiction between these autonomous, sometimes almost unattainable forms and the potential actions of the user is what makes Aldo’s schenkers so exhilarating. Available to pick up and use, the schenkers invite intimacy. The flow of soy sauce from “Soy Pourer” is accentuated in an almost mannerist way, while the drops of moisture remaining on the voluptuous curves of “Tongue” have an almost sensual effect. Each schenker is a centerpiece in itself, forcing the observer to perceive things differently. The exhibition features around 40 schenkers.

© Gerrit Schreurs

With 160,000 items, Kunstmuseum’s permanent collection is the largest in the country, apart from that of the Rijksmuseum. Kunstmuseum Den Haag ranks as one of the top three modern art museums in the Netherlands, the other two being Boymans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and Stedelijk in Amsterdam.

The top works in the museum’s collection include paintings by artists like Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Kandinsky, Louise Bourgeois, Francis Bacon and Marlene Dumas.