AMSTERDAM.- After having been closed due to the coronavirus, the Stedelijk reopened yesterday. On this occasion there is a new item on sale in the museum shop: a special edition face mask designed by the Mexican artist Carlos Amorales, who is currently the subject of a major retrospective at the Stedelijk. The large black butterfly on the face mask is a reference to his work Black Cloud, the most popular piece in the exhibition.

Solidarity project
The moment the corona crisis hit Mexico, Carlos Amorales, supported by his gallery and collectors, launched an initiative to have a local garment workshop in Mexico City produce face masks for the most vulnerable street vendors: cobblers, cleaners, magazine sellers, musicians and sex workers, who ply their trade on the street without protection against corona, and whose income is dramatically declining. The Stedelijk has also commissioned the artist to produce face masks, made in the same workshop, to sell in the museum. The proceeds from the sale of these face masks will be donated to Carlos Amorales’ solidarity project.

Rein Wolfs, director of the Stedelijk Museum: “Carlos Amorales often explores the relationship between individual and society. He also asks: what does it mean to be socio-politically engaged? When I invited him to participate in the Venice Biennale in 2003, he presented an installation in the form of a sweatshop, in which a performer machine-stitched boots. I think Carlos Amorales has come up with an idea that, during the current pandemic, is both timely and much-needed, and I’m delighted that, as the Stedelijk, we can support his project.”

Black Cloud
The butterfly on the face mask is a reference to the work Black Cloud, an installation of over 15,000 black butterflies that inundate the viewer. Gorgeous and yet intensely surreal, the swarm of moths also has an edge of menace, enveloping the viewer like a plague. Black Cloud has been the public’s absolute favourite since the exhibition opened, and a hit on Instagram for months.

On sale from June 1 on, at location Stedelijk only
You aren’t required to wear a face mask in the museum, but you are when using public transport in the Netherlands. The Carlos Amorales face masks are produced in a limited edition and are only physically on sale in the museum shop of the Stedelijk Museum, for 15 euros. For inquiries about international sale, you are welcome to contact the museumshop at museumshop@stedelijk.nl. The Stedelijk supports the solidarity project in Mexico City with both the commission to produce the masks, and all sales proceeds. Everyone who becomes a Friend of the Stedelijk before June 8 receives a face mask for free.

Exhibition extended
The Factory is the first European survey exhibition of Carlos Amorales. He began his career at the Rietveld Academie and was a resident of the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. The Stedelijk Museum has followed him since that time. The exhibition was to have ended on May 17, but to give visitors a chance to see the show, the Stedelijk has extended it until Monday June 8.