Frans Hals extended the representational conventions of portraiture. His paintings convey a painterly technique that was rougher, sketchier, and freer than that of his contemporaries. Indeed, Hals’ innovation does not only pertain to the style of his paintings but also concerns their content. His portraits display the important and wealthy members of society, for whom this form of representation had previously been reserved; but Hals also introduced new subjects, such as an accidental traveler, giddy fisher children and a keeper of the local inn. Consciously or unconsciously, Hals thus opened up the question of who can become the subject of portraiture and how they can be depicted.

Reviving Hals’ movements against the protocols of his time, Noise! displays an image of the human in all its plurality and abundance, whose representational boundaries grow progressively noisier. The exhibition brings together contemporary artworks that similarly play with and speculate on the notion of portraiture.

Anna-Sophie Berger, Vittorio Brodmann, Xinyi Cheng, Stephan Dillemuth, Nicole Eisenman, Hamishi Farah, Justin John Greene, Ivy Haldeman, Tom Humphreys, Jacqueline De Jong, Özgür Kar, Kiki Kogelnik, Sarah Lucas, Perri MacKenzie, Alan Michael, Jill Mulleady, Simphiwe Ndzube, Josip Novosel, HC Playner, Pilvi Takala, Siebren Versteeg, Gillian Wearing

• 5 p.m.: Doors open, possibility to visit the exhibition Noise!
• 6 p.m.: Welcome speech by Director Ann Demeester
• Introduction by Curator Contemporary Art Melanie Bühler
• Performance by artist Ivan Cheng

The exhibition can be viewed until 8 p.m. this evening. Entrance free. Reservations not necessary.

The opening of Noise! is part of the kick-off of Haarlemse Herfst, after the official opening at 4 p.m. in Museum het Dolhuys.

Please note: the exhibition and the opening take place at location Hal, Grote Markt 16.