This summer, for the first time in the history of the Rijksmuseum, a contemporary artist has been invited to curate a major exhibition, spanning the entirety of the Philips Wing.
Entitled Monomania – Rijksmuseum’s 2025 summer exhibition will be curated by the internationally acclaimed Indonesia-born Dutch artist Fiona Tan, who represented the Netherlands at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Tan’s fascination with the birth of psychiatry at the beginning of the 19th century serves as the starting point for the exhibition that draws from Rijksmuseum’s extensive collection including works by Francisco Goya, Edvard Munch, Raden Saleh as well as Japanese masks and christening gowns. The exhibition concludes with Janine’s Room (2025), a new work by Fiona Tan commissioned by the Rijksmuseum.
Fiona Tan has created a new work, Janine's Room (2025), a large spatial video installation encompassing three projections. Within this expansive and immersive video installation the viewer is gradually overtaken by the sense that appearances are deceiving, as reality and imagination begin to merge in an ever-deepening interplay. Janine's Room forms the final part of the exhibition.
Portrait of a Kleptomaniac (c. 1822) by the French artist Théodore Géricault (Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent) serves as the starting point for Fiona Tan’s research into the development of psychiatry at the beginning of the 19th century. The painting is part of Les Monomanes, a series of ten portraits of individuals believed to have an obsessive fixation. Only five of these paintings are still known today. Géricault, along with many other 19th century artists, was fascinated by the extremes of the psyche. They were keen to explore, like the physicians of the time, the idea that mental afflictions could be read upon the face.
As Tan delved into the Rijksmuseum's collection, she was guided by questions such as: What did monomania mean? How were people with mental health issues perceived at that time? And, perhaps most importantly, how were they portrayed? In her exploration, Tan focused on the 19th century, without restricting herself to a specific genre or kind of artwork. This resulted in a carefully curated selection of over 250 pieces; surprising combinations of painting, decorative art, and everyday objects.
Fiona Tan (1966) is a visual artist and filmmaker. She is best known for her research-based installations in which explorations of memory and identity and the deceptive nature of representation are key. Her work is included in numerous collections, including the Tate Modern (London), the Guggenheim Museum (New York), the Neue National Galerie (Berlin), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), the New Museum (New York), the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum MAXXI (Rome), the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Pinakothek der Moderne (Munich), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam) and Museum De Pont (Tilburg). Solo exhibitions have been held all over the world including in Austria, Germany, Norway, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States. Tan represented the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale in 2009. The Dutch artist has lived in Amsterdam since 1998 and was born in Indonesia and raised in Australia.
Fiona Tan: Monomania will be on view from 4 July to 14 September, 2025, in the Philips Wing of the Rijksmuseum and is made possible in part by the Mondriaan Fund.
Main Image: Fiona Tan, Self-portrait with mask, 2025, courtesy the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London.
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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