Artist society Pulchri Studio is organizing a major sculpture exhibition on the Lange Voorhout this summer. From June 3rd to August 20th, monumental works of art by artist members and other sculptors will be on display in the middle of the bustling Museum Quarter of The Hague. Under the title ‘Voorhout Monumentaal 2023’, approximately twenty sculptures will be displayed outside on the shell path and various sculptures will be shown in an exhibition in the Kloosterkerk. In addition, paintings, sculptures and video works of a monumental character will be shown in exhibitions in the building of Pulchri Studio.

The curators are sculptor Piet Warffemius and art collector Jan van Huizen. “The sculptures must have expressiveness and an undeniable originality. The diversity of the exhibition should be reflected in the variety of materials, art forms, colors and designs,” says Warffemius about the starting point for the exhibition. "It will be an exhibition that the city of The Hague can be proud of.”

In 2021 the theme of the sculpture exhibition was freedom. In the midst of all kinds of restrictive measures due to the pandemic, the need for freedom could not be greater. For the 2023 edition, we reflect on the M.C. Escher- & Louis Couperus year.

June 17, 2023 is the 125th birthday of M.C. Escher. The artist from Leeuwarden is known for his woodcuts, wood engravings and lithographs, in which he often played with mathematical principles. His engravings often depict impossible constructions, studies of infinity and interlocking geometric patterns (divisions of planes) that gradually change into completely different forms.

On July 16, 2023, it will be 100 years ago that the Hague writer Louis Couperus died at the age of 60. His work spans a wide variety of literary genres. He made his debut with poetry, but soon turned to psychological novels, with which he achieved widespread fame. He also wrote cultural fairy tales, historical novels, travel reports and columns. He is generally seen as one of the most important writers in the canon of Dutch literature.