Bas Jan Ader: I’m searching…

A Major Exhibition to Open at Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery

Bas Jan Ader in his boat Ocean Wave in Chatham, Massachusetts, July 9, 1975. © The Estate of Bas Jan Ader / Mary Sue Ader Andersen / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025. Courtesy Meliksetian | Briggs, Dallas.

Bas Jan Ader: I’m searching…

December 12, 2026 – April 11, 2027

Organized by the Hamburger Kunsthalle
Curated by Dr. Brigitte Kölle
Curatorial Assistance by Julia Kersting
Curatorial Coordination by Darryn Doull, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery

The Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery is proud to present Bas Jan Ader: I’m searching…, opening December 12, 2026, in collaboration with Hamburger Kunsthalle (Germany). Announced today—July 9, marking 51 years since Ader’s fateful departure from Massachusetts on a solo Atlantic crossing that became his final, and most legendary, work. This major exhibition brings the Dutch conceptual artist’s celebrated 16mm films, photographs, and slide installations to Canadian audiences, following its acclaimed premiere at Hamburger Kunsthalle in 2025.

Bas Jan Ader (1942–1975), Fall 2, Amsterdam, 1970. 16mm black and white film, silent, 19 seconds, documented in a color photograph. © The Estate of Bas Jan Ader / Mary Sue Ader Andersen / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025. Courtesy of Meliksetian | Briggs, Dallas.

Bas Jan Ader is regarded as a seminal figure for generations of artists—a so-called artists’ artist. Legendary among insiders, his artworks can now be experienced by a wider audience in this exceptional solo exhibition, along with extensive documentary material, works on paper, and ephemera. More than fifty years after Ader’s disappearance, this exhibition offers an incredibly rare opportunity to view a large selection of the artist’s work, including several early drawings and paintings.

Ader’s oeuvre can be described as at once melancholy and absurd, emotional and conceptual, simple yet complex. He made a profession of the theme of falling as a symbol of failure, exploring this subject in diverse photographic series and films. The moment of loss of control became a conscious decision. Failure was merely an inevitable part of life. Ader continually sought to localize the human being existentially, setting out in quest of the hidden and the miraculous, all the while accepting the risk of bodily harm and ultimately his life.

Bas Jan Ader (1942–1975), I’m too sad to tell you, 1971. Black and white 16mm film, silent, 03:18 min. Edition 1 of 3.© The Estate of Bas Jan Ader / Mary Sue Ader Andersen / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025. Courtesy of Meliksetian | Briggs, Dallas.

In 1963, Bas Jan Ader moved to Los Angeles, where he and his wife, Mary Sue Anderson-Ader, established a second home. As part of a planned trilogy entitled In Search of the Miraculous, Ader set off in 1975, at the age of 33, in a small sailing boat from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on a solo crossing of the Atlantic, heading for Falmouth in Great Britain. He would never reach his destination. Months later, the boat was found off the Irish coast, but Ader remained missing. With his disappearance at sea, the artist’s yearning, romantic search for the miraculous became a parable of human vulnerability and failure.

Works will be loaned for exhibition by the Estate of Bas Jan Ader (administered by Meliksetian | Briggs), the Hamburger Kunsthalle, and private collections in the United States and Germany.

About Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery

Since 1956, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery (KWAG) has been Waterloo Region’s leading public art gallery, connecting people and ideas through art. Its nationally acclaimed exhibitions and programs welcome all to be inspired and challenged through a deepened understanding of ourselves, our cultures, and our communities. Now celebrating 70 years, the Gallery cares for a permanent collection of over 4,400 works and continues to offer dynamic public programs that inspire creativity and an appreciation of the visual arts in the Region and beyond. Admission is free.

Accessibility: KWAG is an accessible venue.

Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery
101 Queen Street North
Kitchener, ON N2H 6P7
www.kwag.ca

Media Contact
Áine Belton, Manager, Marketing and Communications
abelton@kwag.on.ca

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