We’re you exposed to art while growing up?
My great-grandfather was an artist. Although I never knew him, many of his works hung on the walls my family home. My parents also took me to museums and we always visited churches when we were on vacation. As a little girl I lived in Washington for three years. I can still remember when we often went to The National Gallery of Art. I remember seeing a great work by Jackson Pollock, which later turned out to be 'Lavender Mist', Matisse’s cut-outs and the many Mark Rothkos, about which my mother said if you looked at them long enough, they would be suck you up. I took that literally, because I never managed to do that. I didn't know who these artists were at the time - I must have been seven or eight years old -, but their work captivated me right away and those images have always stayed with me.
How did you come into contact with the art world?
When I was eighteen, I started studying 'Arts, Culture and Media' at the University of Groningen. There I learned more about the art world. Afterwards I did a Masters in art management at the University of Indiana, in the United States. From there, I moved to New York in 2010 with only one goal: to find a job before my student visa expired. A matter of constantly networking. I ended up doing an internship at David Zwirner in New York for the first six months, LMAK Projects and Christie's. Ultimately, those internships led to a job.
What was your first job in a gallery? Or did you immediately start a gallery yourself?
My first real job was at Peter Blum Gallery, as a gallery assistant. I remember the first week I thought: what am I doing here? There were seven dark blue works on the wall, all looking the same to me, and I couldn't understand it. But after a week of watching something happened: I saw that the paintings changed due to the light from the skylights, the colours started to come alive. Ultimately, this artist, John Zurier, has become one of my favourite artists from Peter Blum's stable. His work is so poetic, layered and light. It taught me that looking at art is something that takes time. By looking a lot you see more and more; which is good, but you also see fewer good things; things you may have liked in the past.
After three years I returned to Amsterdam and started working at the Flatland Gallery in Amsterdam. I had a really nice time there, but I also noticed that the Dutch art world was different from that in New York, and after two years I started working again at Peter Blum. I finally returned to Amsterdam in 2017 to start a gallery with my brother Lucas. From 2019 I have been running the gallery on my own.
How would you describe your gallery’s profile?
In the gallery we show contemporary art. Mainly paintings, but also photography, and I recently started working with kinetic artist Jelle Korevaar. Due to my international background there’s a nice balance between Dutch and foreign artists. What matters to me is the layering of work, that you can keep looking at it and discover new things every time. I think the dialogue with artists and the public is very important. Before the pandemic I organised talks between artists and people from the art world at every exhibition. I am looking forward to the moment that is possible once again.
What do you think is the best part of being a gallerist?
It is a versatile profession. You are involved in the artist's creative process, but also in running a business. It is never boring, it continuously offers new insights. You are the connecting link between artist and viewer. Every time a customer buys a work is a special moment: just think of the moment you buy a work yourself, you will never forget that. The best thing for me, however, are the studio visits, the conversations with the artists and making the exhibitions together.
The sensation that you find yourself in the centre of the art world. You are in the artist's studio and that you are often the first to see a work and talk about it. I want artists to feel free. And it's nice to see what comes out of that, it often leads to exhibitions that are very personal. For example, Arjan van Helmond suggested painting the entire gallery as a background for his works. Also, I found the exhibition I did with Jule Korneffel special. Mary Heilmann is one of her sources of inspiration. We asked her if we could exhibit one of her works. And it worked out.
Which national / international galleries do you feel an affinity with?
I find it difficult to think of galleries that I feel a connection with, because every gallery has such a personal vision. Galleries I like include Paula Cooper, Gladstone Gallery, Sean Kelly and Peter Blum Gallery, Karma, and smaller galleries like 109 Greene, 56 Henry (all in New York). In the Netherlands these include Akinci, Galerie Onrust, Grimm, No Man's Art Gallery and Dürst Britt & Mayhew.
In an ideal world, which artist would you most like to represent?
Agnes Martin.
What has changed in the art world since you took your first steps?
Everything goes a little faster. More is happening online, especially since the pandemic. In recent years, visitors' attention has increasingly shifted to art fairs. In the Netherlands I notice that there is again more room for painting, which I applaud.
What / whose work do you collect yourself?
I collect everything, actually. Lots of work by artists I know personally through the gallery or elsewhere. My first purchase was an edition by Alex Katz (I couldn't afford a painting). But I also bought work from my great-grandfather, Anton Wirtz, and another distant relative, Anne Pierre de Kat, via Marktplaats or Catawiki. Both are from the turn of the 20th century, but I like to combine contemporary work with early work. In addition, I am fortunate that to have received many beautiful works from the artists with whom I work or have worked.
Has the pandemic changed the way you see the artworld?
Yes, in the sense that the pandemic has made me even more aware of the importance of a dialogue in real space. The conversations and encounters with artists, other gallery owners, collectors and interested parties. Despite all the podcasts, zoom meetings, Facebook and Instagram live, the real one-on-one conversation is irreplaceable.