We’re you exposed to art while growing up?
That's a good question. I think it came from my father. Although we didn't have a huge art collection – except for books about art – my father was very artistic. He had a job in construction and worked hard to support six children. I noticed that at a later age he developed an enormous passion for art. During his retirement he started writing poems. He was very good at that.
How did you come into contact with the art world?
After high school I studied at the Hogeschool voor Muziek en Dans in Rotterdam. There I came into contact with art history, especially related to composers. This is also where my fascination for the arts stems.
I then ended up in the flower trade, but kept in touch with the art world through weekly visits on Sunday afternoons to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The works I always looked at there were the 'The Tower of Babel' (circa 1563) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and 'The Mandril' (1926) by Oskar Kokoschka.
After a great career as a florist, I decided to sell the business to take a two-year sabbatical. I decided to make a world trip and visited Spain, where I first saw the paintings of El Greco, Goya and Picasso in real life. Their works had a profound effect on me. In particular Picasso's 'Guernica' in the Reina Sofia Museum, where I experienced Stendhal Syndrome. From that moment on, I knew that my future had to look to the art world.
What was your first job in a gallery? Or did you immediately start a gallery yourself?
Yes, I immediately started a gallery myself, in Rotterdam. That was back in 1999. Michelle, my niece, was my advisor, but I also had a lot of contact with other professionals from the field in Rotterdam, such as artist Geer Pouls. The owners of MK Gallery have given me advice with their years of experience, and initiated me into the art profession. When I had the gallery in Rotterdam I noticed that the cohesion between the Rotterdam galleries was very high. You noticed that there was not much competition between the Rotterdam galleries. We did a lot together and we helped each other out.
How would you describe your gallery’s profile??
The artists are our first priority. We go the extra Mile in guiding our artists. A collaboration is a bit like a marriage, with all its emotionality and successes. Sometimes this collaboration starts very early in an artist’s career, with recently graduated artists whom we offer a stage with the 'Best of Graduates' exhibition and continue to support through our Young Blood Foundation.
I also think it's important that artists are given the freedom to transform the gallery. In the early years of my gallery I invited artists to create installations in and around my house, a bit like the 'Chambres d'Amis', which was organised 1986 by the Belgian curator Jan Hoet in Ghent in. I still attach great value to large-scale installations inside and outside the gallery. The energy and appeal of such installations is very special.
In addition, as a gallery we are storytellers. What really fascinates me are the stories of the artists behind their works. With our entire team, we do our best to convey the artists' mindset – also by engaging in conversation with our visitors. When we have a new exhibition, the artist gives the entire team an extensive tour of the content of the individual works. We try to share that information with everyone.
What do you think is the best part of being a gallerist?
The people I work with. As a gallerist, I am allowed into the sacred domain of the artist. Fraught with vulnerability, they show me the latest works there in all their vulnerability. I always find such moments very special. Also, I always visit the artist's studio in the run-up to an exhibition to see the new works. That's always a party. The conversation about the new works is very interesting. I also appreciate that our regular customers have really become friends with the gallery and that it's not always about the purchases, but rather about the involvement with the gallery and that they feel a connection with our programme.
Which national / international galleries do you feel an affinity with?
I feel a lot of affinity with galleries like AKINCI, Upstream and Fons Welters. Leylâ Akinci and Nieck de Bruijn started about when I started my gallery and I have been hanging out with them for many years. And internationally, of course, big names such as Victoria Miro, Perrotin and Sofie Van de Velde, she is such a nice person! I have great appreciation for her entrepreneurship and her philosophy of cooperation. At the moment we have made a beautiful exhibition together with four great artists: Ilse D'Hollander, Stef Driesen, Tatjana Gerhard and Leon Vranken. The exhibition Sofie’s World is curated by Sofie Van de Velde and Jason Poirier dit Caulier, and will run until 10 June.
In an ideal world, which artist would you most like to represent??
William Kentridge. In preparation for the opening of my gallery twenty years ago, I saw William Kentridge's work in various places in the Netherlands and at the 1999 Venice Biennale. I remember watching one of the first episodes of his Soho Eckstein cycle. I instantly became a fan. I am a great admirer of his animations, but also of his drawings. They are so intense and full of character. Kentridge is a master at depicting his characters. I have been following him for over twenty years and I would love to create a beautiful solo exhibition of his work.
What has changed in the art world since you took your first steps?
I think that when I started twenty years ago, the collector's market in the Netherlands was smaller than it is today. A few private collectors then built up enormous collections, from which, for example, Museum Voorlinden arose. Collectors such as Pieter and Marieke Sanders, Hugo and Carlo Brown and Joop van Caldenborgh bought work at each exhibition we did. You noticed that they wanted to support the artists, but also the gallery behind it.
Nowadays, we also see a lot of young people buying art. The market has changed, especially as a result of online sales and the attention paid to art and the artist via the internet and social media.
My advice is: just buy what you like and what suits you. Then you will have a lot of fun with the artwork anyway. Also, buy it from a gallery with a large international network, so that you know that the work can also be seen abroad and you have a better chance that the artist will also break through internationally.
What / whose work do you collect yourself?
I collect a work from all the artists at the gallery. Outside of the gallery, I buy art by Rainer Fetting, David Haines or Christian Schoeler, works that clearly focus on the beauty and strength of the male body.
Has the pandemic changed the way you see the artworld?
I actually see more opportunities than before. This is due to the virtual aspect, but also to our 'Sunday Sessions', which have enabled us to put together a much more substantive program in addition to our exhibitions. I think the pandemic has created more depth throughout the art world. If you travel from place to place – with eight international fairs a year – you don't have time to see everything and dwell on the contemporary. As a result, the fast buying and selling has also decreased a bit. I now have more in depth conversations about art with my contacts from the art world.