22 january 2020, Oscar van Gelderen & Manuela Klerkx
Mat's pick...
In this section we let a selection of art lovers – from occasional buyers to art professionals – talk about their perception of art and preferences: where do they want to see art? Where do they purchase art, and above all: from which artists do they buy? Below, an interview with Mat van Iterson (Anesthesiologist-intensivist and sound engineer, 54)
What does art mean to you?
Next to music, art is an important necessity of life for me. It sharpens your mind, offers comfort and makes you aware of yo
Marijn van Kreij, Untitled (Picasso, The Painter, 1963), 2019, andriesse eijck galerie.
My parents gave me and my two brothers the love of nature, music and art from an early age. During holidays in my early childhood, we visited the places where Van Gogh painted in the south of France, the Musée national Fernand Léger in Biot, and the newly opened Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Where do you get your information about the ups and downs in the art world from?
The most important information is the information from artists and gallery owners. Internet is also an inexhaustible source of information; websites of museums, Hollandse meesters, Instagram. I barely watch television, so I have lot of time to look around.
Where do you prefer to see art?
I prefer to view art in the artist's studio: as close as possible to the source of its creation. And at home, where I am free to combine works, and time does not exist. At home you also have the time to fathom a work of art, and the best thing is when that doesn't quite work out.
Stephan van den Burg, Untitled (punctured - tweeluik), 2014, 2019, Galerie Helder.
How often a year do you buy art?
A number of times a year. I mainly buy unique works: paintings, preferably when the paint is still wet, and drawings when they haven’t been framed yet.
And where do you buy: in the gallery, at an art fair, at an auction or online?
Usually around the opening of an gallery exhibition. It is most enjoyable if you are given the opportunity to have a look in the artist's studio beforehand.
Is it important that you and your partner agree on a purchase?
It's great when you can enjoy something together. My wife and I share the choices for many of the works we have surrounded us with, we especially share a passion for modern glass art (Menno Jonker, Winnie Teschmacher, Sabine Lintzen, Marinke van Zandwijk).
Elspeth Diederix, Orange Sponge Still Life, 2018, Galerie Stigter Van Doesburg.
In addition to trust, I attach great importance to the commitment of a gallery owner to the artist. The artist must come first, that's what it's all about. I have experienced this for a long time at Gerhard Hofland Gallery, Galerie Onrust, Stigter Van Doesburg, Andriesse Eyck Gallery, Upstream Gallery and Gallery Maurits van der Laar.
If you had an unlimited budget, who would you buy a work from?The question suggests that the quality or the impact of a work of art is somehow related to the amount of money you have to pay for it. I don't think so. My father taught me that you can spend your whole life looking at one good drawing and he's right about that.
Who are your favourite artists?
I like the work of Marijn van Kreij very much. He makes you think about notions such as originality, copying, fragmenting and reproducing.
Stephan van den Burg mainly draws, mostly on Scotch tape, copying the pencil lines on subsequent pieces of tape and making beautiful little works.
We have been living with the work of Marjolijn de Wit since her graduation from the St Joost Academy in Breda. In her colourful paintings she uses odd perspectives and ceramics to show us how we relate to nature, both now and in the past.
Marjolijn de Wit, z.t., 2019, Gerhard Hofland.
