29 january 2020, Oscar van Gelderen & Manuela Klerkx
Sander'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 Sander Wiegers (real-estate agent, age 51)
What does art mean to you?
I get up with it and go to bed with it. I’d love to take my collection with me 24/7. However, the works are spread over (holiday) home and office. Art gives me fresh insights. I think my collection is a good reflection of my personal development in recent decades.
Helen Verhoeven, Suzy No Go, 2019, Stigter Van Doesburg.
As a descendant of Jan Wiegers, my great uncle, you would expect so. However, apart from visiting museums, art – apart from architecture - did not play a major role in my upbringing. My parents collected antiques and works by Jan Toorop.
Where do you get your information about the ups and downs in the art world from?
I think unconsciously through all media, because in a broad perspective you can trace everything back to art. Consciously via newspapers, online and professional journals such as ArtReview, Blau, Artist Window, Icon and Sammler Journal.
Where do you prefer to see art?
I check the websites of Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips and Gallery Viewer almost every day. I visit galleries and fairs about once or twice a year. I also like to visit De Ateliers and the Rijksakademie. You will find works by Jean Cocteau, Kees van Dongen and Dirk Filarski mostly at auctions.
Desirée Dolron, mXTERIORS XVIII, 2018, HERO.
How many times a year do you buy art? Do you buy editioned work or do you prefer unique works
Purchasing is mainly done with my husband Gabor, an average of two to four purchases per year, and circulation or unique makes no difference to us. We mainly buy drawings, paintings and photography.
And where do you buy: in the gallery, at an art fair, at an auction or online?
We mainly buy at galleries, at fairs and at auctions - AAG auctioneers in Amsterdam regularly sells great contemporary art. We have never bought anything online.
Bouke de Vries, Memory vessel with Kintsugi, 2019, Galerie Ron Mandos.
Is it important that you and your partner agree on a purchase?
We must both like the work, otherwise we won’t purchase it. For us, this is the way to control our greed.
Is there a gallery you have a special connection with?
At Stigter Van Doesburg we were able to build up a nice collection of work by Helen Verhoeven, and at FLATLAND we bought works by Erwin Olaf and Ruud van Empel; a beautiful Guy Yanai is still missing! We love how Ron Mandos gives aspiring talent a stage with Best of Graduates, and at HERO I saw work by Desirée Dolron for the first time.
If you had an unlimited budget, who would you buy a work from?
"Love" by Jaume Plensa: the serene look in the faces of the two-meter high, white sculptures of a boy and a girl. David Hockney's exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum was phenomenal, and I would love to own one of Anish Kapoor’s dark blue bowls.
Who are your favourite artists?
We are big fans of the work of Helen Verhoeven, for us she remains a master in making art that is slightly uncomfortable, and makes a connection between the past and the present.
I find Desirée Dolron's photos deeply moving, her portraits stare back at you. With his background as a porcelain restorer, Bouke de Vries is able to create new art from fragments of all kinds of materials.
Marijn Akkermans, ... and suddenly, all is revealed, 2019, galerie dudokdegroot.
