15 august 2024, Wouter van den Eijkel
Art Weiland
A traditional farmhouse in the Frisian village of Dijken (next to Langweer) serves as the picturesque setting for Art Weiland, a small-scale art fair featuring four participating galleries: Torch, GoMulan, Vriend van Bavink and Brinkman & Bergsma. Admission is free of charge. GalleryViewer is giving away four tickets to the private opening on Saturday 31 August.
Langweer is located halfway between Sneek and Joure close to the village of Dijken. It may not seem like an obvious location for an art fair, but the organisers, Jacko Brinkman and Frits Bergsma, have a strong preference for unique locations. The name is a phonetic pun on Art Island, another fair that the duo organises annually on the Fort Island off the coast of Ijmuiden (weiland is the Dutch word for ‘pasture’).
Art Weiland takes place at the tail end of the summer holiday right before the gallery and fair season kicks off again. The private opening for invitees is on Saturday 31 August and includes lunch and several artist talks. The artists will be staying in Friesland and present on Sunday 1 September to talk about their work. Everyone is welcome on that day and admission is free.
Eugenie Boon, Bon ganchá, 2023, Brinkman & Bergsma
With four participating galleries, Art Weiland is a so-called boutique fair. The composition of the exhibitors—Torch, Vriend van Bavink, GoMulan and Brinkman & Bergsma—is not coincidental. According to Brinkman, the Kreek-Weidenaar couple owns work by the exhibited artists and often has a personal connection with the gallery owners.
Each gallery is displaying work by two artists. Torch is presenting work by Tinkebell and Krijn Kroes, while Vriend van Bavink is showcasing surrealistic drawings by Tja Ling Hu and work by Koos Buster. The self-proclaimed Minister of Ceramic Affairs has enjoyed success in recent years with playful variants of everyday objects, such as fire extinguishers, beer crates and cleaning product bottles, all made of ceramic. GoMulan Gallery is showing painted self-portraits with magical realistic elements by Jonat Deelstra, as well as displaying work by Sophie Steengracht, who portrays the changing relationship between humans and nature. In addition to Eugenie Boon's scenes of everyday life in Curacao, Brinkman & Bergsma are showcasing work by Peim van der Sloot, who explores the relationship between art and money. Van der Sloot does this by creating artwork with the red stickers used at fairs to indicate that a piece has been sold.
Koos Buster, Brandblusser, 2022, Galerie Vriend van Bavink
For the community
“In addition to organising art fairs, I advise individuals on purchasing art and building a collection, including the residents of the farm, Jorrit Kreek and Yelly Weidenaar,” says Jacko Brinkman over the phone. The couple is continuing the tradition of the previous resident. Like the former King’s Commissioner, they regularly open their farm for cultural events like performances and lectures. At Art Island, they had a lightbulb moment and decided to organise an art fair. After all, the Frisian farm is just as unique a location as Fort Island. “Art connects and with Art Weiland, we want to contribute to the community,” say Jorrit Kreek and Yelly Weidenaar in the press release.
Krijn Kroes, TORCH Gallery
The community is also an important target group according to Brinkman. "We organise fairs at unique locations and wanted to move beyond Amsterdam. If even only a few hundred people attend, it will be a success. I would be delighted if we could reach local art enthusiasts, which is an important goal."
Four tickets for the opening
GalleryViewer is giving away four tickets to the opening on Saturday 31 August. If you would like a chance to win one of the tickets, >send an email to Jacko Brinkman. If there are more than four interested parties, they will draw lots for the winners.
Sophie Steengracht, Saturnus, Ceps, Lichen & Dolmen, 2023, GoMulan Gallery
