13 october 2025, Flor Linckens
Villa: a museum where artists shape the rooms
In a stately building on the Westergas grounds, a new exhibition space for contemporary art has recently opened: Villa. The rooms of the former engineers’ residence of the Westergasfabriek have been furnished by the artists themselves, turning each one into a world of its own. In the basement, for example, Zoro Feigl plays with light and movement, while in another space you are surrounded by clay in an installation by Levi van Veluw. Elsewhere you encounter a video work by Gilleam Trapenberg, a sculptural self-portrait by Vera Gulikers, the activist textiles of Yamuna Forzani, and the mischievous ceramics of Koos Buster.
Villa was born from the desire to bring art closer to people, a relevant ambition in an era when culture is increasingly pushed to the margins of political debate. The founders hope to narrow the gap many people feel toward art and to invite visitors to engage through curiosity rather than prior knowledge. At Villa, the emphasis lies on experience: on seeing, feeling and wandering, without the need for immediate explanation. Visitors seeking additional context can access short texts by scanning a QR code, but only after encountering the work itself. Because the artists have shaped their own spaces, each room reflects their personal vision. Each year, around thirty artists will be able to exhibit their work at Villa. Most of them are known for their installations and multidisciplinary approach. The inaugural exhibition brings together fifteen contemporary artists, six of whom are represented on GalleryViewer.
In the video work ‘Kant’i-Laman’ by Gilleam Trapenberg (represented by Galerie Ron Mandos), you look out over the coast of Curaçao, where two figures embrace as waves push endlessly against the shore. The growing soundscape of wind, voices and water draws you deeper into the work, which feels somewhere between reality and a dream. Trapenberg portrays the island not as an exotic backdrop but rather as a living, layered place where beauty and history are closely intertwined.
Throughout the building, ceramic works by Koos Buster (represented by Vriend van Bavink and guest artist at Galerie Fleur & Wouter) appear in unexpected places. At first glance, they might seem like part of the inventory: a fire alarm, a gumball machine, a first aid kit, a security camera. That is, until you realise everything is made of clay. These pieces are familiar enough to make you smile, yet strange enough to make you look twice. Buster’s rough, playful style elevates the everyday into something quietly extraordinary, revealing the personality that is hidden in ordinary objects.
In 'The Mother (The Bobby in Me)', Vera Gulikers (represented by ROOF-A) reflects on motherhood, playing with scale, form and the expectations that are placed upon women. Her alter ego lies on the floor, surrounded by two enormous intertwined legs in pastel pink and blue, like a gigantic vacuum hose, with an exaggerated baby-faced pacifier. The result feels at once childlike and absurd. Using colour, form and scale, Gulikers explores how care, femininity and power intersect.
In ‘Sacred Ethereal Feminine Energy’ by Yamuna Forzani (represented by Rademakers Gallery), the artist combines textile, performance and identity in a vibrant installation. Against white walls and blue velvet curtains you see Jacquard-woven textiles in bright shades of pink, red, yellow and blue, depicting figures, patterns and slogans. Forzani celebrates queer lives and invites you not only to look but to actually step into the world she creates.
For ‘In the depths of memory’ by Levi van Veluw (also represented by Galerie Ron Mandos), you enter a terracotta-hued circular installation, filled with shelving lined with hundreds of semi-identical clay heads. Mirrors on the floor and ceiling create a Droste-like illusion, as if the image extends infinitely. A video shows the artist repeatedly sculpting his own face in an endless cycle of creation and release. Van Veluw examines the tension between control and surrender and the human desire to leave something lasting behind, in a world that is constantly changing.
In 'Phosphenes' by Zoro Feigl (represented by FRED&FERRY), small points of light move across the ceiling like a swarm of fireflies. What appears to be a digital projection is in fact entirely analogue: motors, steel and mirrors set the light in constant motion. Feigl captures the fragile balance between control and chance, inviting viewers to pause and appreciate the beauty of perpetual change.
Villa is the initiative of three creative entrepreneurs with deep roots in the art and culture sector. Curator and creative strategist Adam Nillissen, co-founder of Unfair Amsterdam, focuses on developing accessible platforms that foster talent and entrepreneurship while bringing artists and audiences closer together. Graphic designer and creative director Bas Koopmans creates visual identities at the intersection of art and pop culture for institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum, Museumnacht Amsterdam and Down The Rabbit Hole, and has long been a strategic partner of Unfair Amsterdam. Cultural strategist Cas Boland, formerly head of marketing at TivoliVredenburg and the Van Gogh Museum, developed campaigns that connected art and music with a broad public, including the successful ‘Vincent on Friday’ concept.
