07 september 2020, Oscar van Gelderen & Manuela Klerkx
Nadine'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 Nadine van den Bosch (Programme manager Young Collectors Circle & freelance curator, age 31)
What does art mean to you?
Art allows me to look at the world in a different way, provides new insights and offers an opportunity for reflection. Art can move one, bring joy or evoke sadness and impotence. I can’t imagine life without art.
Sarah Naqvi, Untitled, 2017, AKINCI.
Were you exposed to art while growing up?
In our home there was always a focus on art and culture, both for looking at it as for making it. Beautiful works of art were also to be found at my grandparents. Their eclectic collections included a bit of everything: antiques, modern art and design.
Where do you read about the latest developments in the art world?
As a child, I was often engaged in creative activities and there were plenty of art books around the house. Later, I studied this further during my art history studies.
Where do you prefer to look at art?
I love to watch art in the artist’s studio. I also like to visit galleries, art fairs and museums. Fairs are very suitable for discovering new artists and new galleries, which is why I like being surprised at fairs. I follow artists online on Instagram.
David Noro, Crossroad, 2020, Althuis Hofland Fine Arts.
How often do you buy art each year?
I buy about four to five works per year on average. That is always a mix of unique work and editioned works. Although we don't live that big, I try not to let my choices hinder me.
Where do you do your buying: in a gallery, at an art fair, at an auction or online?
This varies, usually in the gallery or at a fair and occasionally online or at an auction. For example, I recently bought a work by Isabelle Andriessen, based on a snapshot that the gallery owner texted me. It added to the excitement to see "my" work for the first time at Art Rotterdam a few weeks later. Fortunately, the work was even better than I had hoped!
Josefin Arnell, Chicks with ticks 1, 2019, Galerie Stigter Van Doesburg.
Is it important that you and your partner always agree on a purchase?
My boyfriend and I always decide together, but I usually come up with a proposal to buy a work.
Do you have a special relationship with any one gallery?
I always look forward to the exhibitions at Upstream, AKINCI and Martin van Zomeren in the knowledge that I’ll be pleasantly surprised by their original and daring choices.
If you had an unlimited budget, who would you buy a work from?
I would really like to add a work by Alicja Kwade to my collection, her installations are fragile and powerful at the same time.
Also, a "Candy Spill" by Félix González-Torres: when first I saw this work years ago, I was so moved by the vulnerability it radiates. It depicts the weight of his lover Ross Laycock, who died of AIDS in 1991.
Finally, I wouldn't object to a work by Tracey Emin, her feminist work is uncompromising and always to the point.
Who are your favourite artists?
Caroline Walker's work gives you the feeling that you - like a voyeur - are peeking in somewhere. She portrays women who are often invisible, such as chambermaids and tailors.
David Noro is a talented young painter, whose work I discovered a few years ago at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. His cheerful, uninhibited way of painting really appeals to me.
Josefin Arnell switches effortlessly between performance, video, painting and sculpture. For me, it's her drawings that stand out – they’re explicit, with a hint of absurdism.
Caroline Walker, Desert Modern, 2016, GRIMM.
