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 Frits Bergsma (self-employed advisor Marketing Strategy and Business Development, age 51)

What does art mean to you?

Art gives me inspiration and above all, art gives me peace. I am always curious about new developments and am very open to experimental art forms. I buy performances, video and sound installations. I find the innovative and the experiment interesting and energizing.

DAVID JABLONOWSKI, Business Technology Friction, 2020, Galerie Fons Welters.

Did you get an appreciation of art from your parents?

Yes, my parents did impart this to me. They quite often went to museums and to Collection d'Art at Keizersgracht 516, which now houses the Borzo gallery. When I went to study in Amsterdam, that was also the gallery where I made my first purchase at the age of 19. Cora de Vries taught me how to look at art and how to make the right choices.

Where do you get your information about the ups and downs in the art world from?

I follow a lot of galleries, museums, art institutions and artists via Instagram, so I am well aware of what is being made and offered.

Sarah Pichlkostner, Moonwalker, 2019, Annet Gelink Gallery.

Where do you prefer to see art?

I love going to galleries, but also visit many museums. Fairs are also interesting, but the offer is always so overwhelming that I can no longer see the wood for the trees after an hour or so. Art Basel and Art Rotterdam are the only fairs I still visit.

How many times a year do you buy art? Do you buy editioned work or do you prefer unique works

That really depends. After Galerie Juliette Jongma closed down, there are only a few galleries in the Netherlands that dare to experiment. Video and sound installations are often editioned. I don't really care if it's unique work, as long as I like it.

Matea Bakula, Shapeshifting, 2020, Lumen Travo Galerie.

And where do you buy: in the gallery, at an art fair, at an auction or online?

I always buy in the gallery. At a fair I am not critical enough due to the large range and I get tired very quickly. I have never bought anything online, that is also difficult when it comes to video and sound art.

Is it important that you and your partner agree on a purchase?

I decide by myself.

Is there a gallery you have a special connection with?

I see all exhibitions at Martin van Zomeren, Annet Gelink, Fons Welters, Stigter Van Doesburg, Torch, Wouter van Leeuwen. Althuis Hofland and Galerie Onrust. In addition, I have a list of galleries I regularly visit, but also sometimes skip an exhibition.

Antonis Pittas, Untitled (I will close my eyes and put my finger on the map), 2017, Annet Gelink Gallery.

If you had an unlimited budget, who would you buy a work from?

The video "The Buzz Club" by Rineke Dijkstra and Nan Goldin’s installation "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency". I only saw the installation of Nan Goldin once at Centre Pompidou, years ago, but it has always remained in my head. When The Buzz Club is on display the Stedelijk, I really go there as often as possible.

Who are your favourite artists?

Sarah Pichlkostner works with unusual materials and often also with light, lending her works a very playful character. This makes me happy!

The combinations of materials and objects make David Jablonowski's installations elusive and surprising. You keep looking and keep discovering something new each time you look.

In his first exhibition at Martin van Zomeren, Oscar Pabón showed fantastic work with Persian carpets. Pabón often uses surprising materials, such as shower curtains, tables and stools, and is constantly innovating and developing.

Martha Colburn, Don't kill the weatherman (video still), 2007, Galerie Stigter Van Doesburg.