19 april 2024, Wouter van den Eijkel
The gallery of... Thijs Dely
In the section The gallery of..., we interview a variety of gallery owners from the Netherlands and Belgium and ask them why they started their gallery, what has changed in the art world since then, what their profile is and what they collect personally. This time around, we spoke to Thijs Dely from the Settantotto gallery.
What motivated you to open a gallery?
After 13 years working with media, marketing and digital platforms, I decided to align my professional life more with my personal passions around two years ago. Art energises me and provides both aesthetic and intellectual satisfaction. So, the gallery originated from an intrinsic need to engage professionally with art.
How would you define the profile of your gallery?
Settantotto is a gallery for modern and contemporary art that focuses on three pillars: abstract art, art with a minimalist approach and the international zero movement. We focus on both art historical movements and contemporary artists.
What do you consider the most important part of being a gallery owner?
To me, the most important task of a gallery owner is to create a context in which the artist's work is showcased to its full potential. A visit to the gallery should be an engaging experience that stays with the visitor. That's the foundation. The countless other aspects involved in the profession either serve this purpose or stem from it.
Settantotto Art Gallery, Gent
The world is undergoing significant changes: climate change has made us travel more consciously, AI is advancing rapidly, the financial gap between emerging and established artists is widening, and so on. Against this backdrop, how do you view the future of the art world in general and the gallery scene in particular?
Our times are confusing and art is necessary for many people to cope with significant global challenges. I notice this in my own conversations with artists and collectors. Art can offer a new perspective or act as a support. It can also provide a counterbalance to what is difficult to grasp. Or simply offer an absurd response to an absurd world.
The future belongs to artists and galleries that do not shut themselves off from this reality, but instead remain open to it and engage in dialogue with it. We have showcased the highly politically engaged work of Floris Boccanegra on war and migration. We exhibit the work of herman de vries, which opens people's eyes and rekindles their amazement and wonder for the natural world. The principles of the zero movement resonate strongly with a young audience, as I noticed during our Zero & Co exhibition: relinquishing control, returning to the essence, rebuilding the world from scratch, etc.
How do you select artists to showcase? What criteria does their work have to meet?
I have a number of artists on my radar, both domestically and internationally, whose work I follow closely. The three pillars on which the gallery is based provide fairly objective guidelines. When I visit an artist’s studio and talk to him or her, there needs to be a click. That's a very subjective, but decisive moment. I often find myself searching for authenticity, commitment and a certain kind of courage.
Thijs Dely, Settantotto Art Gallery
What is your relationship with the international art world? Do you collaborate frequently with international galleries?
I strongly believe in collaboration with other galleries, both here at home and abroad. For example, this summer I'm curating a project in a trullo stone hut in southern Italy together with Dep'Art gallery from Milan. It will be a three-hour exhibition of herman de vries' work. I am often in contact with colleagues as part of research on certain artists. I find this very rewarding.
In a perfect world, which artist would you most like to represent?
That list would be very long: Giorgio Griffa, Kazuo Shiraga, Agnes Martin, Piero Manzoni, François Morellet, Edith Dekyndt… If I had to choose just one, I'd say Alicja Kwade, who is perhaps the ultimate contemporary artist in my opinion. The way she questions things is phenomenal. I've often rewatched her Covid-19 exhibition at the Langen Foundation on YouTube. She does the voice-over herself and guides you through the show. It’s fantastic! I still have to see her show at Voorlinden, which I'm really looking forward to.
Just to be clear: I'm very happy with the artists we already collaborate with. I feel privileged every time I enter a studio and the artist allows me into their world.
Do you collect art personally? And if so, whose?
The personal collection of my wife and myself largely overlaps with the gallery's programme. We have Belgian abstract work by such artists as Dan Van Severen, Jules Lismonde and Gilbert Swimberghe and zero works by Oskar Holweck, Herbert Zangs, Jan Schoonhoven, Leo Erb and others. From herman de vries, we have work from both his zero period and recent work. We also have work by Wim Nival, Jo Van Rijckeghem, Thé Van Bergen, Anneke Eussen and Ria Bosman. Our personal collection rotates around our house. There are only a few works that have a permanent location.
What is the last exhibition you saw that left a deep impression on you?
Over a year ago, I saw a retrospective of Rosemarie Trockel’s work at the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt. Her work conveys immense expressiveness across a wide variety of techniques: mixed media, installations, video, etc. The relevance, sharpness and brilliance of her work really impressed me.
Do you have any tips for novice art buyers?
Everyone collects in their own way. If you like to buy based on intuition, go ahead. If you only buy from a certain period or movement, that's fine, too. But I think it's important that you detach a piece of art from purely decorative purposes. I find it difficult when the approach is limited to ‘We're looking for a work in bright colours to liven up our interior’ or ‘We're looking for a work with these dimensions, specifically for that spot in our house’. You should first and foremost buy a work for its qualities and then think about what you want to do with it.
