22 august 2025, Wouter van den Eijkel
The gallery of... Jantien Herfst en Miranda Geelhoed
Early last year, Yellow Gallery opened in one of the most beautiful buildings in the historic city centre of Leiden. Jantien Herfst and Miranda Geelhoed had been collecting art for years and noticed that their friends and acquaintances wanted to do the same, but didn’t know where to start. So, they founded the Yellow Gallery in 't Kasteeltje, the red brick villa with a turret where theoretical physicist Paul Ehrenfest once lived and Einstein was a frequent guest.
Herfst and Geelhoed prefer to curate exhibitions around a theme and often invite guest artists to create exciting dialogues. They have already done this with the work of Floris Verster. This September, they are showcasing the work of Sara van Vliet and Jan van der Ploeg. “We enjoy creating surprising combinations of emerging artists and established names in the art world.” Another reason to visit this exhibition is a mural that Jan van der Ploeg is creating specifically for the show in this historic building.
Congratulations on your gallery! Yellow Gallery has been open for nearly a year and a half. How has it gone so far?
We’ve had a very good first year. Since our opening in March 2024, we've shown work by over 20 artists, including Tosja van Lieshout, Anne van As, Julia Kaiser, Joris Veltman and Rudi Lanjouw. They are now also represented by the gallery.
We also dedicate a lot of space to guest exhibitors because we believe it’s important to foster dialogue between artists and curate around a theme. In April, we put together a group exhibition called YOU WANT IT DARKER, centred around the work of Floris Verster. This show opened simultaneously with the exhibition Thuis in het groen at Museum De Lakenhal, where we loaned a work by Verster. Our exhibition focused on dark floral still lifes and the contrast between light and shadow and featured, among others, Ronald Zuurmond with his beautiful dark flower pieces.
We’re very much looking forward to the September exhibition, where we’re combining the work of Sara van Vliet and Jan van der Ploeg. We enjoy making surprising pairings of emerging and established artists. This show will be particularly unique because Jan van der Ploeg is creating a mural specifically for the gallery’s historic space.
YOU WANT IT DARKER, Yellow Gallery
That sounds very interesting. We’ll talk more about your location later, but first I’d like to ask about your background. What led you to open the gallery?
I (Miranda) have a medical background — I’m trained as a pulmonologist and currently head of the Tertiary Center for Lung Diseases at St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein. Jantien has a technical background and ran her own e-commerce and software company for years. Out of a shared passion for art and entrepreneurship, we started Yellow Gallery last year. My husband and I had been collecting contemporary art and design for years, so we already had a broad network in the art world and were in close contact with many artists. We noticed that many of our friends and colleagues wanted to buy art, but didn’t know where or how to start. That inspired us to open a gallery — a way to introduce our network to art that we’re enthusiastic about.
Do you collect personally?
Yes, absolutely, we’ve been collecting for quite some time. Our collection includes work by Katinka Lampe, Maaike Schoorel, Dirk Braeckman, Remy Jungerman, Erwin Olaf, Daan van Golden, Woody van Amen and many others. We also have a significant design collection with unique pieces by Maarten Baas, Hella Jongerius, Scholten & Baijings, Piet Hein Eek, etc.
We regularly lend work to museums. For example, our work by Maaike Schoorel was part of the BLOEM exhibition at the Verwey Museum and our piece by Nola Hatterman was featured in the Masterly Women exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. But most of all, we enjoy living with our collection at home. We value a beautiful, aesthetic living environment. We believe it brings peace and inspiration. Art is also a wonderful counterbalance to the medical field — both as gallery owners and as collectors.
Why did you decide to open the gallery in Leiden?
We deliberately chose to start a gallery in the city where we live. We’ve found that for people with busy lives and little experience with buying art, galleries can be intimidating. By being close to our target audience, we attract lots of visitors, who get to experience art in a more accessible way.
It’s also rewarding to contribute to broadening the contemporary art scene in Leiden — a city with a major university, academic hospital and many museums.
Can you tell us more about the gallery’s location and ‘Ons Eiland’? How did you find this space?
The location is beautiful and unique — the house is also Jantien’s childhood home. It was built by her great-grandmother and has a rich history. It's located on a small island on Jan van Goyenkade and is officially named ‘Ons Eiland’, but in Leiden it's known as ’t Kasteeltje.
Margarethe Von Uexküll Guldenbandt (1873–1970), a biologist and university friend of Mileva Maric and Albert Einstein, built the house. After studying in Zurich, she moved to Leiden and helped bring Einstein to the university as a guest lecturer. He stayed with the Ehrenfest family next door and often held salons in the room that now houses our gallery.
The historic building — with its details, natural light and character — adds a special dimension to our exhibitions. The garden surrounding the gallery is also exceptional and features a large Ginkgo tree that turns golden yellow in winter. That colour, combined with the tones in both our surnames (Geelhoed and Herfst), inspired the name Yellow Gallery.
Your website states that you focus on emerging and mid-career artists. Those are age-based terms, but what specifically do you look for? How would you describe Yellow Gallery’s profile?
We look for quality and originality. That may sound very general, but we’re drawn to craftsmanship — painting with expressive brushwork, strong colour combinations and well-finished pieces. We also appreciate photographic work with a sharp eye for subject, composition and detail. Originality, social engagement and a surprising element are also important to us.
FOREVER YOUNG, Yellow Gallery
How do you select the artists you work with?
Many of the artists we work with we’ve known for some time through our collecting. We visit lots of studios, art fairs and museums. We keep an eye on both new talent and artists we've followed for years. In our exhibitions, we aim to create unique dialogues between younger and more established artists.
What’s the most important part of your work?
Creating a memorable exhibition. We want a visit to the gallery to be a memorable experience with both the public and artists. The location is unique — and so should be the story and the structure of the show. Of course, it’s great when this leads to a piece finding a new home, but that should stem from the sense of taking something special home with you from a meaningful exhibition.
That’s why we work on an ‘event basis’ — exhibitions open with a festive Friday afternoon reception, which continues on Saturday. Sunday is often the day families stop by. After that, the exhibition is still open, but by appointment only.
The art world is changing rapidly: climate change, AI, a growing gap between emerging and established artists. How do you see the future of the art world and of Dutch galleries?
Many people — even within the gallery world — say it’s brave to start a gallery in this era, especially in a city where many galleries have closed and where modern art isn’t the main draw. But we believe that’s exactly why a gallery like Yellow Gallery is needed right now.
Yes, we’re a commercial entity, but also a beautiful exhibition space — a place for inspiration and connection. We’re inspired by concepts like Hauser & Wirth Somerset and the Vitra Campus in Basel. 't Kasteeltje has enormous potential in this regard. We even have plans to integrate the garden into future exhibitions. As collectors increasingly explore art online — through platforms like Gallery Viewer — it becomes even more essential for galleries to offer strong, immersive presentations. That’s the philosophy behind the Yellow Gallery.
MEMENTO, Sander Coers & Jan Timmers, Yellow Gallery
Where do you hope to be in five years? And in 10? Are there any specific artists or art fairs you’d like to work with?
In five years’ time, we hope that ’t Kasteeltje is recognised as a unique gallery and art destination, offering a unique position in the Dutch gallery scene. We strongly believe in collaboration among galleries and would love to build an international network that allows us to create extraordinary exhibitions with both international artists and those we represent.
Galleries like Sofie van de Velde and Workplace are a great source of inspiration. As for art fairs, we’re particularly interested in Art Rotterdam, Art Antwerp and Art Brussels. Of course, reaching the level of Frieze London, Art Basel or The Armory Show would be a dream come true.
